Nature FIRST: Showcasing Achievements and Solutions for Biodiversity Preservation

This month, Nature FIRST, a project focused on preserving biodiversity, showcased its achievements, solutions, and technologies in its first Public Demo session. The event was organised to gather feedback from future technology users and start a discussion on the ongoing challenges in biodiversity preservation. The decline of biodiversity is one of the most pressing problems facing humanity. To effectively address this issue, nature conservation efforts must be informed by a deep understanding of what is causing it and which strategies are effective for conservation and restoration.

Highlights from the Nature FIRST Project Demo

The session began with an introduction to the Nature FIRST project by Jan-Kees Schakel, Sensing Clues. He highlighted the importance of preserving biodiversity and how the Nature FIRST project aims to create a model-driven, continuous form of ecosystem monitoring that assesses the numbers of species and the modelled ecological and anthropogenic processes within an ecosystem and their interactions. The team aims to create a context to translate environmental observations into facts and actionable information for site managers and policymakers.

Following the introduction, the team demonstrated their achievements and solutions, including taxonomic crossovers, ecosystem base maps, habitat mapping methods, species recognition tools, and the Nature FIRST Knowledge Graph. These technologies and solutions provide site managers and policymakers with the tools to make informed decisions for preserving biodiversity. Attendees were impressed by the advancements made by the Nature FIRST project and were eager to learn more about how they could utilise these technologies in their work.

Addressing Biodiversity Preservation Challenges with Advanced Technologies and Stakeholder Collaboration

After the demonstrations, attendees participated in a Q&A session and provided feedback on the ongoing challenges in biodiversity preservation. The discussion focused on effectively using the technologies and solutions presented by the Nature FIRST project to address the ongoing challenges in biodiversity preservation. Attendees shared their experiences and insights, and the Nature FIRST team listened and provided feedback on how their technologies and solutions could be adapted to meet the specific needs of different stakeholders.

The session was open to all interested parties by registration. If you weren’t able to join, you can still gain valuable insights by watching the demo recording on YouTube and downloading the slides.

Download slides from the Nature FIRST Public Demo

Plus, we’d love for you to stay updated on future sessions and join in on our efforts to preserve biodiversity by visiting Nature FIRST’s website, signing up for their newsletter, and following the project on social media.

About Nature FIRST project

As a Horizon Europe project funded by the European Commission, Nature FIRST will develop predictive, proactive, and preventative tools for nature conservation for the next three years.

 The tools we use are demonstrated in the following European regions:

• The Carpathian Mountains, a 1,500 km-long range in Central and Eastern Europe.
• The Danube Delta River is Europe’s largest remaining natural wetland. The more significant part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania, and a small part is in Ukraine.
• The Stara Planina mountains, a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula.
• And the Ancares y O Courel, the largest green reserve in Galicia, Spain.

Want to join our fight to protect these gorgeous landscapes? Stay up to date with the project!