FIDIC brings the engineering perspective on climate-resilient infrastructure to COP31. 22 Oct 2026 COP31 takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 19 November 2026, with a strong focus on implementation, resilience and climate finance. FIDIC's contribution will focus on the role of procurement, contracts and engineering capacity in helping climate commitments translate into resilient infrastructure. These issues will be discussed at an official COP31 side event, From Climate Ambition to Implementation: Financing and Delivering Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, on Wednesday 18 November (15:00 to 16:30, Side Event Room Orange). FIDIC is co-organising the session with the Global Resilience Partnership (through the Atlantic Council), the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability with the support of The World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO). It brings insights from national and local governments, multilateral development banks, financiers and the engineering sector, whose decisions shape infrastructure outcomes. Closing the implementation gap Once finance is secured, procurement, contracts and engineering capacity play an important part in how resilient a project will be. Procurement based on lowest price, an unbalanced allocation of climate risk and shortages of engineering skills can all affect project outcomes. At COP31, FIDIC will call for four priorities. * procurement that rewards quality and whole-life value, including Qualification-Based Selection * balanced contractual frameworks that allocate climate risk fairly and build in resilience and carbon objectives from the start * consistent carbon management across the infrastructure life cycle, supported by the FIDIC Carbon Management tools * sustained investment in engineering capacity, particularly in the Global South and among young professionals The same lever for nature The same logic applies to biodiversity. At the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, WWF and the International Institute for Sustainable Development hosted a workshop on 21 October on bringing biodiversity into transport infrastructure procurement. It was part of the Greening Transportation Infrastructure Development (GRID) programme, which is supported by the Global Environment Facility, led by WWF and implemented with the Asian Development Bank and the UN Environment Programme. Early procurement is the stage where nature-positive commitments are translated into project requirements. This is central to FIDIC's collaboration with WWF, renewed in May 2026 for a further three years. The renewal includes a roadmap for integrating biodiversity and nature-positive provisions into FIDIC contract documents. FIDIC's engagement at COP events builds on its ongoing work in these areas. Many climate and nature goals are delivered through infrastructure projects, and how those projects are procured, designed and contracted can make a significant contribution to achieving them. FIDIC will continue working with governments, financiers and partners to support this. 13-Aug-2026 Putting quality first: FIDIC champions Qualifications-Based Selection at LAC Transport Forum 15-Oct-2026 Ghana to host FIDIC Africa Infrastructure Conference 2026 10-Apr-2026 Underground works in focus as FIDIC-CICA webinar examines the Emerald Book 25-Jun-2026

Big-cat energy: Dior Sauvage partners with the World Wildlife Fund to support puma conservation. Edwina Ings-Chambers travels to Patagonia to see the efforts of the partnership firsthand, and glimpse the big cats in their natural habitat. By Edwina Ings-Chambers. A FEW MONTHS AGO, I found myself in Patagonia attending a far-from-standard beauty event with Parfums Christian Dior. I wasn't there to talk notes with a perfumer, to see a skincare ingredient being harvested, or even because it was a dramatic landscape that would lend itself well to social-media posts. I was there to hear about pumas - and for the chance to glimpse them in the wild, just before winter arrived and the snow came. More specifically, I was there to witness puma conservation and to hear how Dior's Sauvage, the best-selling fragrance in the world, has teamed up with the World Wildlife Fund in a partnership first to support the cause. This is no novelty 'swipe right' hook-up, but a collaboration with substance. Dior has been supporting WWF since 2023 and recently recommitted for another three years. "Beauty is not like fashion," says Cécile Lochard, the global sustainability director at Parfums Christian Dior. "You don't make a collection and change your partner each time. It takes three years on average to develop a product, and it was like that with WWF too: what is the correct species [to support], what will we do, how will we convey it to the public? And this is not just another non-profit partnership, but part of a 360-degree approach when it comes to making Sauvage the