XPRIZE Rainforest has signed a partnership agreement with IUFRO, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, to challenge innovators to develop new technologies for the identification and cataloging of rainforest biodiversity.

Innovators are also expected to use data collected to improve shared understandings of the ecosystem.

Launched in 2019, the $10 Million XPRIZE Rainforest is a five-year global competition. It calls for innovators to provide information based on the integration of multiple data sources to demonstrate the value of the biodiversity contained within standing tropical rainforests.

Co-designing and co-creating solutions with Indigenous Peoples and local communities as key stakeholders are part of the prize framework.

The partnership aims to foster global interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, including forest science, to find solutions to pressing global challenges.

IUFRO experts are invited to join teams in the competition and support XPRIZE Rainforest with informational sessions, workshops, training, and/or other initiatives to support teams that participate in the competition.

The partners will also promote the development and deployment of innovative technological solutions to key stakeholders during and after the competition. This is to make an impact that supports the health of vital ecosystems and sustainable societal interactions with rainforests.

IUFRO and XPRIZE will also explore additional opportunities to collaborate on future forests, conservation, and climate change competition.

"XPRIZE is committed to the future of life on our planet and establishing strategic partnerships to ensure an equitable and sustainable future for humanity," said Peter Houlihan, Vice President Biodiversity & Conservation XPRIZE.

"To achieve this, we are excited to work with IUFRO on XPRIZE Rainforest, a five-year, ten-million-dollar global competition incentivizing interdisciplinary teams from all over the world to increase and expedite shared understandings of tropical rainforests worldwide, to more effectively monitor, manage, and conserve the world's most biodiverse forests."

"IUFRO's global network for forest research collaboration accelerates the development and sharing of multi-disciplinary forest-related knowledge," said IUFRO President John Parrotta.

"Our partnership with XPRIZE creates an important and exciting opportunity to further share this knowledge and develop innovative tools to conserve tropical rainforests and the multiple benefits that they provide to all those who value and depend on them."

IUFRO brings together more than 15,000 scientists in about 650 Member Organizations across 125 countries.

XPRIZE is a global future-positive movement of over 1M people and rising, delivering truly radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.

XPRIZE inspires and empowers a global community of problem-solvers to positively impact our world by crowdsourcing solutions through large-scale competitions, tackling the world's grandest challenges in exploration, environment, and human equity.

Active competitions include the $100 Million XPRIZE Carbon Removal with Elon Musk, $15 Million XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, $10 Million XPRIZE Rainforest, $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE, $5 Million XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling, and $1 Million Digital Learning Challenge.