United for Wildlife, Google.org and ARM Unite to Launch Conservation Technology Network

Washington, DC, November 18, 2015 /3BL Media/ – United for Wildlife, with support from Google.org and ARM, today launched a conservation technology network to close the information-sharing gap in the fight against illegal wildlife trade and other pressing issues facing our planet. The online network will foster a global community of users to share best practices and to identify technology-based solutions to evolving conservation challenges.

WILDLABS.NET is a new digital portal designed to connect conservationists, technologists, engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to support them to find, share and create effective technology-based solutions to protect threatened wildlife and habitats.

The threats to our natural world have never been greater. Populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish have declined by more than half in the past 40 years. One of the most arduous challenges is stopping the poaching epidemic, with illegal wildlife trade – worth at least $10 billion per year – driving poaching and decimating wildlife populations. Elephants, rhinos, tigers and other animals are being wiped out, while national and regional economies suffer.

The good news is that technology is enabling conservationists to develop new – and to scale up existing – responses to major threats like poaching. However, United for Wildlife partners recognized that the lack of information sharing and direct links between technologists and those working on the front lines of conservation presented a critical barrier to progress. Until now, data and lessons learned from research and development, field tests and implementation of technology tools are often kept within individual organizations.

WILDLABS.NET aims to close the collective information gap.

With a mobile-friendly interface, WILDLABS.NET allows users who range from field-based conservation biologists to engineers in urban hubs to conveniently interact with fellow technology developers, scientists and conservationists on a regular basis. Users can manage their own profile and content, and are able to review and discuss showcased technologies. WILDLABS allows for connectivity and collaboration on a scale never seen before in the conservation technology space.

Ian Ferguson, vice president, worldwide marketing and strategic alliances, ARM, said, “Technology is already being used to help protect the planet’s vital resources and now we are helping to accelerate these advances to protect threatened species and habitats. By bringing together experts from multiple sectors we can create solutions to challenges that have proven impossible to solve in isolation. Whether that is by enabling communities to apply new tools in protecting their natural resources, transforming our understanding of wildlife and natural systems through tracking and listening technologies or supporting the detection and prevention of poaching in protected areas, technology can be a powerful tool for the conservation cause.”

Gavin Shelton, head of conservation labs at Fauna & Flora International (FFI), one of the seven conservation organizations of United for Wildlife, said “There is much cause for optimism as WILDLABS.NET goes live. This is an exciting phase of a deeply collaborative journey with many people from different sectors, geographies and disciplines. We all understand that cooperation is the key to accelerating the pace and scale at which we develop new solutions to biodiversity loss. Through the growing WILDLABS.NET community, we can discover and implement those solutions, together.”

Rachel Kramer, WWF’s senior program officer, wildlife conservation and TRAFFIC, added, “21st century conservation requires breaking out of silos to confront 21^st century threats. We aim to leverage growing global internet access to connect researchers in remote parts of Africa to software engineers in California. We’re building the infrastructure – a vibrant community of experts will make WILDLABS.NET the go-to resource on technology tools that save species.”

To learn more about WILDLABS.NET and to sign up, visit: WILDLABS.NET
 

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ABOUT WILDLABS.NET
WILDLABS.NET, the conservation technology network, has been created in partnership with United for Wildlife and with support from Google.org and ARM. It brings together conservationists, technologists, engineers, data scientists, entrepreneurs and change makers. Together, community users will share information, ideas, tools and resources to discover technology-enabled solutions to some of the biggest conservation challenges facing our planet.

ABOUT UNITED FOR WILDLIFE
United for Wildlife (UfW) is an unprecedented alliance between seven of the world’s most influential conservation organisations and The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. The collaboration between Conservation International (CI), Fauna & Flora International (FFI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), WWF, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and The Royal Foundation hopes to lead the way to substantially increase the global response to major conservation crisis. 

United for Wildlife hopes to bring attention to acute conservation problems, the most pressing of which, as agreed amongst the collaboration, is the rapid escalation of the illegal wildlife trade. This trade is having a devastating effect on wild populations of some of the largest and most iconic species: elephants, rhinos and tigers, plus lesser known animals such as the pangolin.

ABOUT GOOGLE.ORG
Technology has dramatically improved our lives—from the speed at which we get things done to how we connect with others. Yet innovations in medicine, business and communications have far outpaced tech-enabled advances in the nonprofit sector. Google.org supports nonprofit organizations using technology and innovative approaches to tackle some of the toughest global challenges. In 2012, Google.org awarded a $5 million grant to WWF to apply specialized technology tools to disrupt poaching in Asia and Africa. This award is supporting WILDLABS.NET to enhance information sharing and to build community around applied technology.

ABOUT ARM
ARM (LSE: ARM, NASDAQ: ARMH.US) designs technology at the heart of the world's most advanced digital products. We are enabling the development of new markets and transformation of industries and society, invisibly creating opportunity for a globally connected population. Our scalable, energy-efficient processor designs and related technologies deliver intelligence wherever computing happens, ranging from sensors to servers, including smartphones, tablets, digital TVs, enterprise infrastructure and the Internet of Things.

Our innovative technology is licensed by ARM Partners who have shipped more than 75 billion System on Chip (SoCs) containing our intellectual property. ARM has been supporting Fauna & Flora International (FFI) since the beginning of 2014 to scope and design the WILDLABS.NET initiative, in close collaboration with United for Wildlife partners, as a Founding Technology Partner.