torchbearer of Dior commitment [to environment and sustainability]." Why the puma? Well, there has always been an element of big-cat energy in the Sauvage universe. After Alain Delon's brief stint as the face of the original Eau Sauvage when it launched in 1966, the fragrance was represented by the illustrations of René Gruau, which often featured some seductive leopard action. And if you want to get poetic, there's another connection: the puma is an elusive animal, one whose presence is often felt before it's seen. Much like a fragrance that alerts you to the wearer's arrival long before they prowl into view. There has always been an element of big-cat energy in the Sauvage universe." According to Lochard, however, none of the above has anything to do with what's going on here, and although she can see the common thread, "it's not on purpose". This has more do with the Sauvage universe, the call of the wild and wide open spaces that are central to its creation and messaging: the current tagline, after all, is 'In the wild, everything is always in front of you'. Parfums Christian Dior wanted to make a real difference with Sauvage and support the preservation of an at-risk species. Lochard previously worked at WWF as deputy director of corporate partnerships and established the philanthropy director role, but says that, at that time, it was impossible to make a deal with a luxury brand around the protection of a wildlife species. Now she is making it happen. A project like this is "a big step-change, not just for Dior but for the industry", says Lochard. Dior was careful not to dictate terms. "We asked what their choice would be," she says. "Which species is vulnerable or endangered. And then it was: let's try to find a way to fit with the campaign around Johnny [Depp, the brand ambassador]." Their conservation projects started with the lynx in France, then the jaguar in Mexico and the United States, before moving on to the puma in Chile. "It isn't easy sometimes to find a subject that can fit both structural and creative concerns; this was the perfect match," adds Lochard. This call of the wild has worked in all senses: the puma is already being featured in Sauvage campaigns and a new audience has been opened to the WWF. Taking care of an apex predator such as the puma has a knock-on effect on other wildlife. "The puma has a unique ecological role," explains Liliana Ortiz Tolhuysen, the strategy, science, and innovation manager at WWF Chile. "Any ecosystem needs an apex predator and here in America and Latin America, the puma is one of the most important; we have to protect them as their role is irreplaceable." They're what's known as an 'umbrella species', meaning, says Lochard, that by preserving them you "also invest in the preservation of hundreds of other species - it's a concept of biology and biodiversity". Pumas are an important part of regulating herbivore behaviour and numbers, which in turn supports vegetation growth. A key element of the partnership is helping to protect habitat connectivity. The puma is one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammals in the Americas, its territory ranging from Canada all the way down to southern Chile, and it's important to ensure it can move around - and between protected areas - which can involve building special tunnels and bridges. There are also education strategies aimed at reducing conflict with livestock owners, as pumas will sometimes hunt their herds. (It's illegal to hunt or kill pumas in Chile, though they can be shot in self-defence.) One option is to give ranchers a guard dog - different from a herding dog - that has been specially trained to protect the sheep. Better education around practical strategies such as stronger fences and deterrents is also key. Additionally, the maison has also funded special self-release GPS collars and cameras that can track the big cat's movement patterns without disturbing it. "The puma is very adaptable and is living with all these threats but doing ok. But all it takes is one shift and things could change," says Ortiz. Currently, it has a 'near threatened' status in Chile, so constant monitoring is important. This project is only part of the environmental work to which the brand is committed, from refillable fragrances to working on regenerative farming with suppliers. It's all important, but I'd be lying if I said there wasn't an extra frisson to hearing about the work going on between these two powerhouses while I witnessed a puma mama gambolling with her cubs among the scrubland of the Torres del Paine National Park. There's still a long way to go but, says Lochard: "We are a beauty leader in our sector, so we have to set the pace." Not to mention give the rest of the industry some serious paws for thought. The puma has a unique ecological role." Listen to the latest episode of How BAZAAR on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and below...

