Conservation goes high tech
TORONTO, ON, September 18, 2019 —Today, WWF-Canada released an exciting new platform featuring the cutting-edge technology that is driving our key conservation work. The Living Planet Technology Hub shows how these innovative technology tools can strategically help address WWF-Canada’s conservation priorities.
As climate change and habitat loss put pressure on our planet, advances in science and technology have the potential to help us keep up with and even get ahead of the planet’s most challenging environmental issues.
From monitoring endangered humpback whales using acoustic devises, to mapping out Canada’s carbon storage with remote sensing, these tools are enhancing current data and are an indispensable part of conservation work today.
About the Generation Water Tech Challenge
WWF-Canada’s freshwater program is working towards ensuring Canada’s waters are healthy. Our 2017 Watershed Reports identified two priority problems for Canada’s fresh water: high threats to urban watersheds and missing data across the country. To achieve this goal, we need to reduce the impacts of urban communities on our fresh water ecosystems, and have accurate, and trustworthy data. Collecting data on the health and state of our watersheds will become increasingly important for making decisions in a warming world.
The Generation Water Tech Challenge is looking for bold, innovative and transformative ideas that will help us tackle these two major issues and help us achieve our goals of healthy waters. We welcome technology-enabled solutions using hardware and/or software to achieve conservation outcomes.
Applications will be accepted until Friday, November 15th, 2019. The top five projects will each receive an awards package to bring their idea to light, which includes a grant, a spot in the Centre for Social Innovation’s Climate Ventures: Earth Tech accelerator, and ongoing support from WWF-Canada’s freshwater team (each of the five-awards packages valued at approximately $50,000). For more information regarding awards and regulations, please click here.
James Snider, WWF-Canada’s vice presidents of science, research and innovation says:
“It’s not just about using technology — it’s about using it strategically to address the most pressing conservation priorities in Canada. With the help of the latest tools, we’re filling crucial data gaps, identifying the most important habitats and protecting the amazing diversity of species across this country.”
Elizabeth Hendriks, WWF-Canada’s vice president of freshwater conservation says:
“Safeguarding Canada’s watersheds is critical for the wellbeing of wildlife and communities now and into the uncertain future of climate change. Whether it is by addressing the impacts of people in cities or providing access to readily available and accurate data, these new technological tools will help ensure that all of Canada’s waters are healthy.
About World Wildlife Fund Canada
WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.
For more information contact:
Alexandra del Castello, Associate specialist, communications
[email protected], 647 264 6996
