Summary
Microsoft and IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, formed at the 2012 IUCN World Conservation Congress in South Korea, a new partnership to further strengthen the information available on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. This collaboration sees Microsoft becoming the first corporate member of *The IUCN Red List Partnership.
*The IUCN Red List is the starting point for conservation action. Many species have been saved from extinction through conservation programmes based on sound science.
Outcome
Microsoft released a new software application, the first fruits of the partnership, which allows users to query and map relevant IUCN Red List information, which enables IUCN to begin to capture spatial information on species-specific threats.
This new software, developed by Microsoft’s Computational Science Laboratory in Cambridge and with design support from researches in the DigiLab at the University of Arts London, also allows the Lab to use the data generated through this application to extend its models of biodiversity patterns and processes to define conservation priorities and to help develop scalable measures and metrics for monitoring the health of ecosystems.
Additionally Microsoft Research provides scientific and technical expertise, as well as support in hosting and communicating The IUCN Red List information more broadly.
Points about the partnership
The 21st century will be defined, not least, by whether human beings are able to tackle global ecological and environmental challenges. This will require NGO’s, Governments, universities and businesses to establish new kinds of partnerships, new kinds of science and scientists, and new kinds of technologies. This partnership between IUCN and Microsoft is a pioneering example of this combination.
This partnership will increase the amount of up to date information available for conservationists and others and ensure the quality of environmental data, which is of paramount importance. This will contribute to the protection of threatened species across the globe.
Category：Cooperative action by diverse actors
Theme(s)：Biodiversity/nature conservation
Actor(s)：IUCN-Red List of Threatened Species（URL：http://www.iucnredlist.org/）
Partner(s)：Microsoft （URL：http://www.microsoft.com/）
