Supporting ecosystem conservation with Connected Conservation Foundation
Providing very high-resolution satellite imagery to help protect biodiversity
Our partnership with the Connected Conservation Foundation in 2025:
- 8 countries covered with 12,204 km2 of VHR imagery to support effective ecosystem and biodiversity actions
- 19 organisations benefited from 18,446 km2 of VHR satellite imagery since 2022
Andean bear in Manu Biosphere Reserve, tracked using satellite imagery and GPS collar data (photo credit Saulo Lima Callapiña)
For an elephant, 30 centimetres might feel like an insignificant distance – it barely covers one of its footprints. But for a conservationist urgently trying to save elephants from extinction, 30 centimetres makes a critical difference.
Standard resolution Earth observation capabilities are available for free or at a low cost. They map the Earth at 10-30 metres per pixel, providing limited information. However, by using very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery with 30-centimetre pixels, conservationists can determine precisely what draws elephants to particular habitats. These insights can lead to improved land management practices and reduced conflict between elephants – and other endangered wildlife – and humans.
Through our partnership with the Connected Conservation Foundation (CCF), we provide VHR satellite imagery to environmental NGOs. Together with the CCF, we run the unique Satellites for Biodiversity Award, which gives organisations access to precision Earth observation technology, AI and ground data that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive.
It is a powerful way to leverage aerospace technology to help conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems under threat, while strengthening community knowledge and resilience. Now in its fourth year, the programme has enabled 19 organisations to benefit from 18,446 km2 of VHR satellite imagery.
Combining earth observation, AI and field insights for improved conservation impacts
Elephants often find themselves at the forefront of human-wildlife conflicts. Roaming vast areas and competing with communities for scarce forest resources, they can ruin crops and damage livelihoods. As Japheth Kimeu, Geographic Information System (GIS) & Data Science Specialist at the CCF, says, “VHR imagery means we can look closely at elevation, slope, water sources and vegetation. We can see where elephants have broken down fences to enter farmland, and we can create safer ‘elephant corridors’ for them to pass through.”
Elephant family in Namibia; movements mapped using VHR satellite imagery in Africa (photo credit Elephant-Human Aid Relations)
Over the last three years, winners of the Satellites for Biodiversity Award have used VHR insights to support the protection of elephants in countries such as Thailand, Namibia and South Sudan. Many other species have also benefited, including the giant pangolin, chimpanzee, Ethiopian wolf and Andean bear, through projects across Asia, Africa and South America.
According to Sophie Maxwell, Director of the CCF, the pioneering use of technology has been a “game-changer” for conservation NGOs. “The unique strength of the Airbus Foundation partnership is combining this VHR satellite imagery with on-the-ground field data – eyes in the sky and boots on the ground. With validation from the conservation teams working in the area and input from the local community, it’s a truly holistic approach that’s making an impact in the conservation sector.”
Improving outcomes for wildlife and communities
International wildlife conservation NGO Fauna & Flora illustrated the scale of this impact with a project in South Sudan. Using satellite imagery provided by the Airbus Foundation, they produced the first AI-driven VHR land-cover maps for the Bangangai and Bire Kpatuos regions, mapping 1,855 km2 of landscape.
Insights around emerging threats to forests and wetlands, such as crop encroachment and slash-and-burn agriculture, are now informing conservation planning, ranger patrol prioritisation and the design of community conservation buffer zones. Information from the project is also providing a critical baseline dataset to support future biodiversity monitoring and conservation investment in the region.
“It has provided insights on a scale we have previously been unable to achieve,” explained Harriet Branson, Technical Specialist, Remote Sensing & GIS at Fauna & Flora. “These lessons will be applied again and again in our other projects on the frontline of the biodiversity crisis.”
In the Manu Biosphere, Peruvian NGO Conservación Amazónica combined VHR satellite imagery with GPS data collected from the collars of six Andean bears – a species listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat loss.
Analysing 953 km2 of habitat, they identified human-wildlife conflict ‘hotspots’ where the bears encountered farmed livestock in shrubland and grassland areas. Outputs from the project now guide community conservation activities, with Indigenous women leading efforts to restore habitats and support the coexistence of bears and humans.
Ranger using predictive tech to identify snaring hotspots in Uganda (photo credit Connected Conservation Foundation)
Building capacity for sector-wide knowledge sharing : The Ecosystem Insights Hub
As our partnership with the CCF grows, so too does our focus on building capacity. In his role as GIS & Data Science Specialist, which we co-fund, Japheth supports conservation partners to improve their knowledge of satellite image analysis and VHR-enhanced project design methodologies.
Each year, we see the widening impact of this knowledge sharing as more case studies are added to the Ecosystems Insights Hub on the CCF’s website. The Hub has become a showcase for turning experimental approaches into mature, field-tested actions to conserve natural ecosystems.
Each new entry helps break down technical barriers and increase knowledge – such as the Langland Conservation and the Pangolin Project in Nyakweri Forest, Kenya, which demonstrates a low-cost, replicable AI workflow that can be adopted by conservation organisations around the world.
More widely still, this credible visual and landscape-scale data is being used to unlock funding, inform policy discussions and support meaningful engagement with governments and communities. Highlights from the Hub include:
- The elephant-human relations project that is supporting the expansion of corridor conservation initiatives in collaboration with Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.
- The Sai Yok National Park project, whose habitat-risk maps and predictive models are now being shared with conservation organisations and government stakeholders to inform conservation planning.
A new call for nature-based solutions
Working with the CCF to build capacity among conservation NGOs has helped us learn more about how to channel aerospace expertise to meet global conservation priorities. In 2025, these insights helped us launch a new Airbus Foundation call for projects on the theme, ‘Harnessing aerospace capabilities for nature-based climate resilience: enhancing life on land and water.’
Ethiopian landscape from winning WeForest project entry (photo credit Connected Conservation Foundation and WeForest)
The seven winning entries showed outstanding ambition to address a range of challenges, such as mitigating and adapting to climate change, reforestation, protecting and restoring ecosystems, enhancing food security and improving human wellbeing. They will receive € 10,000, access to VHR satellite imagery, helicopter flight hours, expert guidance and promotion through global networks.
The awards are a partnership with the Solar Impulse Foundation, experts in promoting nature-based projects that deliver efficient and scalable environmental impact, and Space4Good, a team of impact-driven scientists, remote sensing and GIS experts.