Along Australia's southern coastline, wild seadragons sway in the currents, their leaf-like appendages making them nearly indistinguishable from the seaweed forests they call home. Seadragons - cousins to seahorses - have captivated divers, photographers, and marine enthusiasts for generations. These living works of art, found nowhere else in the wild, are facing growing threats from habitat loss and climate change.

The Thylacine Team, based in Seattle, WA, is proud to be working on the NABIT device, a revolutionary platform designed to democratize genetic testing in the field. One of our current and most impactful projects is developing a workflow for environmental DNA (eDNA) testing specifically for salmon species in aquatic systems, starting in the Pacific Northwest of North America. With support from Oceankind, this project will expand the NABIT’s capabilities, allowing it to detect a range of important species and pathogens in aquatic ecosystems, starting with the iconic and ecologically important sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).

The recent World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report, highlighting a 73% decline in global wildlife populations over the past 50 years, serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for transformative solutions. Yet, while the data is undeniably alarming, there is hope—a path forward driven by the power of innovation, technology, and collective action.

Sometimes, life on land is not enough.

Tanya Houppermans began diving recreationally in 2009, seeking a change of scenery from her desk-bound job as a mathematician for the U.S. Department of Defense. Off the coast of North Carolina, known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” because of its shipwrecks, she encountered the sand tiger shark: a slow-moving, charismatic, and ragged-toothed top predator that provides refuge for other species, and has no known human fatalities. She was struck by how misunderstood they were. By 2012, she began exploring the field of shark conservation, and soon realized it was time for a bigger shift. 

On a cold October night, in a remote steppe halfway up the Garabogaz gol depression in Turkmenistan, a basin separated by a thin land strip from the Caspian Sea, a sliver of moon shines on a small group of people huddling under a starry sky. Eziz Tanghriguliev, the head of the Balkan Department of Environment in Turkmenistan, motions to turn our car headlights off.

Each July 31, the world comes together to celebrate World Ranger Day. First observed in 2007, over the years this day has grown in significance, spotlighting the crucial work of rangers in conservation efforts.

Last week, our Central Asia team celebrated World Ranger Day for the first time in Turkmenistan, at the Hydrometeorology Service of Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Environmental Protection. The event featured rangers from each state reserve as well as staff from the Department of Environmental Protection of the Balkan region. Together with UNDP Turkmenistan, we provided field equipment to 10 rangers and 2 Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) coordinators in recognition of their outstanding work. The event highlighted how CXL supports the vital work of wildlife rangers by equipping them with tools, implementing cutting-edge technologies in the field, and supporting the government of Turkmenistan to meet obligations of the international agreements protecting Central Asia’s imperiled wildlife.

Twenty innovative solutions to build regenerative economies for the Amazon have been selected as finalists as part of the Conservation X Labs (CXL) Con X Tech Prize: The Amazon.

The Con X Tech Prize is a prototyping competition series  launched by Conservation X Labs in 2018 with a mission to bring technological innovation to bear on the hardest conservation challenges. In early 2024, with support of Schmidt Futures and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, we launched the fourth round: the Con X Tech Prize: The Amazon, a global competition seeking cutting-edge science and tech innovations to transform the Amazon's destructive, extractive economies into modern, regenerative ones.

In response to the escalating issues of climate change and biodiversity loss, Conservation X Labs, in collaboration with the Yale Biotech Club (YBC), organized the 2024 YBC Datathon. This event united data-driven minds across Yale to explore and analyze extensive datasets to devise actionable strategies addressing these twin crises. The theme for the datathon was "Combating the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss: using data to drive change," prompting participants to delve into data spanning biodiversity, climate trends, and human interventions.

Happy Earth Day! Conservation X Labs advances critical work to address the problem of plastic in the textile supply chain.

Throughout the month of March, we have commemorated Women's History Month by recognizing the extraordinary women of Conservation X Labs who work to disrupt the field of conservation every day. As we wrap up this special month, we are highlighting the inspiring work of Tanya Stere, Lead Product Manager on the Wild Me team.

Continuing with our commemoration of Women's History Month, we will be recognizing the extraordinary women who work to disrupt conservation every day. Today, we continue our series by highlighting the inspiring work of Rachel Martin, Extinction Solutions Index (ESI) and Research Manager.

Continuing with our commemoration of Women's History Month, we will be recognizing the extraordinary women who work to disrupt conservation every day. Today, we continue our series by highlighting the inspiring work of Marion Adeney, who leads our initiatives in the Amazon region as well as the Fire Grand Challenge.

Continuing with our commemoration of Women's History Month, we will be recognizing the extraordinary women who work to disrupt conservation every day. Today, we continue our series by highlighting the inspiring work of Tatjana ‘Tanya’ Rosen, who leads our field conservation efforts in the Middle East as part of our Central Asia Wildcat Program. 

Our Foundry Director, Chad Gallinat, recently traveled to Greater Noida and Ranthambore, India, where he participated in The Habitats Summit—a groundbreaking event organized by The Habitats Trust. The gathering brought together 37 delegates from 25 countries, who gathered for two and a half days of discussions on the pressing challenges facing global conservation efforts.