This year’s theme of World Wildlife Day “Connecting People and Planet: Exploring Digital Innovation in Wildlife Conservation” emphasizes the need to harness and optimize evolving digital technologies to safeguard our planet's biodiversity.
As we witness the impacts of the climate crisis, habitat loss and food insecurity, the urgency for innovative solutions has never been more urgent.
Digital technology and cutting-edge monitoring tools using satellite imagery, among others, allow us to collect valuable real-time data on wildlife, enabling better-informed and quicker decisions.
FAO supports both traditional knowledge and wildlife conservation approaches based on digital technologies.
We need to consult, engage, and collaborate with local communities living near wildlife habitats so they can benefit from technological progress.
Our commitment is put into action through initiatives like the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme aimed at promoting innovative models at scale that protect wildlife and ecosystems, while improving the lives and food security of those who depend on them.
The Programme combines a real-world laboratory and data analyses for developing and testing digital innovations, collecting thousands of images and videos of wildlife to support sustainable management.
Together, we can forge a future where technology is a driving force for the sustainable management of wildlife, for the benefit of rural communities and our planet.
Thank you.