Workshop 

Scaling conservation data with EarthRanger + Ecoscope; from field data to dashboards

Organizer(s):

Conservation practitioners increasingly deploy remote sensors, GPS collars, patrol logs, camera traps, IoT devices and other tech to monitor wildlife, ecosystems and protected areas. While these technologies generate valuable information, they also introduce significant challenges. Data in different formats, separate systems, are difficult to integrate, analyze and limit its usefulness for decision-makeing.

EarthRanger is a free, open-source platform that brings together real-time data from patrol teams, GPS collars, sensors, and incident reports into a single site. Ecoscope builds on this foundation, turning raw data into accessible information to drive protected area management, policy action, and conservation research. Together, they are now used by conservation teams across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to support day-to-day operations and long-term evaluation.

In this session, we will talk about key lessons learned when deploying them across the world

1. Building local capacity: Conservation is predicated on local community / practitioner capacity and buy-in. It is vital to provide training and access to resources for the successful adoption of software and analytical approaches in conservation.

2. From activity-focus to impact-focus: Most partners monitor operational or activity-level outputs (e.g. # of patrols, # of snares). These indicators often don’t reflect overall ecosystem health - a gap in ecological outcome monitoring. Emphasis needs to shift to outcomes and impact.

3. Resource gaps & duplicated efforts: Many organisations lack the hardware, software, or skills required for monitoring. In the meantime, there are overlaps across analyses and metrics used by different organisations. Standardising data collection and analysis workflows can reduce redundancy, increase efficiency, and enable meaningful comparison across sites.

By combining robust field data systems like EarthRanger with analytical tools like Ecoscope—and by investing in local skills, outcome-focused monitoring, and shared workflows—we can move toward a more coordinated, scalable, and evidence-based approach to protecting wildlife and ecosystems.