By Gal Zanir and Sasha Sebright, Digital Disruption and the Future of Conservation project team - last updated on 8 August 2023.
   

Welcome to the ‘Digital Disruption for Conservation’ toolkit! This toolkit is made available by the Digital Disruption and the Future of Conservation project team at Unearthodox. It is designed to provide conservation practitioners with an introduction to Web 3.0 and AI concepts and their potential use for nature conservation. If you’ve ever wondered what innovations like blockchain, smart contracts, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), the metaverse, and artificial intelligence are all about, and how we can use them to leverage conservation efforts, then you’re in the right place!

We understand that Web 3.0 and AI concepts can seem a bit overwhelming at times. For this reason, our toolkit is thoughtfully designed to clarify the terms, opportunities and challenges associated with these transformative technologies so that their potential for nature and society can be optimised.

Moving through the toolkit, you will find that each chapter is divided into five sections:

• ‘Down to basics’, providing an initial overview of the concept
• ‘Down the rabbit hole’, illustrating some potential use cases for conservation
• ‘What’s out there’, showcasing existing use cases in conservation projects
• ‘Things to keep in mind’, highlighting key considerations that conservation organisations should make before experimenting with the concept
• ‘Further resources’, referring to additional content useful for deepening your understanding of these innovations.

The toolkit is an expression of the project team's ongoing efforts to share digital innovation insights with the conservation community and will be updated regularly as this space evolves. We hope you will find it thought-provoking and are encouraged to explore what role Web 3.0 and AI could play in the impact created by your organisation. We would love for you to join the conversation and help us explore how best to use these technologies for biodiversity conservation. If you are interested in knowing more about the project, get in touch here and…enjoy the learning ride!

We are delighted to offer you the opportunity to access our 'Digital Disruption for Conservation' toolkit in a downloadable PDF format. We hope to improve accessibility, making it convenient for you to download and utilise the toolkit at your leisure, regardless of whether you're offline or located in areas with limited network connectivity. 

As part of its Digital Disruption and the Future of Conservation project, Unearthodox is exploring how blockchain and AI technology could help conserve biodiversity. The institute is not involved in the creation or trading of any crypto assets. It is aware of the environmental externalities and opportunities of these activities and firmly believes that both the climate change and biodiversity crises should be tackled together.