The threat to biodiversity is one of the significant issues faced by humanity, which calls out the need for urgent and coordinated action. As per the reports in 2020, the population of wild animals living on Earth is expected to fall by two-thirds, which will also affect the existence of other living beings on the planet as well. Despite the current efforts of conservation, the biodiversity has declined dramatically in the recent decades.

Here Artificial Intelligence is one of the powerful tools that can offer several opportunities that can save biodiversity. AI application in conserving biodiversity is a pivotal solution that can aid the survival of a wide range of species and maintain a healthy ecology. However, AI in biodiversity conservation should be deployed in a way that boost a paradigm shift to new, sustainable models of development than establishing the business as usual.

Automating species classification by citizen scientists and communities, automating land use change monitoring, fishing vessels, monitoring the impact of various biodiversity policies and optimising the biodiversity positive business models for the major sectors helps to develop enhanced transparency, accountability and other actions supporting biodiversity conservation.

The major advancements in data science along with the revolution brought up by digital and satellite technology has enhanced the potential of AI applications in the wildlife sectors in India. India share 7% of global forest area and is the eighth most biodiverse region in the world. But the fastened growth of developmental projects, urban areas and agriculture remains a threat to the country’s rich biodiversity. Hence, adopting cutting-edge technologies like AI in our forests could help in effectively monitoring, managing and conserving biodiversity and wildlife resources.

How AI aids in conserving our biodiversity?

As per a report by UN in 2019, “8 million is the total estimated number of animal and plant species on Earth. Ten to hundred times, the extent to which the current rate of global species extinction has been higher than average over the last 10 million years and the rate is accelerating. Up to 1 million, the species threatened with extinction many within decades.”

The statistics explained how the planet currently approaching its sixth mass extinction. Additionally, the reports say elephants are killed every 14 minutes in Africa and Rhinos are slaughtered every 11 hours. Along with that, USA lists almost 14,000 species as endangered. Most of the species reportedly survived over millions of years. Hence actions like hunting, deforestations, and poaching majorly impact biodiversity.

Advanced technologies like AI can uncover innovative methods to conserve and protect our biodiversity. Applying AI in biodiversity can help identify various signals and thereby detect risks from these signals and provide real-time updates. Therefore, AI is referred as an ally in biodiversity conservation and natural resources as well.

CAPTAIN-a novel framework for spatial conservation

The millions of species facing extinction highlights a need for conservation policies to protect our biodiversity and sustain its various contributions to human life. Therefore, a paper published in the journal Nature Sustainability by scientists from the Royal Botanic Garden explains how AI can enhance conservation policies and proposes a detailed framework for spatial conservation that can prioritise areas based on reinforcement learning that can beat available state-of-the-art software using simulated and empirical data.

The methodology, Conservation Area Prioritisation Through Artificial Intelligence (CAPTAIN), quantifies the exchange of costs and benefits of area and biodiversity protection by allowing the exploration of various biodiversity metrics. According to report, the model works under limited budget and protects a wide range of species from extinction than areas selected randomly based on species density. The model attains considerably better solutions using empirical data rather than alternative software by completing conservation targets reliably and generates much more interpretable prioritisation maps.

Frequently monitoring biodiversity, even with a slight inaccuracy characteristic of citizen science surveys, improves biodiversity consequences. Here Artificial Intelligence holds a great power in enhancing the conservation and sustainable use of biological and ecosystem values in a swift changing and resource limited world.

• https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00851-6
• https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/12/7154
• https://www.hitechnectar.com/blogs/applications-of-ai-in-biodiversity/
• Photo by Fateme Alaie on Unsplash