Cornell Lab Receives $1.8 Million for Biodiversity Monitoring
The Bezos Earth Fund has granted $1.8 million to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to advance artificial intelligence technologies aimed at protecting wildlife in key ecosystems across Guatemala and Brazil. The initiative focuses on using data-driven tools to enhance biodiversity tracking and environmental management as part of a wider AI for Climate and Nature program.
AI Tools to Detect Environmental Threats
The project will use networks of acoustic sensors combined with AI software to monitor wildlife populations and detect activities such as illegal logging and poaching. These systems will analyze vast amounts of audio data in real time, allowing scientists to identify species and assess environmental changes more efficiently than traditional field methods.
Supporting Scalable Conservation Solutions
By developing affordable and adaptable AI models, the Cornell team hopes to make this technology accessible to conservationists worldwide. The project is one of several funded through the Bezos Earth Fund’s $100 million global challenge to accelerate AI-based climate and biodiversity solutions.
