African forest elephants have seen their populations plummet by over 80% due to habitat loss and poaching. Credit: Roger de la Harpe via Shutterstock.

Tech giant IBM has partnered with WWF-Germany to create an artificial intelligence (AI) solution aimed at conserving the critically endangered African forest elephant.  

This technology aims to enhance the tracking and identification of individual elephants, aiding conservation efforts and potentially assessing the financial value of the species’ contributions to ecosystems. 

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Under the initiative, IBM’s sustainability and technology capabilities and WWF’s conservation expertise will be leveraged to develop an AI-powered visual inspection tool for more accurate elephant tracking. 

The new solution seeks to accurately identify individual elephants from camera trap photos, a crucial step in their monitoring and protection. 

African forest elephants, which play a key role in carbon storage within their habitats, have seen their populations plummet by over 80% due to habitat loss and poaching. 

This technology could also help organisations evaluate the financial value of natural contributions, such as carbon sequestration, provided by these elephants.  

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As the business sector seeks ways to combat climate change, supporting nature restoration is becoming increasingly important for atmospheric carbon emission reduction. 

The collaboration will utilise IBM’s Maximo Visual Inspection software, which boasts AI-powered visual inspection and modelling capabilities, to analyse images and film from camera traps. 

The current focus is on using image recognition for identifying elephants by their heads and tusks, akin to human fingerprints.  

The partnership will use IBM Environmental Intelligence to monitor biomass and vegetation in elephant habitats, refining movement predictions and assessing ecosystem services. 

IBM said this approach not only supports conservation efforts but also opens doors for sustainable finance investments by quantifying and tokenising the carbon services offered by the African forest elephant.  

Such insights could be instrumental in driving forward sustainability initiatives. 

IBM Consulting global sustainability services leader Oday Abbosh said: “At IBM, we strive to make a lasting, positive impact on the world in business, our environment, and the communities in which we work and live. Our collaboration with WWF marks a significant step forward in this effort. By combining our expertise in technology and sustainability with WWF’s conservation expertise, we aim to leverage the power of technology to create a more sustainable future.”