According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet 2020 Report, the world has lost two-thirds of its wildlife in the past 50 years.

This devastating decline is linked to human activities such as poaching, habitat loss, climate change and human-wildlife conflict. To prevent any further loss of our planet’s precious wildlife, many conservationists have turned to technology to help monitor, protect, and learn more about endangered species, their habitats and the resources required to save them from extinction.  

The Conservation Technology Award established by Vulcan Inc. aims to support organizations who are developing and using technology to make a positive impact in conservation. Vulcan will award two grants of $15,000 USD each to further the deployment of technology in various conservation management aspects, including protection of endangered animals, monitoring ecological changes, animal behavioral research and human-wildlife coexistence. This award program was inspired by the work of EarthRanger, a protected area management software developed by a team of technologists to support protected area managers, ecologists, and wildlife biologists in staying informed and making operational decisions for conservation. EarthRanger will become part of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in the fall of 2021.