Software and mobile applications are equally as important to conservation technology as the hardware used in the field. Increasingly developed specifically for #tech4wildlife needs, there are mobile apps and software options designed to help with protected area management, wildlife crime reporting, and anti-poaching patrol planning, data analysis, community science, data visualization and GIS mapping, outreach and engagement, and even conservation storytelling.
Likewise, mobile games have opened up new avenues for engaging the public in conservation efforts, allowing for immersive storytelling and interactive experiences. By combining cutting-edge technology and important conservation information with a media form already familiar to the public, conservationists are finding exciting ways to make audiences feel personally invested in critical species and habitats.
Whether you're looking for software and mobile app developers to help you with your own conservation tech needs, you have questions about development, you're looking for resources, or you'd like to share your own app, software, or gaming tools, this is the group for you!
Header photo: Trevor Hebert
The Domain Awareness System (DAS) is a revolution in monitoring technology, creating real-time awareness of protected areas assets. This technology has the potential to completely change standard monitoring procedures...
26 September 2017
Welcome to an installment of a new series from the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge in which we will be sharing updates from their 16 Prize Winners who are working to combat wildlife crime around the globe. This fourth...
17 August 2017
With the craze around Pokémon Go in 2016 and the recent release of Apple’s AR Kit, augmented reality is coming out of the shadow of its sexier twin, virtual reality. The opportunities for using AR to engage audiences...
19 July 2017
Frustrated by the limitations of the tools that were available for managing large camera trap data sets, Heidi Hendry and Chris Mann set out to develop something that met their needs, and thus, Camelot was born. In...
7 July 2017
Funding
The European Space Agency is calling for Kick-Start ideas to leverage space technology for wildlife protection. Three main topics of interest have been identified: 1) Wildlife monitoring, tracking and inventory, 2)...
5 July 2017
When developing and deploying new technologies, something things do not go according to plan. The difficult road leading to success and the hard won lessons learnt along the way are seldom shared, and unfortunately more...
21 June 2017
In this From the Field interview, we speak to Eric Becker, a conservation technology engineer at the World Wildlife Fund US. He talks about his work in technology design and the key challenges he's experienced...
22 May 2017
Welcome to the first installment of a new series from the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge in which we will be sharing updates from their 16 Prize Winners who are working to combat wildlife crime around the globe. This...
11 May 2017
Article
In 2016, Cambodia reached a landmark for marine conservation when a 405 km2 Marine Fisheries Management Area was declared around the islands of Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem, creating the country’s first large-scale...
8 May 2017
In this From the Field interview, we speak to Dr. Raman Sukumar, a world renowned expert on Asian elephant conservation. He shares his thoughts on how technology could be used for mitigating elephant-human conflict, and...
5 April 2017
Are you ready for this year's #Tech4Wildlife Photo Challenge? In anticipation, we're counting down our ten favourite entries from last year. Do you think you can top these?
1 March 2017
The Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) is a training and capacity building programme that targets individuals from developing countries who are early in their conservation career and demonstrate leadership...
21 November 2016
July 2024
event
October 2024
January 2023
event
October 2022
event
July 2021
40 Products
Recently updated products
Kid-friendly wildlife apps
4 November 2016 4:16pm
15 November 2016 4:47pm
Hi Katzyna,
Not an app, but United for Wildlife are releasing a new free online course on the illegal wildlife trade on the 17th that has Vietnamese subtitles and transcripts available. The website with the course is here: http://learn.unitedforwildlife.org/ but the new course won't be live until the 17th. I am happy to send you some further information on this if you would like?
Just let me know!
15 November 2016 6:32pm
Hi katzyna,
Of those I know, there are none that meets the two criteria that interest you. For example, Wildscan allows you to report illegal wildlife trafficking in Asia, but I don't consider it as kid friendly. Maybe WildSense, to save tigers, or even the app of WWF are more suitable. Also you can take a look to Virry, from UK, or QuestaGame, from Australia.
Best,
Judit
5 Smart Technologies That Will Crack Down On Wildlife Trafficking
14 November 2016 12:00am
Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act grants via USFWS
8 November 2016 12:00am
How do Wildlife Crime Experts view Remote Sensing Technologies used to Combat Illegal Wildlife Crime?