From avionics to conservation: how drone engineers are helping restore wildlife ecosystems. October 8, 2026 When you think of avionics, you might conjure images of large flying aircraft, flight navigation systems, and cockpit instrumentation. But the technologies and engineering principles behind avionics have applications far beyond aviation - including in conservation and environmental research. As the field of avionics expands, these principles are increasingly being used in collaborative and cross-functional ways, where technicians and researchers are working together to restore fragile ecosystems and endangered species. Why Avionics is Being Used for Wildlife Conservation Imagine a drone lifting off over a stretch of the Great Plains. It follows a pre-programmed GPS path, flying across the prairie grasslands to drop small blue bait pellets as it goes. This process isn't being used as a new type of aviation agriculture, but instead, a way to deliver a lifesaving vaccine for wildlife. The targeted animals are prairie dogs, which are essential to keeping one of North America's rarest mammals, the black-footed ferret, from extinction. Black-footed ferrets were once thought to be extinct. Today, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, only a few hundred exist in the wild where they have been reintroduced at more than 30 sites across the American West, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Ferrets are threatened because up to 90% of their primary diet consists of prairie dogs. They also do not create their own tunnels. Instead, they rely on prairie dogs for that, navigating the dangerous open plains by reusing or adapting those tunnels. So, when disease sweeps through a colony of prairie dogs - like the sylvatic plague, a flea-borne disease that can wipe out entire colonies - ferrets lose a significant amount of their food and shelter source all at once. This, along with multiple interacting factors including habitat loss, all contribute to the steep decline in both the US wild ferret and prairie dog populations. That is why the World Wildlife Fund and its avionics partners is committed to protecting these species as part of their wide-ranging conservation mission. But doing so depends on creative new uses of technology. How Can Using Drones Protect Endangered Species? Vaccinating wild animals via bait pellets across thousands of acres is a logistics problem as much as a biological one. To address it, WILDLABS worked with the WWF to create a custom drone built around a GPS flight controller, with flight paths mapped in advance and uploaded wirelessly. Its "triple-shooter" design releases one vaccine pellet straight down and launches two more to either side, treating three lines of prairie in a single pass. Avionics and uncrewed systems expertise is needed at every step of this process. Understanding navigation, flight control, telemetry, environment-sensing, engineering and automation are foundational, in addition to tailoring these principles for a customized project. Optimizing these tasks allows for better mass treatment of prairie dog terrain while giving researchers back the time they need to perform other crucial tasks. A dedicated large-scale effort has now covered about 7,000 acres in three states. The Role of Avionics Technicians and Collaborative Teams Wildlife is impacted by a complex system of predators and prey animals, vegetation, weather, disease, migration and mating patterns, and humans. Creative collaboration gives researchers ways to manage that complexity. Drone technicians and avionics professionals can develop the devices and flight systems needed for the project. Data analysts turn flight logs, images, and tracking signals into maps and workflow improvement. Biologists understand the animals, conservationists understand the land, and technicians can help build the tools that connect them. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Uncrewed Systems Office develops drone-based sensing for ecosystem monitoring, vegetation mapping, and restoration work. From orbit, NASA scientists use Landsat data and machine learning to map grasslands and understand how these landscapes are changing. In Colorado, biologists are using drones to track collared ferrets after release, hoping to learn more about their day-to-day encounters and risks. In Montana, the Smithsonian and its partners are testing new tracking technology that could reveal wildlife movement and survival pattern data that was previously out of reach. Collaboration across fields of study is key. These projects often bring together federal agencies, nonprofits, universities, tribal communities, and private partners where every member is crucial in supporting a research initiative. By working together and with technology, these teams make decisions and promote environmental policy change based on evidence and hard science. Avionics and Aviation at Capitol Tech Avionics technicians are needed across industries, from construction to transportation to conservation and beyond. As drones and other aerial platforms become more central to focused efforts like environmental research, professionals who understand navigation, sensors, communications, and automation will be in demand. Capitol Technology University's BS in Aviation Avionics and Instrumentation prepares students to work with the technologies behind modern aerial systems, from avionics and electronics to instrumentation and systems integration, for a career beyond the runway. Explore what a degree from Capitol Tech can do for you! To learn more, contact our Admissions team or request more information.