Huawei and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) jointly hosted the 2024 Tech4Nature Summit recently to mark the commencement of Phase 2 of the Tech4Nature global partnership and promote innovation in nature conservation.
Aligned with Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative and IUCN›s Green List, Tech4Nature represents the joint vision of both partners to develop technological solutions for Protected and Conserved Areas (PCA) across the globe. It is also the first time that either Huawei or IUCN has established a major partnership spanning the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and nature conservation sectors.
Unprecedented challenges
IUCN Director General Dr. Grethel Aguilar said, The natural world faces unprecedented challenges, and technology and digital solutions can be a powerful force for good to protect our planet›s biodiversity. That is why IUCN established the Tech4Nature partnership with Huawei. I am proud to see this partnership moving to the next phase, helping all stakeholders to unite for nature and build a better future.»
Tech4Nature Phase 1 ran from 2020 to 2023 in five PCAs in China, Mauritius, Mexico, Spain, and Switzerland. Major successes include:
Acoustic monitoring of the world’s rarest ape – the Hainan gibbon – to identity individual animals with a view to helping this critically endangered species repopulate. Just 37 animals currently remain.
AI pattern recognition to identify and track jaguars in Mexico; the presence of seven animals was confirmed in Dzilam State Reserve last year for the first time.
Advanced systems for live viewing and monitoring of coral reef conservation and restoration projects run by local communities in Mauritius; 25,000 healthy coral fragments have been transplanted to degraded areas of reef in the Indian Ocean.
CSD Committee for Huawei Board Member and Chairman Tao Jingwen said, “As a technical partner of governments, customers, and environmental protection agencies, Huawei is ready to continuously to explore environment and nature protection scenarios, develop appropriate digital technologies to address environmental protection challenges, and jointly build a more equal and sustainable digital world.”
Tech4Nature Phase 2 (2023–2026) will support flagship six projects in China, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Kenya, and Türkiye. The summit marked the launch of these six projects, following the agreement to launch Phase 2 that Huawei and IUCN announced in October 2023.
Joint commitment
Phase 2 also represents the joint commitment of IUCN and Huawei to develop cutting-edge technology solutions to support the 30×30 target and Target 4 on preventing extinction defined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). This phase will also expand collaboration between the technology and nature conservation sectors by involving more people, partners, and countries.
The three-day summit was attended by conservation practitioners, academics, private sector and government representatives, and the broader Tech4Nature community.
Workshops were held to build capacity among partners, explore action plans for achieving fair and effective conservation through the IUCN Green List, discuss ethical considerations and provide guidance on implementation, and enable peer-to-peer learning and exchange.
The partners also launched the Tech4Nature flagship publication Partnership for our Planet. The publication highlights the crucial position that cutting-edge technological solutions occupy in responding to modern conservation challenges.
