Vinnova is now funding a project to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to map natural values. The goal is, in addition to increased knowledge and competence in the use of AI, to streamline the mapping of natural values.
The project is run by Ecogain and in partnership with a prominent AI provider. The starting point is that an AI will be trained to recognize places with an increased likelihood of natural values, such as different bird species.
The aim is for the project to strengthen the remote analyses carried out by biologists prior to field inventories. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are already an important tool in this work. This new project will investigate how AI technology can further strengthen the work by more quickly finding important sites for certain bird species and sites with high natural values for birds.
We have an exciting journey ahead of us and look forward to building new knowledge. We will broaden our expertise by integrating AI into work that benefits both people and nature in the long term."
- Åsa Abel, project participant and management representative for the AI initiative at Ecogain.
The aim is not to completely replace human processes with the AI model, but rather to integrate AI methodology into established working methods. In this way, it should be possible to generate a better knowledge base in the work of identifying natural values.
In the future, it could also lead to significant time savings and increased efficiency in nature value assessments. The main benefit may come from a reduction in the area that needs to be surveyed in the field without missing any important sites. If this results in time savings and more efficient studies of nature values with the same or better quality of results, it is not only beneficial for nature value assessments of an area, but also for the Swedish nature.
