Upcoming projects

Upcoming projects

A growing hub

We’re continuing to support groundbreaking global projects from our Round 3 and Round 4 Satellites for Biodiversity award winners as they develop their write-ups, which will be published on the Ecosystem Insight Hub in the coming months.

Dugong and Seagrass Research Station: Mapping Seagrass Meadows and Dugongs on Thailand’s Andaman Coast

This collaboration sets out to protect one of the ocean’s most elusive mammals—the dugong—by safeguarding seagrass meadows along Thailand’s Andaman Coast. Using high-resolution satellite imagery, drones, citizen science and machine learning, the team will map seagrass distribution, monitor dugong populations and pinpoint critical habitats for restoration. The findings aim to reveal the links between habitat loss and dugong decline, while guiding conservation strategies such as community-led monitoring and coastal restoration initiatives. By bridging advanced technology with local knowledge, the project will inform national strategies for biodiversity protection, carbon sequestration and climate resilience.

Conservation X Labs: Defending Giant Sequoia Forests Against Bark Beetles in California

This project aims to protect the world’s largest trees—the Giant Sequoias—now threatened by drought and bark beetle outbreaks. Using AI and high-resolution satellite imagery, the team aims to develop an early warning system that detects infestations before they spread. By adapting the open-source Scout platform, Conservation X Labs will scan canopy health for early signs of decline, delivering rapid alerts to land managers. The findings will guide targeted treatments such as insecticide injections, while empowering park services and coalitions with scalable tools to safeguard these ancient carbon-storing giants and boost their resilience in a changing climate.

Wildlife Conservation Trust: Protecting Riverine Ecosystems in the Gangetic Basin

Aiming to safeguard the last nesting habitats of ancient reptiles—the gharial and endangered river turtles—within India’s Gangetic Basin. Using high-resolution satellite imagery, AI, and field validation, the team will map and monitor critical sandbanks and islands that are vital for basking, nesting, and hatching. By tracking seasonal habitat changes caused by flooding, sand mining and encroachment, the project aims to provide actionable data to inform conservation strategies and enforcement. Through community engagement and sustainable livelihoods, it seeks to curb illegal practices, offset habitat loss and build resilience for rivers, wetlands and the threatened species that depend on them.

Victoria University of Wellington: Southern Royal Albatross Conservation on Campbell Island

Seeks to protect the world’s largest breeding population of Southern Royal Albatross, found almost entirely on Campbell Island in New Zealand’s subantarctic. Using very high-resolution satellite imagery and deep learning, researchers will detect nests, estimate population sizes and monitor breeding success. Field-collected GPS nest data will validate AI models, distinguishing active from abandoned nests. By automating monitoring, the project reduces reliance on costly expeditions while delivering vital insights into population trends and threats such as climate change and fisheries bycatch. The findings are hoped to guide long-term conservation strategies and scalable seabird protection worldwide.

Wild Chimpanzee Foundation: Restoring Ecosystems After Infrastructure Projects in Guinea

This project aims to protect Western chimpanzees and African forest elephants threatened by new infrastructure, including a railway cutting through Guinea’s forthcoming Pinselli-Soyah-Sabouyah National Park. Using high-resolution satellite imagery and AI-driven models, the team will detect waste sites, borrow pits and informal settlements disrupting critical habitats. By integrating satellite intelligence with on-the-ground patrol data, the project will deliver faster, more targeted restoration strategies while easing pressure on field teams. The findings aim to mitigate immediate impacts on endangered species and create a scalable, data-driven model for monitoring development projects across tropical ecosystems worldwide.

The Innovation for Conservation Programme & University of Cumbria: Predicting Snaring Hotspots in Murchison Falls

This project seeks to protect wildlife in Uganda’s largest national park from one of its gravest threats: wire snares. By combining high-resolution satellite imagery with predictive modelling, researchers strive to identify vegetation patterns and landscape features linked to snaring activity, helping pinpoint hotspots for ranger patrols. Integrated into EarthRanger, these insights will enable adaptive, data-driven anti-poaching strategies, reducing wildlife fatalities among lions, elephants, giraffes and antelopes. Complementing enforcement, the Snares to Wares initiative transforms confiscated wires into sculptures, providing former poachers with sustainable livelihoods and strengthening community-led conservation around Murchison Falls.

Yayasan Ekosistem Lestari (YEL): Rainforest deforestation resilience for the world’s rarest great ape – the Tapanuli orangutan in Batang Toru, Indonesia

The Tapanuli orangutan survives only in the forests of Batang Toru, where deforestation, habitat fragmentation, flooding and landslides threaten its remaining habitat. YEL will use 30 cm satellite imagery to monitor forest change, identify emerging threats and support restoration efforts to protect one of the planet’s most irreplaceable species.

Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance: Connecting community-managed forests for clouded leopards of Nagaland, India

Across Nagaland’s community-managed forests, local communities are protecting landscapes that support clouded leopards and a rich diversity of wildlife. VHR satellite data will provide a high-detail view of forest conditions across fragmented landscapes, helping detect changes, map habitat connectivity, and guide sustainable landscape management — strengthening approaches where communities lead conservation action.

Nirvana Carbon Foundation & UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network: Healing the Aral Sea desert,  Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

The shrinking of the Aral Sea is one of the most significant examples of human-driven environmental degradation. The exposed seabed has created the Aralkum Desert, generating toxic dust storms that threaten communities, wildlife and fragile ecosystems. Using high-resolution Pléiades imagery, the teams will monitor large-scale restoration and re-greening efforts, including the planting of Black Saxaul and White Saxaul to stabilise soils, reduce dust emissions and restore habitat. The imagery will help measure progress over time and identify opportunities to accelerate ecological recovery across the landscape.

Uganda Conservation Foundation: Building resilient landscapes around Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to iconic wildlife, including its renowned tree-climbing lions, yet conserving this unique ecosystem depends on maintaining a delicate balance between people, livestock and wildlife. Using 30cm high-resolution satellite imagery, this project will provide detailed monitoring of the invasive sicklebush, cogon grass, carrot weed and wildlife movements, helping to target restoration efforts and strengthen coexistence across the landscape.

CONICET-UNComa: Recovering wetlands for the endangered ruddy-headed goose in Patagonia, Argentina and Chile

Patagonia’s wetlands provide critical breeding, feeding and refuge areas for the ruddy-headed goose, one of South America’s most threatened waterbirds. However, habitat degradation, changing land use, invasive predators, and historic threats such as poaching have reduced suitable habitat for the species. This project will combine VHR satellite imagery with field conservation measures, including artificial nesting islands, to map wetland conditions, identify restoration priorities and monitor ecosystem change, supporting targeted action and long-term protection for the ruddy-headed goose across Argentina and Chile.