Among the challenges governments face in protecting biodiversity are preventing species extinction and securing land rights for Indigenous people. Various organizations and countries have attempted to solve it, with some using artificial intelligence to aid their efforts. The question now is whether AI truly aids in the resolution of the challenges.

Countryside Birds Sunset
(Photo: Alain Audet/Pixabay)
Countryside Birds Sunset

 

Deep-learning Neural Networks' AI Role in Indigenous Conservation Project

According to IBM, deep learning neural networks, also known as artificial neural networks, attempt to mimic the human brain using a combination of data inputs, weights, and biases. These components collaborate to recognize, classify, and describe objects in data accurately.

However, the post in Scientific American emphasizes that deep-learning neural networks do not eliminate the need for human vigilance. In fact, the inverse is true. Because this advanced AI can analyze sound data in seconds, it creates a window of opportunity for critical intervention, particularly in areas afflicted by illegal logging and mining.

The technology could detect the sounds of chainsaws or drills and send alerts to on-the-ground patrols. Indigenous communities with access to this technology and the ability to respond quickly could play an important role in this new equation.

An AI-based Indigenous Conservation Project with the Coral Gardeners in French Polynesia

Cornell University collaborated with the Coral Gardeners of Mo'orea, French Polynesia, on one of the first AI-based Indigenous conservation projects. This Indigenous group, founded in 2017, grows super heat-resistant corals and transplants them onto damaged reef areas.

ReefOS, a network of sensors and cameras that collect visual and acoustic data seven days a week, is a recording platform Cornell developed to track the sounds of the various organisms that inhabit this area. The AI-mediated soundscape informs on-site respondents as to whether the reefs are starting to sound like healthy, stable reef systems or if more restoration work is needed.


 

Northern Brazil's Tembé Tribe Reached Out to Rainforest Connection

Indigenous-AI conservation works just as well in other ecosystems. In March 2014, the Tembé tribe of Northern Brazil approached the San Francisco nonprofit Rainforest Connection about developing a low-cost alert system to monitor deforestation.

Rainforest Connection uses recycled cell phones and open-source AI software called TensorFlow to separate the sounds of chainsaws and logging trucks from the Amazon's cacophony. When Google's cloud computing detects the rev of any best chainsaw, text alerts are immediately sent to Tembé patrols.

Unfortunately, the innovative collaboration is threatened by rampant encroachment on indigenous lands, led by local politicians eager to clear the forests for industrial farming and ranching. One such politician is the mayor of So Félix do Xingu, Joo Cleber Torres. The city he led had some of the highest deforestation rates in Brazil and many unsolved land-related murders.

With only about 2,000 members, the Tembé have struggled to defend their ancestral holdings of 2,766 square kilometers against hired guns. Thirty percent of their forests have already been destroyed, and there are also human casualties. Such indigenous killings have increased dramatically in Brazil under President Jair Bolsonaro.

On April 14, 2021, the Vatican issued an emergency declaration from the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin. It is a warning that 202 Indigenous leaders have been murdered with impunity by land-grabbers protected by their political bosses in 2020, averaging more than one death every other day.

ALSO READ: Global Biodiversity Fails Again! Bioscience Experts Show How We Underestimate Self-Inflicted Mass Extinction


 

AI's Role in Biodiversity

The implications for biodiversity are dire. Attacks on indigenous lands have decimated once-thriving habitats worldwide, not just in the Amazon but also in other species-rich ecosystems like the Congo Basin, exposing them to extractive industries at their most lawless. Partnerships for AI-mediated conservation are impossible without legally secured land rights.

AI can be a useful tool for analyzing ocean data, from humpback whale songs to the properties of microplastics, if it is carefully designed and rigorously tested before being deployed in the field.

 

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