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IBM and WWF Partner to Enhance Conservation of African Forest Elephants
ARMONK, N.Y. – In a significant stride toward wildlife conservation, IBM and the World Wide Fund for Nature – Germany (WWF) have announced a collaboration aimed at developing innovative solutions to monitor keystone species, with a focus on the critically endangered African forest elephant.
This partnership merges IBM’s technological expertise in sustainability with WWF’s extensive knowledge in wildlife conservation. The initiative will leverage AI-driven visual inspection technology to enhance the tracking of African forest elephants, improving individual identification from camera trap images. This advancement is pivotal for conservation strategies, as these elephants are essential for carbon storage in their forest habitats.
Future applications of this technology could assist organizations in determining the economic value of nature’s contributions provided by these elephants, such as their role in carbon sequestration. This recognition of ecosystem services underscores the importance of African forest elephants in maintaining the health of their ecosystems.
The African forest elephant population has plummeted by over 80% in recent years due to habitat destruction and poaching in the Congo Basin. As society grapples with climate change, restoring natural environments, including the protection of such vital species, is crucial in combating carbon emissions.
Utilizing advanced technology to track and appraise natural capital offers a new pathway for organizations, facilitating climate change mitigation while identifying avenues for sustainable investment.
“At IBM, we are committed to making a substantial positive impact across businesses, environments, and communities. Our collaboration with WWF marks a notable progress in this endeavor. By merging our strengths in technology and sustainability with WWF’s expertise in conservation, we aspire to harness technological power for a sustainable future,” stated Oday Abbosh, Global Sustainability Services Leader at IBM Consulting.
As part of this initiative, IBM Consulting is working closely with WWF to identify innovative approaches that align WWF’s conservation projects with IBM’s technological capabilities. The partnership will utilize IBM Maximo Visual Inspection (MVI) to analyze camera trap data, aiming for enhanced accuracy in identifying individual elephants. The focus on features such as head and tusks will facilitate precise identification, akin to human fingerprints.
“Our technology will play a vital role in simplifying the identification and documentation of individual elephants. This is an exciting application of IBM software that, in combination with our consulting services and WWF’s conservation expertise, can cultivate new methods to advance sustainability efforts,” remarked Kendra Dekeyrel, VP of ESG and Asset Management at IBM.
Furthermore, the collaboration seeks to implement IBM Environmental Intelligence to monitor vegetation and above-ground biomass levels in areas inhabited by elephants, leading to improved predictions of their locations. This data will aid in quantifying the ecosystem services provided by African forest elephants, ultimately guiding the process of valuing and tokenizing their contributions to carbon offsetting.
Harnessing Natural Capital for Sustainable Progress
IBM and WWF are united in their goal to explore novel products and services that enable organizations to utilize natural capital for advancing sustainability initiatives.
Natural capital encompasses the world’s natural assets, including land, water, air, and wildlife, all of which deliver vital ecosystem services and benefits to human well-being. For example, each African forest elephant can enhance the carbon capture capacity of its forest by nearly 250 acres, equating to the removal of emissions produced by over 2,000 cars annually. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates this could hold a financial value of up to $1.75 million per elephant, considering their role in carbon sequestration and other ecosystem benefits.
“Monitoring African forest elephant populations is fraught with challenges and costs. The logistics involved are complex, resulting in imprecise population estimates. AI technology that can facilitate individual identification from camera images has immense potential. By tracking each elephant over time and space, we can achieve more accurate population assessments and develop performance-based conservation funding mechanisms,” explained Dr. Thomas Breuer, WWF Germany’s African Forest Elephant Coordinator.
The collaboration between IBM and WWF marks an important step towards not only preserving a vital species but also fostering a more sustainable relationship between nature and human economic activities.
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