Tech4Nature Expands Reach at IUCN World Conservation Congress

ABU DHABI, UAE, Oct. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Huawei expanded the reach of their joint Tech4Nature global partnership with a series of events at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi.

At this year's congress, Tech4Nature partners participated in a series of forums designed to highlight the power of technology in the conservation arena. Key Tech4Nature projects highlighted at the event included:  

• Tech4Nature China, which is using audio monitoring devices and AI analytics to create a voiceprint database of Hainan gibbons, just 42 of which remain in the world. The resulting data-driven insights can help guide repopulation efforts by identifying family groups, lone individuals, and key areas for habitat restoration.
• Tech4Nature Brazil, which is using low-cost sensors to study the impact of climate change on mangrove ecosystems in Brazil's Marajo Island and the factors affecting mangrove crab populations.

Aligned with the IUCN Green List and Huawei TECH4ALL, Tech4Nature aims to scale up nature conservation outcomes using digital technologies. Since its launch in 2020, the initiative has run 11 flagship projects in 8 countries in collaboration with a range of partners and local communities.

As well as in China and Brazil, Phase II Tech4Nature projects are currently running in Mexico to protect jaguars in Dzilam de Bravo State Reserve; in Türkiye to monitor umbrella species as indicators of overall ecosystem health, with a focus on wild goats and fallow deer; in Kenya to protect coral reef and prevent illegal fishing; and in Spain's Barcelona Province to study the impact of leisure activities on Bonelli's eagles.

The World Conservation Congress also hosted the inaugural Tech4Nature Awards, announcing winners in three categories:

• Distant Imagery Solutions won the Tech Innovation category for the solution "Radical Restoration: Democratizing Climate Tech for Ecosystem Recovery".
• African People & Wildlife won NatureTech Stewards category for the solution "Empowering Community Action for Resilient Grasslands".
• M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) won the Species Conservation category for the solution "Protecting Endangered Olive Ridley Turtles Along Odisha Coast in India".

"These award-winning solutions show how innovative technology, when placed in the hands of conservationists and communities, can drive real change for nature and people," said Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General. "The Tech4Nature Awards shine a light on the creativity and determination of those working on the frontlines of conservation. Their innovations bring us closer to a just world that values and conserves nature."

The solutions for each category of the Tech4Nature Awards were judged by a panel of technology and conservation experts from around the globe.

"Digital innovation has a strong role to play in supporting nature-positive, sustainable and inclusive solutions that can monitor, protect and restore wildlife populations and their ecosystems," said Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development for GSMA and one of the judges of the 'Tech Innovation' category. "It is incredibly encouraging to see so many initiatives happening on the ground, and to get a chance to spotlight some of them through the Tech4Nature Award."

The IUCN World Conservation Congress takes place every four years, bringing together conservation experts from around the world. This year's themes were scaling up conservation action, reducing climate overshoot risks, delivering on equity, transitioning to nature-positive economies and societies, and disruptive innovation and leadership for conservation.

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