IBM and WWF Use AI to Protect African Forest Elephants

Highlights

IBM and WWF are saving African forest elephants.
AI will identify elephants from photos.
This will measure the elephants’ carbon impact.
Understanding the value will drive conservation and finance.

IBM and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Germany are teaming up to save African forest elephants. These are critically endangered and have declined by over 80% due to habitat loss and poaching.

To help protect them, IBM and WWF will develop new tech using artificial intelligence (AI). This AI will look at photos from camera traps to identify individual elephants. By recognising each elephant, scientists can track their numbers and movements.

Beyond elephants, this technology can also calculate the value of these animals to the planet. Elephants shape their forest habitats – they are the ecosystem engineers – so they store more carbon. By understanding this value we can find new ways to protect them and invest in conservation.

IBM’s technology will measure plant growth and carbon levels in areas where elephants live. This will tell us where elephants will go next and how much carbon they store. By putting a price on the “services” elephants provide – like carbon storage – businesses and governments can support conservation and find new ways to invest in a sustainable future.

"At IBM, we strive to make a lasting, positive impact on the world in business, our environment, and the communities in which we work and live. Our collaboration with WWF marks a significant step forward in this effort. By combining our expertise in technology and sustainability with WWF's conservation expertise, we aim to leverage the power of technology to create a more sustainable future." says, Oday Abbosh, Global Sustainability Services Leader, IBM Consulting.

"Our technology will play a crucial role in streamlining the process of identifying and accounting for the individual elephants. This is an exciting new use of IBM software, which in combination with our consulting services and WWF's deep knowledge of the natural world can help create new ways to accelerate organizations' sustainability efforts." says, Kendra Dekeyrel, VP of ESG and Asset Management at IBM.

"Counting African forest elephants is both difficult and costly. The logistics are complex and the resulting population numbers are not precise. Being able to identify individual elephants from camera trap images with the help of AI has the potential to be a game-changer. With AI, we will be able to monitor individual animals in space and time, giving us more robust and detailed population estimates and allowing for performance-based conservation payments, such as wildlife credits. The spatial data will also show us where these elephants choose to move – thus enabling us to protect these wildlife corridors." says, Dr. Thomas Breuer, WWF Germany - African Forest Elephant Coordinator.

This partnership shows how technology and conservation can work together to protect our planet. By understanding the value of nature, we can inspire action to protect it.

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Source: IBM