On Thursday, 21 November, Informed Solutions was both delighted and proud to sponsor the techUK Tech and Biodiversity Showcase, bringing together experts from across the technology and environmental sectors to explore opportunities and challenges at the intersection of digital innovation and biodiversity conservation, following the landmark United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP16 in October.

The event was a tremendous success, drawing a packed audience of technology and biodiversity experts, at the headquarters of the UK’s leading technology trade body, eager to learn more about and share groundbreaking work being done to protect and restore biodiversity using the latest data science and technology.

What became increasingly clear through the day was, due to the complexity and scale of the issues surrounding biodiversity protection – data, innovation, and collaboration will need to be the central focus to develop and scale solutions that generate impact.

Showcasing Scaling Digital and AI Innovation for Land Management in Scotland

The morning began with a conversation between Dave Genney, Protected Areas and Surveillance Manager at NatureScot, and David Lawton, Informed Solutions Chief Innovation Officer, which focused on NatureScot’s data journey and the role data-science and AI has played in transforming its approaches to sensitive land management across Scotland.

The two experts highlighted how AI and data science are transforming NatureScot’s use of data in two key areas. First, InformedDECISION™ is enhancing decision-making by increasing the speed of planning application processes on sensitive land – reducing the time taken for core elements of evaluating and responding to SSSI consents by up to 75%, with the benefit of freeing up experts’ time to focus their attention on biodiversity interventions and management.  Second, InformedINSIGHT™ has fully reformed NatureScot’s environmental monitoring capability with a fully scalable system that improves efficiency in monitoring, prioritisation, and decision-making for interventions in sensitive and protected areas. These innovations are critical to achieving Scotland’s “30 by 30” targets, which aim to increase protected land in Scotland from 18% to 30% by 2030.

Dave Genney emphasised that the successful national-scaling of these two data-science and AI platforms at NatureScot were the result of a collaborative, one team, user-centred, agile development approach – one that put together, data science and AI expertise alongside the expertise of scientists and sustainable land managers. This approach has been critical in developing solutions that are trusted, scalable and realise operational benefits on the ground.

Panel Discussion: The Future of Biodiversity Tech

The event also saw a panel of experts discussing the challenges and opportunities in advancing biodiversity tech solutions. Speakers included Elizabeth Lane (AWS), Gavin Haughton (DEFRA), Katie Medcalf (Environment Systems), Lesley Wilson (IEMA), and Seth Finegan (Informed Solutions).

A key theme was the critical role of collaboration in harnessing novel technologies and data applications to achieve meaningful biodiversity outcomes. Elizabeth Lane and Gavin Haughton emphasized how the increasing availability of open data is driving innovation across the sector. They highlighted the transformative potential of integrating this data with advanced tools such as camera traps, bioacoustics, and eDNA, which are revolutionizing large-scale biodiversity monitoring. However, scaling these solutions effectively requires collaboration that blends technological and ecological expertise, coupled with a sharp focus on system design and user needs to ensure impactful outcomes.

The discussion also explored challenges like data overload, acknowledging the rapid growth in both the demand for and supply of data and technologies supporting biodiversity efforts. Panellists emphasised that organizations must also focus on better structuring their existing data estates to maximise the value of their current knowledge to enable them to more easily embrace new tools. Drawing on her experiences at the COP16 conference, Lesley Wilson highlighted the increasing recognition of technology as a key enabler for biodiversity protection. She underscored the need for greater government support, particularly in providing education and upskilling opportunities, to help organisations fully leverage advancements in data and technology.

Finally, the evolving interplay between technology and policy was explored. Seth Finegan observed that technological advancements, such as AI and Earth observation tools, are increasingly the shaper of policy decisions, marking a shift in how innovation impacts the field.

As the panel discussion wrapped up, each expert shared their key piece of advice for moving forward. Among the takeaways were the need for even more open data sharing, the importance of continuing to include biodiversity experts in future development to ensure technology is aligned with real-world needs, and the call for government support in making data more accessible to drive innovation.

The Path Forward: Cross-Sector, Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration for Biodiversity

The event underscored the vital role of authentic collaboration in advancing biodiversity conservation. By uniting digital innovation with on-the-ground biodiversity expertise, with public and private sector knowledge, we can create solutions that meet defined needs and common outcomes. The discussions highlighted that scaling these solutions requires a collective effort—one that brings together industry, government, and technology to drive meaningful change.

At Informed Solutions, we remain committed to supporting such collaborations and are excited to continue working with our partners to innovate, implement, and promote tech solutions that can help protect the natural world, as integral to our purpose. As we look to the future, the need for flexible, reconfigurable solutions that can adapt to the ever-evolving challenges of biodiversity management are more important than ever.

The techUK Tech and Biodiversity Showcase was a powerful reminder of the incredible potential of technology to drive positive environmental, societal and organisational change. By continuing to collaborate, innovate, and share knowledge, we can unlock the full potential of technology to make the world a safer, cleaner, greener, and healthier place.

What is exciting about innovation in the biodiversity space is the potential for investment and innovation in this area to cross-pollinate into other sectors. For instance, we see there is a real opportunity for InformedDECISION™ to be applied to a wide variety of organisations that have heavy case management requirements, unstructured and disparate data sources, and the need to make faster decisions based on their available data. Our ambition is to take this trusted, proven, nationally-scaled AI into other highly regulated environments, to new sectors such as planning, civil defence, and healthcare, and realise further benefits this technology offers.

We are excited to see where these conversations lead and look forward to further supporting the development and adoption of high-impact biodiversity technologies.

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