Project Guacamaya Uses AI and Satellites to Combat Amazon Deforestation

Project Guacamaya, an innovative initiative leveraging Microsoft AI, is making significant strides in combating deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The project employs satellite imagery, camera traps, and bioacoustics to monitor and protect the region’s biodiversity, according to Source LATAM.

Amazon’s Biodiversity at Risk

The Amazon rainforest, known as the world’s most complex biological environment, is home to millions of plant, bird, and wildlife species, many of which remain unstudied. From 2022 to 2023, the Amazon lost approximately 3 million hectares to deforestation, an alarming rate of 10,000 acres per day, as reported by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project.

With ten percent of the Amazon located within Colombia’s borders, local organizations are utilizing advanced cloud and AI technologies to fight deforestation, improve the climate, and safeguard flora, fauna, and Indigenous communities.

Technological Innovation in Conservation

Project Guacamaya is a collaborative effort involving the CinfonIA Research Center at Universidad de los Andes, Instituto SINCHI, Instituto Humboldt, Planet Labs PBC, and Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab. This partnership uses cutting-edge AI models to monitor deforestation and protect the ecosystem. The project integrates satellite imagery, camera traps, and bioacoustics to achieve its goals.

Bioacoustics play a crucial role in assessing the forest’s health, allowing researchers to detect changes in sound patterns that may indicate deforestation risks. “Technology will be a game-changer in saving the Amazon,” stated Pablo Arbeláez, director of the CinfonIA Research Center.

Enhanced Monitoring Capabilities

Recent updates to Project Guacamaya have significantly improved researchers’ ability to track and understand deforestation patterns. Key advancements include:

• Daily satellite images from Planet Labs: Previously provided monthly, satellite imagery is now updated daily, enabling researchers to set up daily alerts for deforestation monitoring.
• Amazon-specific AI models: These models offer higher accuracy in identifying species specific to the Amazon, allowing researchers to work ten times faster.
• Governmental collaboration: The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology, and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in Colombia will now use Project Guacamaya’s models for official deforestation reports.
• Open-source biodiversity model: The project has released Pytorch Wildlife, an open-source platform for creating, modifying, and sharing AI conservation models.

Juan Lavista Ferres, Corporate Vice President and Chief Data Scientist at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, emphasized the importance of collaboration, stating, “This is a great example of how AI accelerates and supports the work of conservationists. We’ve already made significant progress through this collaboration and I’m looking forward to more impact.”

Hernando García Martínez, general director of Instituto Humboldt, added, “With this connection of knowledge, institutions, and technology, we want the country to move more forcefully in making critical decisions on how to maintain and conserve ecosystems. We need people to understand the value of nature.”

The advancements in Project Guacamaya are poised to make a significant impact on the preservation of the Amazon rainforest, demonstrating the powerful role of technology in environmental conservation.

Image source: Shutterstock