Social and Political Implications of Conservation Technology

Overview

The conservation sector is rapidly adopting new digital technologies for monitoring, analysis and direct intervention. These innovations have great potential to support conservation, but can also generate unintended social and environmental consequences at different scales.

CRI research explores these impacts, helping to understand how emerging technologies can be developed and applied responsibly.

Understanding the Human Impacts of Conservation Technology

At a local level, Dr Trishant Simlai investigated the use of camera traps for wildlife monitoring in park-adjacent communities in north India.

The research has generated wider discussion in India about the social and political implications of conservation technologies. It has also contributed to legal scrutiny of wildlife surveillance practices, including a case brought before the Supreme Court of India concerning privacy and rights in communities affected by these technologies.

Shaping the Future of AI in Conservation

At a global level, Professor Chris Sandbrook has been studying the implications of artificial intelligence for conservation.

He helped develop an IUCN Congress resolution calling for a global policy framework on how AI can be used to benefit conservation while minimising associated risks. The resolution was supported by more than 95% of members at the IUCN Global Congress in 2025, and he is now working with the IUCN to support its implementation.

Impact

Together, these projects demonstrate CRI’s cross-cutting approach:

• Bringing together disciplines, organisations and perspectives through transdisciplinary collaboration with Cambridge Conservation Initiative partners and beyond.
• Understanding the role and impacts of innovative technologies in conservation.
• Embedding equity and justice at the heart of conservation innovation, particularly for vulnerable people.