#ForTheDataDriven

Listening to the Rainforest Can Save our Climate

Mar 16, 2022

4:00pm – 5:00pm CT

What if rainforest wildlife could prevent its own extinction by playing an active role in halting deforestation? Could animals sound the alarm, pinpoint where illegal logging is about to occur, and help humans fight climate change? With the help of AI and data, it’s becoming reality. In this session, Rainforest Connection CEO & Founder Topher White will speak to the new way that acoustic data is not only detecting where illegal logging is happening, but actually predicting where it will occur in the future, based on the sounds of birds and animals in the forest — so that it can be prevented in the first place and not just reduced. Attendees will also hear firsthand from a Village Forest Guard with the KKI Warsi in West Sumatra, a local NGO fighting illegal logging across multiple villages.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

photo of Topher White
Topher White

Rainforest Connection

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