Huawei has received the Global Mobile (GLOMO) LATAM award for Social Impact in Latin America, recognising the company’s work on the Dzilam de Bravo Nature Reserve project in Yucatan, Mexico – where its Tech4Nature initiative is using sophisticated technology tools to monitor and preserve the natural habitat of the jaguar, an iconic and endangered species in the country.
Tech4Nature is a global partnership between Huawei TECH4ALL and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), designed to scale up nature conservation through technology. Tools such as the AudioMoth eco-acoustic devices – used to capture environmental sounds – are among those deployed to achieve effective management of protected and conserved areas (PCAs).
The project, currently in its second phase, began in 2022 and is the result of a collaboration between IUCN, Huawei, the Government of the State of Yucatán, C Minds, Yucatan Polytechnic University (UPY) and the local community of Dzilam de Bravo. The solution integrates AI-powered species detection and individual identification, community-led monitoring and governance, as well as cross-sector collaboration across government, academia, civil society and the private sector.
Since project launch, the technology deployed includes 26 camera traps and 60 acoustic devices, which have identified more than 147 species, 40 of which are endangered. Crucially, the system has identified 16 individual jaguars, providing key information for understanding the behaviour, movement and conservation measures that can protect the species, which is key to the environmental balance of the reserve.
“Tech4Nature Mexico demonstrates that the true potential of technology lies in transforming data into coordination, collective action and public policies for the protection of nature,” said Regina Cervera, Project Coordinator for Tech4Nature México from AI for Climate at C Minds. “Through multi-sectoral collaboration focused on communities and human rights, the initiative puts tools such as Artificial Intelligence at the service of the ecosystems that sustain our economies and our future.”
More than 100,000 images, 600,000 audio recordings and video footage of the jaguars have been captured and automatically analysed using Huawei’s cloud-based solutions. The resulting data-driven insights enable a better understanding of the ecosystem and more efficient decision-making for biodiversity conservation that reaches into public policy. Beyond the ecological data, the landscape-level impacts are visible – the protected area has expanded from 69,000 to 104,000 hectares.
Reflecting on the award, Samira Herrera, Communications and Public Relations Director for Huawei Mexico, said: “This recognition reflects the power of technology when it is put to the service of people and the planet. Tech4Nature Mexico is an example of how cross-sector collaboration can generate a tangible positive impact on communities and biodiversity conservation.”
