Session summary
This GeoField 2026 conservation practice session explores how geospatial data can support conservation strategy, protected area operations, coastal planning, and development finance transparency. The presentations focus on practical data systems, indicators, and workflows that help institutions make better decisions about land, ecosystems, and conservation investments.
Moderator: Alison Lenaerts
Beyond Isolation: Operationalizing Connectivity Indicators to Measure Conservation Impact in WWF Priority Landscapes
Helga Kuechly and Bakari Mtili present WWF’s work on a scalable indicator for ecological connectivity. The pilot focuses on the Southern Kenya–Northern Tanzania transboundary landscape, where the team compares species-specific connectivity models with a broader indicator based on human footprint and human modification data. The presentation highlights the need for indicators that are simple and scalable enough for portfolio-level monitoring, while still capturing meaningful changes in wildlife movement and corridor connectivity.
Spatial Data for Conservation: Linking Research and Operational Management in Madagascar
Ollier Duranton Andrianambinina presents Madagascar National Parks’ work to connect geospatial research with protected area management. The presentation discusses locally calibrated forest maps, corrected protected area boundaries, satellite fire and deforestation alerts, field verification, ranger reporting, and communication systems for remote protected areas. The session shows how operational platforms can help protected area managers respond to threats and move toward predictive monitoring of fire and deforestation risk.
Integrating Geospatial Modelling and Field-Based Evidence for Climate-Responsive Conservation Planning in Coastal Haiti
Marie-Aude Even and Michelle Latham present an emerging workflow for climate-responsive conservation planning in coastal Haiti. Focusing on the Inclusive Blue Economy project and the AP3B marine and coastal protected area, the presentation explores how project location data, ecosystem indicators, climate risk evidence, field validation, and stakeholder knowledge can support zoning, investment planning, and monitoring in coastal landscapes.
Linking Development Data to Impact: Using Open Digital Tools to Map Land Investments
Charl-Thom Bayer presents a Land Portal dashboard prototype for linking development finance data to land governance and potential geospatial analysis. Using International Aid Transparency Initiative data and LandVoc terms, the tool helps identify who is funding land-related work, where investments are going, and what kinds of projects are being supported. The dashboard is designed to export filtered results for use in GIS workflows and to strengthen connections between finance, project locations, land governance evidence, and open data systems.
Together, the session shows that practical geospatial work in conservation depends on more than satellite imagery alone. Useful systems require locally calibrated data, corrected boundaries, field validation, communication channels for frontline staff, stakeholder knowledge, open data standards, and tools that connect finance, activities, and outcomes.