WWF-Australia is testing and applying responsible uses of AI to unlock new ways to protect and regenerate nature
How AI can support nature
AI covers many different technologies and uses, each with its own opportunities, impacts and risks. At WWF-Australia, we use AI where it helps advance our mission to protect and regenerate nature. Different applications require different levels of scrutiny, and human judgement, accountability and oversight remain essential. AI is a tool, not a replacement for people, values, or wisdom.
AI can help conservation teams act earlier, target effort where it is needed most, and achieve more for nature. On Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), WWF-Australia is working with partners to use AI and drone technology to improve koala monitoring and protection. Led by Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC), this project sees Indigenous Rangers combine thermal-imaging drones with traditional cultural burning to locate and protect the island's unique koala population ahead of planned burns.
Through Eyes on Country, WWF-Australia is working with partners to combine Indigenous Knowledge with emerging technologies to help locate and monitor platypus populations. Monitoring programs like this one combine ancient knowledge with the latest technologies such as trail cameras, Wildlife Insights (which uses Artificial Intelligence to identify species in images), environmental DNA, and drones.
Across our conservation programs, machine learning is helping analyse vast amounts of environmental data, providing new insights into species, ecosystems and habitats that would otherwise be difficult to detect. These examples are illustrative of a broader opportunity – and also the diversity of technologies commonly grouped under the term “AI”.
When applied thoughtfully, AI can accelerate conservation outcomes, strengthen environmental decision-making and free people from routine tasks so they can focus on the work that matters most: building relationships, solving complex problems, and driving regeneration at scale. Realising the potential also means addressing AI’s growing demands on data centres, energy and water and the pressures these can place on the climate and natural systems on which all life depends. The choices society makes about whether, where and how AI is used will help determine whether it supports a regenerative future or deepens existing ecological challenges. The success of AI should be measured by its contribution to the long-term wellbeing of people, communities and nature, and to a regenerative economy.
Using AI responsibly
We are committed to ensuring that our use of AI aligns with strong security and ethical standards, protects Indigenous data sovereignty, respects Indigenous Knowledge and cultural and intellectual property, and supports community-led decision-making. Transparency about where and how AI is used, particularly when AI-generated content could affect public trust, is essential. We believe organisations should understand and minimise the environmental footprint of the technologies they use and be transparent about the trade-offs involved.
WWF-Australia is actively advocating for stronger safeguards to manage the environmental impacts of AI infrastructure, including how data centres use energy and water, where they are located, and how their climate impacts are assessed and reduced. Through initiatives such as the Public Interest Principles for Better Data Centres and our work with industry, government and research partners through the Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders' Alliance (MECLA), we are helping shape practical pathways to reduce the environmental footprint of the digital economy.
Across the United Nations system, governments, businesses, and civil society are calling for AI to be developed and governed in ways that are human-centred, transparent, accountable and environmentally sustainable. WWF believes AI must also be nature-positive and regenerative. The UN Global Digital Compact, UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, and ongoing international discussions on AI governance all point to a common principle: technological progress must advance social and environmental wellbeing, not come at its expense.
Learning as AI evolves
This position reflects our view based on what we know now. As AI and our understanding of it evolve, our thinking and approach will evolve too. We will continue our contribution to meaningful conversation about how responsible uses of AI could support nature and people, while being clear about the choices involved and the safeguards required.
For WWF-Australia, this means exploring the opportunities AI offers for conservation and regeneration while being proactive in helping ensure the technology itself evolves within ecological limits. The future of AI should not simply be smarter. It should be more responsible, more equitable and more regenerative.
WWF-Australia examples – more information
Testing and applying responsible AI use in conservation
Using AI and drones to help protect koalas on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island):
Finding platypus on Country through Eyes on Country, combining monitoring technology with Indigenous Knowledge:
Using AI technology to track wildlife recovery following the catastrophic 2019-20 Australian bushfires:
Advocating for responsible AI use and infrastructure
Advocating for stronger rules to manage the impacts of data centres in Australia
Developing Public Interest Principles for Better Data Centres with environmental, industry and union partners:
Working across industry, research, and government to reduce the carbon footprint of new data centres through MECLA.
