What is the name of your organization?
Blue Marine Foundation
What is the name of your solution?
Blue TIDE
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
A practical, open-access tool to guide marine protected area stakeholders through smart, scalable technology choices for impactful ocean conservation.
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
London, UK
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
GBR
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
The ocean is the lifeblood of planet earth, regulating our climate, producing over half the oxygen we breathe and underpinning the livelihoods of over 3 billion people around the globe. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are proven tools for ocean protection, enabling biodiversity to flourish while providing substantial economic benefits to coastal communities. Currently, only 8.3% of the ocean lies within MPAs, with just 2.8% effectively protected. While the conservation technology sector has advanced rapidly in recent years—with innovations in both digital hardware and software analytics expanding possibilities for marine conservation—MPA management globally remains tied to inefficient, resource-intensive analogue methods for monitoring and design. This stems from limited technology access for MPA practitioners and local communities, with few pathways for equitable technology implementation in MPA policy and design. Bridging this "tech gap" and leveraging conservation technology for effective and equitable marine protection will be crucial for preserving ocean health and coastal livelihoods. Embracing and facilitating this shift presents an exciting opportunity to strengthen MPA management. By making technologies like remote sensing, autonomous systems, and AI-powered data-driven decision making more accessible and adaptable, we can build more resilient and responsive marine protection systems.
What is your solution?
The Blue Technology & Innovation Decision Explorer (Blue TIDE) is a decision-support toolkit designed to help MPA stakeholders identify and implement the right technologies for effective planning, design, and management. Built on the established methodology and digital infrastructure of WILDLABS.NET, the world’s leading conservation technology platform, Blue TIDE will combine expert insights, case studies, and a searchable technology database into an accessible, action-oriented solution for marine protection.
The toolkit will deliver three core, open-access products:
An action-oriented report outlining challenges and opportunities for technology use from initial MPA designation to ongoing adaptive management;
A decision matrix and technology roadmap to guide users through technology options based on their unique context;
A curated, searchable database of relevant technologies integrated into The Inventory, WILDLABS’ wiki-style conservation tech resource hub.
Blue TIDE is a natural extension of WILDLABS’ proven tools, already adopted by over 11,000 members in 120+ countries, to a new, high-impact audience of MPA stakeholders stewarded by Blue Marine Foundation. Through a community-first approach including stakeholder mapping and technology needs assessment, Blue TIDE will be co-designed to empower users to navigate the fast-evolving conservation technology landscape with clarity, bridging global innovation with local implementation where it’s needed most.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
The Blue Technology & Innovation Decision Explorer (Blue TIDE) is a decision-support toolkit designed to help MPA stakeholders identify and implement the right technologies for effective planning, design, and management. Built on the established methodology and digital infrastructure of WILDLABS.NET, the world’s leading conservation technology platform, Blue TIDE will combine expert insights, case studies, and a searchable technology database into an accessible, action-oriented solution for marine protection.
The toolkit will deliver three core, open-access products:
An action-oriented report outlining challenges and opportunities for technology use from initial MPA designation to ongoing adaptive management;
A decision matrix and technology roadmap to guide users through technology options based on their unique context;
A curated, searchable database of relevant technologies integrated into The Inventory, WILDLABS’ wiki-style conservation tech resource hub.
Blue TIDE is a natural extension of WILDLABS’ proven tools, already adopted by over 11,000 members in 120+ countries, to a new, high-impact audience of MPA stakeholders stewarded by Blue Marine Foundation. Through a community-first approach including stakeholder mapping and technology needs assessment, Blue TIDE will be co-designed to empower users to navigate the fast-evolving conservation technology landscape with clarity, bridging global innovation with local implementation where it’s needed most.