PR99807

SHENZHEN, China, March 21, 2023 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Themed 'Forests and Health', this year's International Day of Forests on March

21 is a call for humanity to consider its relationship with the Earth's forests

and the direct impact they have on our longevity and well-being.

Many people are familiar with the metaphor that forests are the lungs of the

planet, breathing out clean air and serving as vital carbon sinks that mitigate

the effects of climate change. Fewer, however, are aware of the intrinsic links

that forests have with our day-to-day health.

Did you know?

As well as the planet's lungs, forests are also nature's pharmacy and larder.

They provide us with around 25% of western medicines, with upwards of 50,000

plants contributing to modern drugs. And a

study(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6093622/) of 27 African

countries shows that children exposed to forests had 25% greater diet diversity

thanks to an abundance of fruit, vegetables, bush meat, fish, and edible oils.  

But the prognosis for forests is alarming. Around 35% of the world's forest

cover has been lost, with 82% of the remainder degraded.

The rapidity and extent of these threats require long-term, committed

intervention.

A story of protection

One way technology is protecting forest ecosystems is by preventing illegal

logging, which accounts for up to 90% of all logging activities and is a major

contributor to global deforestation.

In Similajau National Park in Malaysia's Sarawak state, we are working with the

Sarawak Forest Department and Sarawak Forestry Corporation to enable the

Sarawak government to protect its rainforests. The park is not just rich in

biodiversity, it is also a sustainable source of medicine and food for local

people, many of whom depend on the forest for their livelihoods.

However, illegal logging remains a prominent threat, causing widespread

degradation of the rainforest ecosystem and biodiversity loss.

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2037228/malaysia_nature_guardian_720_1.mp4

Now, though, there is hope. 'Guardian' acoustic monitoring devices can detect

the sound of trucks and chainsaws used for illegal logging. Each Guardian can

cover an area of 7 km and send networked real-time alerts via a cloud platform

to rangers' phones, enabling real-time intervention.

Audio and visual monitoring technology and AI analytics can also help monitor

endangered species through their vocalizations. By tracking their populations

and distribution, conservationists can develop precise conservation measures.

Of particular interest are umbrella species, the well-being of which is pivotal

to the health of the forest ecosystems they inhabit. Examples of biodiversity

monitoring projects that target umbrella species include Darwin's foxes in

Chile and jaguars in Mexico's Dzilam State Reserve.

Technology can also trigger smart conservation action in forested areas. In

Switzerland, a pilot Tech4Nature project in partnership with IUCN and Porini

Foundation uses blockchain to develop a system to trace carbon sequestration to

boost the transparency and traceability of forest carbon sink transactions,

with a view to using these credits to fund other biodiversity conservation

projects.

The above are examples of forest ecosystem protection projects under Huawei's

TECH4ALL initiative. Together with global partners, technological solutions

have been developed comprising audio and visual monitoring devices,

communication networks, cloud, and AI analytics. These can achieve conservation

outcomes that would have been impossible even a decade ago.

With scientific evidence strongly correlating forest health and human health,

it is imperative that we keep our forests healthy. Our experience so far shows

that this approach is working. And that knowledge drives us to keep striving

with our partners to help build a healthy, sustainable future for both us and

our forests.

Learn more about Huawei's

TECH4ALL(https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all/environment) and

Tech4Nature(https://tech4nature.iucngreenlist.org/) initiatives.

Source: Huawei