Today, we’re launching our inaugural sector map for biodiversity, developed in collaboration with Conservation International.

This map provides a structured view of the biodiversity tech landscape, identifying and connecting 600+ organizations worldwide. Using the Nature Tech Collective’s own 5M Framework - Measurement, Modeling, Material Change, Market Pressures, and Monetization - we categorize biodiversity solutions into five key areas.

The accompanying insights explain our methodology and highlight key market findings.

DOWNLOAD THE SECTOR MAP

Why we need a sector map for biodiversity

Biodiversity loss is one of humanity's greatest challenges. While nature tech offers powerful tools to measure, value, and protect biodiversity at scale, its impact is limited by fragmentation, lack of collaboration, and poor visibility.

This fragmentation creates key barriers:

Practitioners struggle to find the right tech for conservation challenges.
Innovations remain isolated instead of widely adopted.
Funding is misallocated, missing critical needs.
Gaps in technology go unaddressed due to lack of visibility.

A sector map helps to clarify the landscape, identifying key players and how technologies connect. With this structured view, researchers, investors, policymakers, and conservationists can find partners, share knowledge, and scale impactful solutions.

Beyond connection, it's also about direction. By highlighting what's missing and where opportunities lie, our biodiversity sector map will help ensure resources, talent, and capital flow to where they're needed most.

Developing the sector map with Conservation International

How it started

Conservation International is a global organization protecting nature for people and the planet, working in 100+ countries from the Amazon to the Coral Triangle.

In 2024, the Nature Tech Collective (NTC) and Conservation International partnered to tackle a major conservation challenge: scaling biodiversity monitoring to deliver actionable insights for protecting our critical ecosystems.

Recognizing technology as key to bridging the gap between data and conservation impact, we focused on driving adoption of innovative monitoring solutions. Through cross-sector sessions at COP16 and expert advisory input, we identified critical barriers - fragmented data, lack of interoperability, and misaligned financial incentives - hindering effective biodiversity monitoring.

Rather than just mapping gaps, we built a resource to help practitioners, project developers, and funders navigate the fast-evolving nature tech landscape.

The methodology

Our approach focused on the practical needs of practitioners working on the ground with biodiversity monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) - recognizing that the critical challenge lies in connecting the right tools with the right contexts.

Developing the 5M framework

We developed the 5M methodology and overall taxonomic framework to organize the biodiversity technology landscape in a rigorous, intuitive way:

Entities leading this charge replace traditional materials with nature-based alternatives and drive cross-sector collaboration to implement innovative nature-positive practices.
This category is at the forefront of global change, driven by entities identifying and addressing nature-related market failures and compelling action.
The Modeling category is instrumental in translating raw nature data, collected by entities in the Measurement and Monitoring category, into actionable insights.
The Monetization category encompasses entities directly engaged in financial transactions who leverage nature tech and data to facilitate, mediate, secure, or record these transactions.
Organizations within the Measurement category play a crucial role in gathering primary data fundamental for measurement, reporting, and verification.

The 5M framework is designed to be:

Comprehensive: Covering the full spectrum of biodiversity solutions.
Actionable: Helping users identify where specific technologies fit.
Machine-readable: Structured to support future AI-related work.
Adaptable: Capable of evolving as the sector develops.

To ensure the accuracy and relevance of this effort, we conducted feedback sessions with specialists in these areas to validate the proposed methodology, classifications, and identified initiatives.

What we discovered: Gaps & opportunities in the biodiversity technologies space

Our research revealed several key insights about the current state of biodiversity technology:

Technology distribution is uneven

200+ organizations focus on measurement and monitoring, while other critical areas like data integration and interpretation receive less attention. This fragmentation limits the practical application of biodiversity data, highlighting a need for solutions that improve accessibility, usability, and interoperability across platforms.

Persistent barriers in data processing & integration

Despite significant advancements in technologies like eDNA analysis, bioacoustics, and remote sensing, these tools have not yet reached their full potential. Project developers and funders often struggle to navigate trade-offs between cost, accuracy, and coverage—underscoring the need for decision-support frameworks and clearer evaluation of biodiversity nature technologies.

Biases and systemic imbalances

Taxonomic and geographic biases exist in biodiversity records, creating blind spots in conservation decision-making. Additionally, practitioners lack clear guidance on trade-offs in monitoring approaches - whether taxonomic, economic, temporal, or spatial - resulting in inefficiencies and misallocated resources.

Challenges in target-setting

A lack of standardized guidance for setting practical biodiversity targets poses a major challenge. There's a significant delta between the degree of rigor in the nature-positive claims we can make today and those we hope to make on the horizon.

Democratization remains more of a promise than reality

Despite advances in camera trap technology, AI, and citizen science initiatives, these tools remain cost-prohibitive and complex for many frontline conservationists. Making these technologies more accessible, affordable, and usable for local communities and land stewards worldwide represents a significant opportunity.

What's different about our sector map?

We value complementary mapping initiatives like NatureTECH Observatory (startup-focused) and the WILDLABS Inventory (conservation-focused). Each offers unique insights, enriching our understanding of biodiversity tech.

Consulting with WILDLABS and Conservation X Labs, we refined our approach to fit within the broader ecosystem.

A nature tech Lens : Our work centers on how nature tech addresses biodiversity challenges, focusing on practitioners, project developers, and conservationists.
5M Framework: A rigorous, machine-readable classification system designed for clarity, adaptability, and AI integration. Developed with our NTC community and validated using large language models, it organizes solutions across geographies and clusters.
Practitioner-informed : Built around real-world challenges, our map incorporates insights from asset managers, industry leaders, land stewards, and scientists to define precision strategies for scaling biodiversity monitoring.

We encourage collaboration and cross-pollination - our database is compatible with other frameworks, and we invite initiatives to freely use our 5M framework for classification.

Looking forward

The biodiversity database forms part of our larger database infrastructure and connects to our broader nature tech taxonomy workstream. These resources will be publicly available to all, ensuring that knowledge about biodiversity technology becomes more accessible, actionable, and impactful.
We see the sector map as a living document that will evolve with the help of our community and the wider ecosystem over time. The online version of the sector map is searchable by region, frameworks, and biodiversity focus, and is regularly updated by the Nature Tech Collective to incorporate community suggestions.
We encourage you to join us in continuing to develop this resource and accelerating the implementation of nature tech solutions for biodiversity conservation worldwide.

As the field continues to evolve, we’ll continue to build resources, convene conversations, and strengthen connections to support a thriving ecosystem.

Unveiling the Nature Tech Collective Sector Map for Biodiversity