Conservation Mapping

Established: July 9, 2014

Microsoft research developed a tool in collaboration with IUCN, SSC and UAL, to allow the rapid mapping and assessment of species, threats to species and conservation interventions. it is hoped that this tool will improve bottom up conservation monitoring.




RedList assessments and bottom-up conservation mapping

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The Conservation Mapping Tool allows web based, collaborative, mapping and assessment of species, threats to species and conservation interventions.

 

It is hoped that the tool will  transform the use of the Red List™ and the setting of conservation priorities and policies.

Details

As biodiversity loss accelerates around the world, scientists (including those at Microsoft) are racing to measure how fast species are going extinct, and to predict and prioritize which species are most in need of conservation interventions.

These efforts require assessments that depend on expert knowledge of a species’ biology, as well as currently lacking spatial information on (1) the processes threatening a species’ persistence and (2) conservation actions taken to protect the species.

Microsoft Research have teamed up with The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to tackle the problem of lacking spatial data.

The oldest and largest global environmental network, the IUCN provides the Red List of Threatened Species™. The Red List™ is recognized as the most authoritative source of information on the conservation status of the world’s animals and plants, and is the result of an exhaustive process engaging species experts around the world to contribute their knowledge and time to assessing the status of individual species.

Through the IUCN partnership and support from Microsoft Research Outreach, we have created a web-based mapping application to transform the use of the Red List™ and the setting of conservation priorities and policies. The Conservation Mapping Tool will not only provide a spatial database linking species ranges, conservation status, and protected areas. It will also provide an exceptionally easy to use interface allowing species experts to map out the threats to the species they are assessing, and to discover threat information compiled by other species experts from around the world.