Deforestation and the Potential of AI

“We depend on forests for our survival, from the air we breathe to the wood we use. Besides providing habitats for animals and livelihoods for humans, forests also offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion, and mitigate climate change. Yet, despite our dependence on forests, we are still allowing them to disappear.”

Deforestation is a dangerous problem that is threatening our rainforests, air-quality, biodiversity, and environment. From human-caused forest fires, to land cleared for-profits, deforestation is wreaking havoc on thousands of different species and ecosystems. It has taken its toll on our planet, and it’s time to do something to stop it.

According to the organization Global Forest Watch, a primary rainforest area the size of 50 football fields is demolished every single minute. This means that over a year, the amount of forest destroyed is comparable to the size of Italy!

Why are these forests important?

Hopefully, you already have some understanding of how important these forests are. But, for those of you out there who don’t already know, here are a few facts.

• 80% of the world’s land-based mammals live in forest ecosystems
• 1.6 billion people rely on forests to support themselves and their family
• Tropical rainforests contain 170,000 of the 250,000 plant species and the majority of the world’s biodiversity
• human-caused forest destruction is responsible for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the World Resource Institute

Forests are vital to the health of the ENTIRE planet. Forests purify the air, water, regulate weather and temperature, mitigate climate change, shelter endangered species, and are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.

And yet, after everything that these forests do for us, we have been destroying them at an unprecedented rate. This is at a rate from which forests cannot recover and that is leading to mass animal extinction. At a rate that is 1,000 times faster than what is considered normal. According to the UN, over half a million species of animals don’t have enough habitat for long-term survival. This means that those species will likely go extinct within the next couple years.

Why is deforestation happening?

The main reason forests are demolished is for agricultural purposes. The land is destroyed and it’s cleared of trees, plants, and all wild-life. Then, the land is turned into palm oil, soy, cattle, and other monoculture farms for people to make money. Unfortunately lots of people out there still care more about profits than they do about the planet. Of course, deforestation is not only caused by agriculture, but the industry is responsible for a large portion of the damage.

There’s also land-clearing to make space for human communities, mining, cutting down trees for wood, and the burning down of forests to sell charcoal. While deforestation is illegal in many countries and forests around the world, it is difficult to enforce these laws. Particularly when forests cover such a massive amount of land.

But then again, in other places, it is not illegal. In fact, the destruction of forests is encouraged and supported in many countries around the world. For instance in Brazil, under President Bolsonaro, the country with the largest percentage of the world’s tropical rainforests in it.

How can AI help with deforestation?

Sadly, deforestation has been hard to track and regulate, but AI can change that. New AI projects have allowed environmentalists, researchers, and governments to use satellites to estimate the amount of forest being cleared. This not only helps us stop deforestation in its tracks by holding people and companies accountable for their destruction, but it also helps determine what areas need to be guarded (high-risk areas for deforestation), and where restoration is necessary.

Furthermore, forests still cover roughly 30% of our planet. While the forests in Brazil and the Congo get lots of attention, they are not the only forests in the world. There’re lots of small forests and other major forests that garner less media attention. But that are just as important and vital to our earth. In these places, there may not be resources to track and prevent deforestation, but satellite imaging can do the job for them. It can provide these countries with the resources they need to track forest destruction and protect their ecosystems.

Some companies and startups have launched AI models to track deforestation with satellite data, including Open Project. Open Project not only tracks deforestation, but tracks biodiversity, and crop and soil conditions for agriculture. It can even predict locations and quantities of future deforestation! While this particular AI model has yet to be implemented worldwide, it was presented during the 2019 UN Climate Summit. And, the United Nations now supports and recognizes this project!

How does this AI model work?

The AI model works by using satellite or drone images of forested areas and comparing it to the data it was exposed to during training. The training data uses previous satellite images with labels attached to them reflecting how much forest was cleared or whether anything was cleared at all.

Once enough data was fed into the AI model, it would come up with a complex algorithm to determine deforestation the day after a given day. This would allow government and environmentalists to guess how much forest they should expect to see destroyed, and where. I am not sure what kind of AI model Open Project used for this project, but visual data projects like this one, typically use a K Nearest Neighbor model, a U-Net, or a Convolutional Neural Network.

What’s Next?

So, if AI can help us protect our forests, what comes next? What else can AI help us do? Now, this is very hard to predict. In fact, there are honestly limitless possibilities for the uses of AI in the environment and who even knows what discovery will come next! I do know that several new projects are working on tracking air pollution, carbon emissions, and even endangered animals! In places like Africa, they are testing out new AI systems to check for poachers too.

While these are all important ideas, the source of the problem has to be addressed too. And, that means changing the way we use and think of land, particularly when it comes to agriculture. Currently, agriculture uses half of the earth’s habitable land, leaving less space for us to live, and for nature too. Not only that, but agriculture is the primary cause of Brazilian rainforest deforestation. It is a massive issue that needs to be fixed, and soon.

Fortunately, there have been many new advances in agriculture involving AI to make farming as efficient as it can be. There are lots of models that are already available for farmers to grow crops in ways that are more sustainable. These apps track weather, soil conditions, and ideal crop-rotation patterns for efficiency and to keep the soil is kept fertile. And, with these new resources, small and large scale farms have the tools, information, and resources to make their business more eco-friendly.

Climate change has grown to become a crisis that requires quick, accessible, and efficient solutions, making it the perfect candidate for AI models. And with artificial intelligence on our hands, we might be on the right track to resolving climate change and saving our planet!

A little bit about the author:

Gabriela Hakeman is a Student Ambassador in the Inspirit AI Student Ambassadors Program. Inspirit AI is a pre-collegiate enrichment program that exposes curious high school students globally to AI through live online classes. Learn more at https://www.inspiritai.com/.

Satellite Image Source:

“NASA Releases Images of Dramatic Deforestation in Cambodia.” Mongabay Environmental News, 2 Mar. 2017, news.mongabay.com/2017/01/nasa-releases-images-of-dramatic-cambodia-deforestation/.

Curious for more?

Check out my previous post on the uses of AI in the environment! Or, check out my posts on living an eco-friendly lifestyle and find fantastic vegan and vegetarian recipes!