AI helps map disaster risks and protect Himalayan Biodiversity
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Kamal Bawa, founder of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru, India, explained how his organization uses artificial intelligence to address environmental challenges in the Himalayas.
ATREE’s Himalaya Initiative focuses on biodiversity conservation through five areas including conservation planning, land restoration, and supporting local livelihoods. The organization is using technology like geospatial mapping and bioacoustics to monitor biodiversity and land-use changes, allowing them to analyze animal sounds and track species composition.
ATREE is also developing digital platforms like SNAIL for environmental education and a portal detailing Himalayan plant life. Recent floods in Nepal and Tibet, caused by a glacier collapse, highlight the need for improved disaster prediction. Bawa noted that while predicting these events is difficult, satellite monitoring of glaciers and unstable slopes, along with cross-border data sharing, could provide crucial early warnings.
Bawa also detailed how AI can aid in climate change mitigation and adaptation, including decentralized energy generation, carbon accounting, and providing farmers with weather and crop advice. ATREE is leveraging technologies like environmental DNA, AI-powered camera traps, and citizen science applications to expand biodiversity exploration and monitoring, creating a Digital Knowledge Hub and the Himalayan Biodiversity Information System (HBIS) to share information with communities and researchers.
The organization recognizes challenges in implementing these tools across diverse regions of India but believes the potential benefits for both conservation and local livelihoods are significant.
