AI at the Heart of Global Conservation: How to Bring Policy Intelligence to Life

In October 2025, Abu Dhabi hosted the IUCN World Conservation Congress – a major gathering of conservation experts, scientists, and policymakers. More than 6,000 participants took part in over 800 sessions and exhibitions, sharing ideas on how to shape the future of global conservation in the years ahead.

One of the standout moments of the Congress was the introduction of ChatR&R – an AI policy management software created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in partnership with S-PRO. The tool offered a fresh way to explore decades of environmental policies, giving conservation professionals quick access to structured insights that were once buried in archives.

Turning decades of policy into actionable insight

For over 75 years, IUCN has united governments, NGOs, and experts to tackle the planet’s most pressing environmental issues. The organization manages a vast collection of Resolutions and Recommendations – over 1,466 archived documents, including 695 active ones – that guide conservation policy and global decision-making.

For years, navigating IUCN’s growing collection of policies had been a demanding task. Each document connected to others, forming a complex web of updates, overlaps, and evolving priorities. Even experienced staff often spent hours searching for the right context or tracing how one decision linked to another.

To address this challenge, IUCN partnered with an expert software development company S-PRO to design an artificial intelligence solution that could process, connect, and summarize decades of policy records in seconds.

Building the foundation: ChatR&R

The resulting system, known as ChatR&R, was launched in the summer of 2024. It combines natural language processing, document clustering, and intelligent summarization into a single, chat-based interface. IUCN staff can now type a question – for example, “What are the main policy trends in ocean governance?” – and receive an immediate, referenced summary built from verified IUCN resolutions.

Behind the scenes, the solution runs on Microsoft Azure, with Azure OpenAI and Cognitive Search handling document indexing and retrieval. Machine learning models cluster and classify policies by theme – such as climate change, biodiversity, or governance – while a Hugging Face–based interface makes the experience intuitive for users.

Despite its technical depth, the system feels simple to use. This balance between advanced AI and human usability was a core design principle. As one IUCN staff member noted during internal testing, “It feels like having an assistant who has read every IUCN policy ever written.”

Challenges behind the innovation

Developing ChatR&R was not only about technology. It required understanding how policy evolves – through amendments, contextual references, and historical links – and teaching AI to follow that same logic. The system had to recognize relationships between old and new directives, track which were still active, and generate summaries without losing nuance.

Another key challenge was trust. IUCN’s policies shape global conservation work; accuracy and context are essential. The development team focused on citation-based summarization, where every AI-generated insight links directly to its source document. This approach helped eliminate misinterpretation and built confidence among users exploring sensitive policy topics.

A moment of recognition

At the 2025 Congress in Abu Dhabi, IUCN unveiled ChatR&R to the global community. The demonstration quickly drew attention. Delegates could explore decades of conservation decisions, cross-reference related topics, and see how global policy has evolved – all within a few clicks.

For IUCN staff, the benefits appeared long before the public launch. Preparing for the Congress became faster: the team used ChatR&R to surface key resolutions, summarize historical context, and verify policy continuity. What once took hours of manual review now takes minutes.

The bigger picture

ChatR&R reflects a broader shift in how organizations approach knowledge management. Instead of static archives, AI systems now offer living, interactive tools that help experts work smarter. For IUCN, it means faster policy insight and better-informed global discussions.

For S-PRO, it marks another step in applying AI to real-world governance and sustainability. The company’s focus on AI policy management software and artificial intelligence development aims to bridge technology and human expertise – translating complexity into clarity for institutions that handle vast information ecosystems.

What’s next?

The success of ChatR&R shows how targeted innovation can strengthen global collaboration. It’s not about replacing human judgment but supporting it with accurate, structured insights.

As the IUCN team continues refining its policy tools, this collaboration stands as an example of how technology, when applied with purpose, can accelerate meaningful environmental action.

And as the Congress concluded in Abu Dhabi, one thing was clear: when expertise meets the right technology partner, progress isn’t just possible – it becomes practical.