Talia Speaker

WILDLABS is the global conservation technology network, connecting over 10,000 individuals worldwide who use and make technology like eDNA, bioacoustics, wildlife tracking devices, AI, and more for biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Built by a partnership of four leading conservation organisations, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund, we build bridges and catalyze collaboration to accelerate technology solutions for conservation impact.

We are thrilled to partner with CITES and the United Nations again for World Wildlife Day 2025. This year's theme, "Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet," is close to our hearts.

At WILDLABS, we witness the myriad of innovative solutions being developed to protect and preserve wildlife. Across the globe, the groups developing, adopting, and scaling these tools need better-targeted resources to advance their work and leverage solutions for impact, including funding, support networks, and capacity-building programmes.

We are honoured to play a key role in identifying, building, and delivering these services to the conservation technology community. Over the past 10 years, WILDLABS has developed innovative funding mechanisms like the WILDLABS Awards and the Boring Fund based on the needs we have identified in the sector. The world benefits when these projects receive the proper support for development, maintenance, and dissemination. Whether through traditional funding models or emerging mechanisms, investments are essential to addressing the global biodiversity crisis.

We are eager to share insights from our experience funding and financing wildlife conservation innovation this World Wildlife Day. The stories shared during this year’s event will highlight the profound impact that strategic, unconventional resourcing can have on biodiversity conservation and prove that we can find better ways of investing in a sustainable future for both people and the planet.