Nikki Tye Protecting the Amazon Forest from Illegal Activity through Image Recognition and Operations Research: A Partnership with JungleKeepers and Peruvian Indigenous Communities

Recipient: Nikki Tye, majoring in Honors International Development

Project Overview: The Amazon rainforest, a crucial global resource, faces unprecedented threats from human activities such as logging, mining, and deforestation for agriculture, exacerbating the climate crisis. Despite the pressing need for coordinated conservation efforts, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) frequently bear the weight of these endeavors. Environmental NGOs collaborate with local Indigenous communities to protect the Amazon rainforest from illegal activity, mainly through patrols and data collection. However, these partnerships face resource constraints that limit their ability to collect data from illegal activity in the forest. This project addresses this challenge by exploring the untapped potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help Indigenous communities and environmental NGOs improve their rainforest patrolling activities.

SUPERVISORS

Juan Camilo Serpa

Juan Camilo Serpa is an Associate Professor and Area Coordinator in Operations Management at the Desautels Faculty of Management. He is also a William Dawson Scholar, the Academic Director of the Management Science Research Centre, and the Director of the Data Mangrove Sustainability Hub. His teaching and researh include Business Analytics & Machine Learning, AI for animal rights, Government Operations, Supply Chain Management, and more.

 

Emmanuelle Vaast

 

Emmanuelle Vaast is the Desautels 1 Chair in Digital Technology Management, Professor of Information Systems, and Associate Dean of Research at the Desautels Faculty of Management of McGill University. Her research examines how social practices emerge and change with the implementation and use of new technologies and how these new practices are associated with organizational and change dynamics. 

 

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