PR99157

VANZAGO, Italy, Dec. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

WWF Italy, Rainforest Connection, and Huawei Italy recently renewed

collaboration on the Nature Guardian series of area-based conservation

projects. The second phase aims to study agriculture's impact on biodiversity

in Italy using innovative audio-monitoring technologies.

Twenty-four offline RFCx AudioMoth edge devices have been deployed to record

the sounds of different animal species over 12 months in eight agroecosystems:

Valle dello Sporeggio, Bosco di Vanzago, Ghirardi, Ripabianca di Jesi, Calanchi

di Atri, Lake Penne, Monte Sant'Elia, and Lake Preola/Gorghi Tondi.

The collected data is sent to a Huawei cloud platform for analysis by the

Rainforest Connection Arbimon tool, with the analytics function trained to

recognize the calls of target species. The resulting data insights, which would

be impossible to acquire through conventional manual methods, will be used to

study the characteristics and trends of biodiversity in agroecosystems,

including the relationship between different farming practices and nature

conservation.

"Thanks to the renewed collaboration with Huawei and Rainforest Connection, we

will conduct bioacoustic surveys that will allow us to compare the biodiversity

of the agricultural areas managed with organic methods within WWF Oases with

those of other neighboring agricultural areas managed using conventional

methods," said Benedetta Flammini, Marketing & Communication Director of WWF

Italy.

Intensive industrial agriculture has had a devastating impact on global

biodiversity. In 2021, the UN Environmental Program

(UNEP)(https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/our-global-food-syste

m-primary-driver-biodiversity-loss) reported that the global food system is the

primary driver of biodiversity loss, with agriculture alone responsible for 86%

of the extinction-level threats facing 28,000 species. Moreover, 80% of global

deforestation, 60% of fresh water usage, and 23% of greenhouse gas emissions

are attributable to the impact of agriculture.

The European Commission (EC) recognizes that agricultural biodiversity is on

the decline in the EU, responding with a common agricultural

policy(https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/sustainability/environmental-sustainabil

ity/biodiversity_en) to enhance the variety of species, habitats, and landscape

features found in EU farmland ecosystems.

Aligned with WWF's Food4Future, Huawei's

TECH4ALL(https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all) program, and EC policy, the

project's data-driven insights are intended to help guide future best practices

for sustainable agriculture, including balancing the needs of nature and people

and promoting a food supply system that is resilient, inclusive, sustainable,

and healthier.

"At Huawei, we embrace the objectives of the European Green Deal and the 'farm

to fork' strategy," said Wilson Wang, CEO of Huawei Italy. "By placing our

technology at the service of these objectives, we want to contribute to the

creation of a more sustainable food system, preserving the richness and variety

that Italy can boast in terms of wildlife and habitats in agricultural

environments."

Running from the Alps to Sicily, the selected sites in the second phase of the

Nature Guaridan project include apple orchards, vineyards, olive groves, citrus

groves, wheat fields, and land intended for the cultivation of cereals and

vegetables.

Launched in 2021, the first phase of the Nature

Guardian(https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all/stories/italy-biodiversity) project

covers three protected WWF Oasis sites in Italy: Lake Burano, Orbetello Lagoon,

and Astroni Crater. Forty-five offline AudioMoth and 10 online Guardian devices

were deployed to study biodiversity and detect illegal activities such as

poaching, unauthorized dirt bikes, and logging. So far, the results have been

positive. The system has identified 49 species of birds and mammals and

generated 2,000 real-time alerts on potentially illegal activities. The alerts

have led to more than 30 field checks, one of which resulted in the destruction

of poaching equipment in December 2021 by the Italian police and WWF.

About Huawei TECH4ALL

TECH4ALL is Huawei's long-term digital inclusion initiative that aims to leave

no one behind in the digital world. It focuses on four domains: enabling equity

and quality of education, conserving nature with technology, enabling inclusive

healthcare, and development.

For more information, please visit Huawei TECH4ALL website at

https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HUAWEI_TECH4ALL

SOURCE:  Huawei

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=435803

   Caption: An AudioMoth edge device installed in a fruit farm