Effectively integrating conservation and movement data into national and international planning: a case study of giraffe across Africa

Understanding and managing the spatial distribution, movements, and human associations of giraffe (Giraffa spp.) is critical for their long-term conservation across Africa. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and its partners have developed and implemented innovative approaches to track, monitor, and report on giraffe ecology and management across multiple spatial scales—from individual properties to continent-wide landscapes.

Over the past two decades, GCF has compiled one of the most comprehensive datasets on giraffe population trends, distributions, movements, and genetics. These data underpin evidence-based conservation and management decisions across Africa and contribute directly to international policy frameworks, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

A central focus of GCF’s work is translating ecological and movement data into actionable conservation insights and policy guidance at local, national, regional, and international levels. This includes trait-based analysis of movement across Africa to identify drivers of movement behaviour, and quantifying functional connectivity within key transboundary landscapes such as Southern Kenya - Northern Tanzania (SOKNOT) and Kavango Zambezi.

Through scalable workflows for data collection, processing, and dissemination, GCF provides a model for how large, complex biodiversity datasets can inform adaptive management and policy processes. Yet, despite their value, large organizational datasets—such as those on species numbers, movements, and genetics—remain underutilized in national and international environmental monitoring and reporting processes, including National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Giraffe exemplifies how such datasets can be effectively mobilized and integrated across scales through collaborative, transparent, and interoperable data systems.

Emerging initiatives such as the Biodiversity Observation Network for Animal Movement (MoveBON) present new opportunities to enhance data accessibility and coordination across institutions and governance levels. Leveraging these frameworks can substantially strengthen the inclusion of movement ecology in biodiversity monitoring and decision-making.

GCF’s vision is to promote the systematic integration of large-scale conservation and movement data into global biodiversity observation, monitoring, and reporting systems—thereby improving conservation outcomes for giraffe and other wide-ranging species across Africa and beyond.