Pangolins are among the most endangered and least understood mammals globally. As the most trafficked mammal in the world, they have faced increasing threats from habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade. In response to this crisis, the Tanzania Research Conservation Organization (TRCO) emerged as a national leader in pangolin conservation through research, education, policy advocacy, and community engagement. To complement these efforts, Geospatial Technology and Environment (GeoTE) initiated a collaborative project aimed at integrating OpenStreetMap (OSM) into the conservation landscape.
The initiative, titled “Mapping for Pangolins,” brought together GIS professionals, students, conservationists, researchers, and local communities in a coordinated mapping campaign. The primary objective was to produce open, accurate, and up-to-date geospatial data to support pangolin protection, habitat monitoring, and community-based conservation planning. Using the OSM platform, participants successfully mapped key features within TRCO’s focus areas such as roads, settlements, water bodies, forest boundaries, and land cover types that are often underrepresented or missing from existing datasets.
By leveraging OSM’s collaborative and open-access nature, the project empowered local communities and students to actively contribute to environmental conservation through citizen science. Participants were trained to use OSM tools, including iD Editor, Field Papers, and GPS-based applications such as OsmAnd and Organic Maps. These efforts enabled the creation of actionable spatial data that helped TRCO identify high-risk areas for pangolin trafficking, assess human-wildlife interactions, and enhance planning for habitat protection.
The initiative also contributed to a broader goal of promoting geospatial innovation for environmental sustainability in Tanzania. Ensuring that the generated data remained open and accessible to stakeholders including government agencies, NGOs, researchers, and local communities, enhanced collaboration and informed decision-making at multiple levels. Follow-up sessions were conducted to validate map quality and to maintain the engagement of newly trained mappers, particularly from YouthMappers chapters across the country.
This project demonstrated how OpenStreetMap can serve as a vital tool in modern conservation strategies, especially in regions where data scarcity limits effective planning. The collaborative effort between TRCO, GeoTE, and the open mapping community provided a scalable and replicable model for integrating spatial data into wildlife conservation.
In conclusion, “Mapping for Pangolins” showcased the power of open geospatial data and citizen participation in addressing critical conservation challenges. The initiative emphasized that protecting species like the pangolin requires not only scientific research and policy but also accurate, community-driven mapping to reflect real-world conditions on the ground. As a result, the project made a significant contribution to pangolin conservation and highlighted the transformative role of OpenStreetMap in supporting biodiversity and ecological resilience.
This presentation will offer valuable insights into how OpenStreetMap can be effectively applied beyond urban and infrastructure mapping, showcasing its critical role in conservation and biodiversity protection. By highlighting a real-world case from Tanzania that combines youth engagement, community participation, and geospatial innovation, the session will inspire similar collaborations globally. It will also provide a replicable model for how OSM data can support endangered species protection and habitat monitoring.