IBM and WWF-Germany to Build New AI Solution to Support Conservation of Keystone Species
07.08.2025 - 18:06:11"Our technology will play a crucial role in streamlining the process of identifying and accounting for the individual elephants. This is an exciting new use of IBM software, which in combination with our consulting services and WWF's deep knowledge of the natural world can help create new ways to accelerate organizations' sustainability efforts." - Kendra Dekeyrel, VP of ESG and Asset Management at IBM
In addition, the two organizations aim to leverage IBM Environmental Intelligence to detect above-ground biomass and vegetation levels in specific areas where the elephants are present. This will enable more accurate predictions of the elephants' future locations to better quantify the NCP services they provide. Ultimately,this will help the process of quantifying and tokenizing the value of carbon services provided by the African forest elephant, providing organizations with insights they can use to further drive sustainability efforts.
Harnessing the power of natural capital for sustainability
IBM and WWF are committed to exploring innovative products and services to help organizations harness natural capital to accelerate their sustainability progress.
The concept of natural capital refers to the world's stocks of natural assets, including geology, soil, air, water, and all wildlife. These natural assets provide a range of ecosystem services and NCP, which are the direct and indirect ways nature contributes to human well-being.
For instance, a single African forest elephant, roaming freely in its natural habitat, can increase the net carbon capture capacity of the forest by almost 250 acres. This is equivalent to removing from the atmosphere a year's worth of emissions from 2,047 cars. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), this can translate into a dollar value of up to $1.75 million per elephant, considering the carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services it provides.
"Counting African forest elephants is both difficult and costly. The logistics are complex and the resulting population numbers are not precise. Being able to identify individual elephants from camera trap images with the help of AI has the potential to be a game-changer. With AI, we will be able to monitor individual animals in space and time, giving us more robust and detailed population estimates and allowing for performance-based conservation payments, such as wildlife credits. The spatial data will also show us where these elephants choose to move – thus enabling us to protect these wildlife corridors." - Dr. Thomas Breuer, WWF Germany - African Forest Elephant Coordinator
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Media Contact:
Lily O'Brien
IBM
lilyobrien@ibm.com
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