Reflections on Conservation GIS: Trends and Challenges

Reflections from the Inaugural Vancouver Society for Conservation GIS Event

On February 12th, I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural gathering of the Vancouver Chapter of the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS). It was an honour to be invited as the first speaker for a newly formed chapter, and I’m grateful to the organizers and attendees for creating such an engaged and thoughtful space.

Conservation GIS is a field that continues to evolve rapidly. The tools are more powerful than ever. Access to satellite imagery is expanding. Dashboards, story maps, and spatial data platforms are becoming increasingly common. At the same time, the complexity of our work continues to grow.

In this talk, I shared reflections drawn from my experience working across conservation, land tenure, Indigenous mapping, capacity building, and data governance. My goal was not simply to highlight innovation, but to examine where we are seeing challenges, and where improvement is needed.

I also want to thank the practitioners I reached out to who generously offered their thoughts and reflection on the state of the field.

A full copy of my presentation can be acccessed via the following link:

PSkrivanos_SCGIS_Presentation_Feb12-2026.pdf

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