GEO Indigenous Alliance Ethical AI Biodiversity Toolkit
About the Toolkit
The GEO Indigenous Alliance Ethical AI for Biodiversity Toolkit has been developed by the GEO Indigenous Alliance and Space4Innovation, with the support of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
The toolkit offers a practical framework for thinking through the ethical use of artificial intelligence in biodiversity research, Earth observations, conservation technology, and environmental decision-making. It is intended to support projects before AI systems are designed, deployed, scaled, or used to inform decisions affecting lands, waters, species, ecosystems, and Indigenous Peoples.
Access the Toolkit
The first review version of the GEO Indigenous Alliance Ethical AI for Biodiversity Toolkit is now available for review.
Why it was developed
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to monitor biodiversity, classify environmental data, interpret ecological change, and support policy and conservation decisions. These systems do not operate in a neutral space. They are shaped by the data used to train them, the assumptions built into them, the institutions governing them, and the values they are designed to serve.
For Indigenous Peoples, these questions are not only technical. They concern rights, responsibilities, knowledge governance, data sovereignty, consent, ecological relationships, and accountability over time.
The toolkit was created to help researchers, institutions, funders, technology developers, and decision-makers ask stronger questions at the beginning of a project, rather than after harm, exclusion, or misuse has already occurred.
Who it is for
The toolkit was created to support anyone working with artificial intelligence and biodiversity, including Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous organizations, researchers, Earth observation practitioners, AI developers, PhD students, conservation organizations, policymakers, funders, public institutions, and international organizations.
It is intended for use across biodiversity, conservation, Earth observation, environmental monitoring, and AI initiatives where questions of data, knowledge, governance, accountability, and ecological responsibility are central.
It can be used to support project design, internal review, community dialogue, ethical assessment, funding decisions, partnership development, and pilot activities.
Current review process
This first review version is now open for feedback.
The toolkit has already been presented and discussed in international science and policy spaces, including the GEO Symposium, and COP30, as part of a broader process of consultation, review, and refinement.
The first round of feedback will remain open until 30 September 2026.
We invite Indigenous communities, researchers, policymakers, technologists, funders, conservation organizations, Earth observation practitioners, and other interested partners to share comments, reflections, and suggestions.
Feedback, collaboration, and pilots
To provide feedback on the toolkit, please use the form in the toolkit.
For collaboration enquiries, or to discuss a possible pilot application of the toolkit, please contact:
Diana Mastracci
diana@space4innovation.com