英格·安德森(Inger Andersen)是联合国环境规划署的执行主任，联合国环境规划署（United Nations Environment Programme，简称UNEP）。

Now, the truth is, of course, that the world has always changed, and we humanity live in that change, sometimes causing it, sometimes responding to it. We invent things that are amazingly powerful. They can be destructive or they can be a source for good. And we need to be very clear about, on the one hand, as we make progress, how can we use those innovations for good and not for bad? And what we really need is to ensure that technology improves the lives of everyone and every being on this planet; at the same time, of course, helps conserve nature that has sustained life at all times since time immemorial.

And so today’s celebration of World Wildlife Day, where we seek to create this balance by focusing on digital innovation and conservation of wildlife, is very important, because digital technologies create huge opportunities for conservations, we know this – from remote sensing that identifies encroachment on protected areas to insitu data that tracks feeding and reproductive behavior.

But for digital innovation to work for conservation, it must work for everyone, particularly those who depend on wildlife for their livelihoods and for their very existence. Digital innovation can, for example, allow indigenous peoples who are, as we know, the primary stewards of nature, to collaborate with governments, with civil society, and with the private sector. It can also allow those very indigenous peoples to protect their lands, to monitor for encroachment and to ring the alarm bells when there are such encroachments on their lands.

To make true inclusivity a reality, we need to close a digital divide and ensure that new technologies such as AI do not intensify existing biases. If we do this right, innovation can improve conservation and support crucial international agreements, such as, of course, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework gaveled in 2022.

The United Nations Environment Program and the broader UN system are doing their part. For example, through the World Environment Situation Room, through the UN Biodiversity Lab and through all of us backing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The organizers of World Wildlife Day and many other agreements on nature, of course, new technologies will always emerge. Nature cannot be allowed to wither and die.

And so today, let’s really think about how we can make sure that technology is there for justice, is there for transparency, is there for rights, is there for protection and is there for conservation so that we benefit all species.