SPACE IMAGES, MOBILE APPS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE are needed to protect nature
WWF-Russia made a corresponding statement at the international summit ChangeNOW, presenting the People for Nature project, implemented in partnership with the European Union. Within the framework of the event, in 3 days, 500 speakers from 120 countries will offer 1000 solutions for one planet.
“Monitoring the environment away from megacities can be effective. Over the two years of the People for Nature project, we have been convinced of this many times, ”says Elena Chernysheva, coordinator of WWF-Russia communication projects. - Monitoring of illegal logging, air condition, industrial pollution of rivers, which was carried out by local residents of three Russian ecoregions, turned out to be very effective. Based on the results of the data obtained, the regulatory agencies found those responsible and solved environmental problems ”.
As part of the "People for Nature" project, more than 400 activists have already taken part in seminars, round tables and online meetings with experts aimed at improving competencies in the field of environmental monitoring. Many of them are already using information from space images, special applications and GIS in their work. “The latest technologies in the work of eco-activists is one of the main priorities of the project,” emphasizes Elena Chernysheva, “after all, this is the only way to ensure efficiency and transparency in the field of environmental protection. Unfortunately, many of these technologies are now too expensive for NGOs and activists from small towns and villages. I hope our talk at the ChangeNOW Summit will inspire IT-companies and investors to find solutions to this problem. Environmentalists desperately need high-resolution satellite imagery and software for working with them, mobile applications with access to databases for field work, artificial intelligence for processing data and predicting environmental accidents.”
About the People for Nature project
Implemented throughout 2019–2022 by WWF-Russia with the support of the European Union, the People for Nature project aims at engaging the public in environmental protection. The objectives of the project include protecting forests through the prevention of their degradation and illegal exploitation as well as mitigating the environmental impact of the industry by improving the environmental responsibility of businesses and reducing air and water pollution.