REDLANDS, CALIF. -- At the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress, Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, announced a joint initiative with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its Commission on Education and Communication to expand access to data, maps, and GIS technology in support of Nature-based Education (NbE) worldwide.

Esri is making a $10 million in-kind donation to enable the development of a new NbE geoportal that will allow students, teachers, and IUCN conservationists around the world to understand and explore our planet through maps and the science of geography, collaborate on critical conservation solutions, and develop critical technical skills for future careers in conservation. This new initiative, now in the pilot phase of consultation and design, will support IUCN’s NbE aspirations to promote environmental learning and action as adopted by the Members during the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi this October.

This collaboration builds on a long-standing commitment Esri holds to conservation and geographic education. “Nature-based education is more important than ever,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri president. “It develops crucial life skills like problem-solving, creativity, and resilience, while also cultivating a lifelong connection to and responsibility for the environment. We are pleased to be working with IUCN in this important endeavor.”

NbE is a holistic approach that places nature at the core of learning. By blending environmental education, Indigenous knowledge, outdoor and experiential learning, it fosters a deep human-nature connection. This approach treats nature as a learning environment, cultivating systems thinking, empathy, responsibility, and the skills needed to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and planetary health across formal and informal settings. Combining GIS and NbE allows students, teachers, and conservationists to visualize the world around them using the critical context of location. This provides a holistic, geographic approach to better understand what is occurring, how it is changing—and most importantly—where action is needed to protect and conserve nature.

To help facilitate this initiative, IUCN is working towards setting up a new Nature-based Education Facility. It will serve as a global fund, incubator, and knowledge hub where students and conservationists will be able to access the new NbE GeoPortal.

“Esri’s contribution of geospatial technology to the new geoportal supporting nature education and expertise is timely and transformative,” said Sean Southey, Past Chair of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication and CEO of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. “A boost to Nature-based Education is what the world needs, at a time when it is most needed.”