PrevisIA
Microsoft Brasil, Fundo Vale e Imazon
ABOUT IT
Microsoft, Imazon and Fundo Vale teamed up in 2020 to develop the PrevisIA tool, which identifies information in advance regarding regions at greater risk of deforestation in the Amazon through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
PrevisIA analyzes multiple data sources, such as topography, land cover, urban infrastructure, official and unofficial roads, and socioeconomic data, in order to identify possible forest conversion trends caused by deforestation.The tool is able to indicate regions under the greatest risk of deforestation before it occurs and then enables initiatives focused on deforestation prevention and forest protection.
With the partnership and implementation of advanced Microsoft Azure cloud resources, together with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm developed by Imazon, the tool was developed to capture increasingly accurate data that further assist in the preservation of the Amazon Rainforest.
It can also be used, for instance, to assess areas of forest restoration and areas vulnerable to fires, helping produce more concrete data for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) arrangements, in partnership with local communities
The tool is part of Microsoft's project to develop a planetary computing platform to collect data that will help preserve the world's biodiversity and monitor the evolution of our planet's environmental health.
Results and Objectives
In total, PrevisIA has already identified that 15,391 km² of the legal Amazon are at high and very high risk of deforestation. The biggest challenge is located in Pará, the state with the greatest area at risk: 6,288 km², which correspond to 41% of the entire threatened territory in the Amazon. Up next, we have the states of Amazonas (17%), Mato Grosso (15%), Rondônia (11%) and Acre (9%).
In November 2021, Imazon entered into a partnership with the Public Prosecution Office of the State of Pará (MPPA) and the Environment Operational Support Center (CAOMA) to start the pilot program in Altamira, a municipality ranking among the top ten that most contribute to the deforestation in the Amazon, with the aim of providing technical support for cooperation and information exchanges between both institutions. Imazon also extended this partnership with the Public Prosecution Office of Acre, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso
The major breakthrough for this project was the use of AI in an innovative and pioneering way to democratize access to advanced information technology resources, facilitating the engagement of multiple users and civil society organizations in efforts to protect the forest.
PrevisIA was also one of the projects of the AI for Good initiative, which provided funding and technology to nonprofit organizations so they could develop solutions to some of society's toughest challenges through technology.
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