​​​On behalf of the SMART Partnership, I'm excited to share with you our 2018 Annual Report, which details the incredible progress we’ve made in 2018 and previews developments planned for SMART in 2019 and beyond.

SMART has continued to evolve and grow over the past year to meet the needs of the conservation community. We’ve completed major enhancements to the SMART software application, and we’ve seen strong and consistent growth in the number of sites and countries adopting SMART, as well as in the positive impacts SMART is having around the world. It’s effectiveness has made it the global leader for protected area management solutions — now used at more than 765 sites across more than 60 countries and adopted as the national tool for protected area management in 14 countries.

Much of our success in SMART is a direct result of the incredible diversity within our global user community and the range of ways they are using SMART to solve conservation problems. From coordinating national deployments of forest monitoring programs to quantifying fisheries offtake across marine protected area systems, we are excited to see the conservation community embrace the platform and make it their own. 

These successes would not have been possible without the support of the SMART Community, so we want to extend our gratitude to all of you - our collaborators, partners, colleagues, and friends - for your contributions to SMART’s continued success and growth. 

We are looking forward to another year supporting the needs of the conservation community, and to helping to protect wildlife and secure a future for nature.