Biodiversity drives the well-being and resilience of Earth’s natural systems and the
species that depend upon them. Protected areas – accounting for 15% of terrestrial
and 8% of marine ecosystems globally – serve as the foundation of biodiversity
conservation. However, to be effective, protected areas must also be well managed and
sufficiently resourced. Unfortunately, most protected areas today lack critical capacity
to meet their conservation objectives.
While SMART has made significant strides in improving the management of protected
areas, threats to biodiversity and habitats continue to escalate and protected area
managers are faced with constantly changing needs and priorities. It is therefore
essential that the SMART Partnership intensify its efforts to make its suite of
technologies and support services as practical, effective and adaptable as possible,
promote the use of SMART around the world, strengthen the capacity of practitioners
to employ it, and build a global community of SMART users and stakeholders. Software
alone will not solve the biodiversity crisis, but the combination of our cutting edge
technology, well-trained staff, relevant data, and a global network of conservation
practitioners offers a proven, uniquely powerful solution to ensure the survival of the
earth’s biodiversity for generations to come.
We invite you to join us on this journey.