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The abundance of life on Earth is being driven to extinction. In its most comprehensive finding to date, WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, shows an average 69% decline in wildlife populations around the world. The natural ecosystems that sustain biodiversity are fragile and under threat. 

Connected Conservation Foundation and The Airbus Foundation are inviting individuals and not-for-profit organisations to apply to a new grant programme. 

Winners will receive access to the most advanced optical satellite imagery at 30cm spatial resolution from Airbus Pléiades Neo and 50cm from Pléiades, alongside $5,000 USD of financial funding.  

What can this enable? 

Access to Earth Observation imagery is growing, alongside increasing coverage, image resolution and frequency of acquisition. Supporting organisations are keen to explore the species and situations where these exciting technologies can accelerate conservation efforts.

Proposed solutions could include: wildlife monitoring of colonies and groups of species in hard-to-reach areas, mapping wildlife habitats, supporting protected areas for sustainable management of resources, understanding migration routes and changing human settlements to help improve human and wildlife coexistence.

Applicants are welcome to apply to monitor species across homogenous landscapes and seascapes - where the objects of interest have a strong contrast to stand out within their background environment. 

Do you have the right project for us? 

Are you and/or your team exploring remote sensing in biodiversity monitoring? Are you researching new ways to harness the potential of a new generation of satellites to preserve some of our most majestic species? If the answer is yes, then we want to hear from you. 

What will winning participants receive? 

• A tasking budget to use Pléiades Neo 30cm (up to 1,000km2) and Pléiades 50cm Data (up to 2,000km2). These Km2 ranges are guidelines and proposals over this will still be considered.
• A maximum of $5,000 USD
• Access to Airbus’ Image Archive Library on request  
• Support, cloud resources and guidance from Connected Conservation Foundation & Airbus Foundation
• Esri software, along with a pipeline of AI models, to extend the creation, analysis, and sharing of spatial data

How to apply? 

Our Satellites for Biodiversity Award is now open. To get started, complete our lightweight application here by Friday 3rd of February 2023. THIS GRANT IS NOW CLOSED. We aim to contact the winners in April. 

Participants may be asked to provide further details regarding their submissions via a phone call or email. 

Eligibility criteria 

We encourage broad participation and applications from global not-for-profit organisations or individuals who: 

• Have a local partner available to help validate field-based insight and data. 
• Have experience using GeoSpatial data and Esri software (or similar) either themselves or within the organisation’s partnerships. 
• Have adequate resources and expertise to conduct research and development activities.
• Are willing to make data available in line with the procedures and principles (see Terms and Conditions). 

Terms and conditions 

Please read our following terms and conditions before applying to the Satellites for Biodiversity Conservation Grant. You can view them here. By submitting an entry for consideration, the submitting individual or organisation agrees to the following Terms & Conditions.