7 November 2016 12:00am
Zoohackathon: 'END LOOP - Coding to end wildlife trafficking'
22 September 2016 12:00am
Engaging this community
23 August 2016 8:27am
Request for Expression of Interest for Individual Consultants to Conduct Remote Sensing and Geospatial Analysis
4 August 2016 12:00am
Video: Discover the SMART Approach
20 July 2016 12:00am
Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge Accelerator Bootcamp
24 June 2016 12:00am
Sustainable Palm Oil Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT)
8 June 2016 12:00am
Internet of Elephants game play survey
16 May 2016 7:44am
TEAM Network and Wildlife Insights
28 April 2016 12:00am
Can UAVs be Used to Measure Forest Quality?
27 April 2016 12:00am
ContentMine: Mining Helpful Facts for Conservation
5 April 2016 12:00am
Games for change Climate Challenge: A $10,000 game design competition
17 March 2016 2:03pm
4 April 2016 9:33am
Hah! I just logged in to post this. I talked with the G4C people the other day. Thanks fo beating me to it.
The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART)
15 March 2016 12:00am
Ecotech Grants from the Captain Planet Foundation
18 February 2016 12:00am
Upcoming Courses on Coding
10 February 2016 12:00am
Playing with Complexity: Games and Systems Thinking
13 January 2016 12:00am
Can gaming help conservation? - Wildsense Tiger App
27 November 2015 11:01am
28 December 2015 7:09pm
Hi Steph,
Thanks for your message. I would be delighted to answer your question about Wildsense.
You are correct that our aim is to do a lot more than raise awareness and engange citizens with our Wildsense Tigers game.
We are using images from a range of image sharing websites that have been uploaded by people online and publicly shared. Each photograph contains valuable information that often includes the time and location that the photograph is taken. If we can understand when a photo was taken, where it was taken, and the individual animal in the photograph, then we can start to build up a picture of the movement of individuals. We are benefiting from people power from the users that are both indirectly uploading photographs online and also directly interacting with our Wildsense game. We are combining this with computing power with our data analysis, computer vision and machine learning software.
We are doing this experiment on a large scale and we believe that "the wisdom of the crowd" will enable us to gather and analyse enough information so that we can build an accurate picture. We started with wild tigers and our plan is to create a platform that can be used for other species as well. We are working on other animals already behind the scenes.
I hope that answers your question.
Best wishes,
Aaron Mason
11 January 2016 1:29pm
Hi Aaron,
It's a great concept of using gaming for the benefit of conservation, but I do have one big question about Wildsense and tigers. Since poaching is one of the main threats to the 3,000 or so remaining wildl tigers, there are great risks involved with publicizing the location and timing of any tiger sightings.
Furthermore, this approach can probably only work for Bengal tigers, since other tiger species, such as Sumatran and Malayan, are very rarely sighted, even by the most dedicated conservationists ( or poachers), as their jungle habitat is so dense. For Bengal Tigers, there are already ventures for online monitoring and identificaton, such as Tigernation.org.
Good luck with your project. Barbara from BiodiversityBusiness.
11 January 2016 6:33pm
Hi Barbara,
You are right in that cyberpoaching is becoming an increasing risk. I have seen various cases where information posted on social media has provided too much information and then ended up in the wrong hands (e.g. http://www.army.mil/article/75165/Geotagging_poses_security_risks/).
We need to be careful about the accuracy of information that is disclosed. Providing an approximate time and location seems to be the most popular adopted approach.
Hacking is another issue. For example, I have seen research demonstrating the potential to gain unauthrised access to GPS collar data.
Our main focus has been the Bengal Tiger but we want to see how much we can learn about other tigers as well. Our end goal is to support a range of animal species.
P.S. I am pleased that you are aware of http://www.tigernation.org - I co-founded it :)
Mobile Phone Reporting for Rapid Wildlife Health Response in Uganda
22 December 2015 12:00am
Gaming for Good: Minecraft and Quiz Up
3 December 2015 12:00am
Case Study: Gaming for Good with Runescape and Angry Birds
26 November 2015 10:55am
Gaming for Good: Runescape and Angry Birds
25 November 2015 12:00am
From Data Collection to Decisions
6 November 2015 12:00am
9 November 2016 11:54am
Hi Katzyna, we have an app called Instant Wild where you can see camera trap images coming in and help identify what is in them - you can take a look/find out more at http://www.edgeofexistence.org/instantwild
Chloe