How to use AI for managing overlapping conservation areas

From the newsletter

Experts at the Seventh Session of the UN Environment Assembly recommend artificial intelligence as a key tool to streamline the management of Africa’s internationally designated conservation areas. Known as Multi-Internationally Designated Areas (MIDAs), these sites carry overlapping protection, each with distinct reporting and governance requirements. 

• MIDAs face management challenges that hinder conservation and integrating AI tools, like large language models, can harmonise monitoring and synthesise data across frameworks for different countries.

• The use of AI in African conservation is fast moving. It is currently used in anti-poaching e.g drones and thermal cameras with AI, wildlife monitoring like identifying individuals via patterns and tracking populations, habitat management and data like satellite imaging and disaster response.

More details

• AI was also highlighted at the UNEA-7 as key to improving cooperation across Multilateral Environmental Agreements, where countries struggle with rising reporting demands and scattered environmental data. Experts said Africa needs stronger data governance and capacity building so AI systems can support treaty obligations and strengthen transparency. This, according to the experts, will align MIDAs more effectively to global frameworks like the Paris Agreement.

• Some of the recent use cases of AI to help inform conservation planning include the expansion of a satellite-based wildfire intelligence in Africa by OroraTech and the Earth Fire Alliance to protect wildlife at Kruger National Park and others. The collaboration will combine OroraTech’s FOREST satellite network with data from the Earth Fire Alliance’s FireSat constellation. Both systems are built to detect thermal anomalies and predict wildfires.

• Other satellite uses for data include the Global Fishing Watch, founded by Oceana, SkyTruth and Google. It uses satellite data to track industrial fishing activity worldwide. The Global Forest Watch is another satellite tool used in African conservation by providing satellite data and alerts for near-real-time monitoring of deforestation and fires.

• In anti-poaching, the most recent use case are thermal cameras integrated with artificial intelligence to protect rhinos in Kenya. Developed by Teledyne FLIR in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, this technology uses high-powered thermal imaging and AI to detect humans, animals, vehicles or other intruders in the dark. It automatically alerts rangers. The system has helped halt poaching in key areas such as Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Solio Game Reserve.

• Using AI for wildlife monitoring and identification has also grown. In June 2025, Microsoft launched a new open-source AI tool to support conservation in Africa. The tool, named Generalized Image-based Re-Identification using Artificial Intelligence for Fauna Feature Extraction (GIRAFFE), identifies individual giraffes and other animals with unique patterns by analysing their unique spot patterns, achieving over 90 percent accuracy. The tool uses computer vision to automate animal identification.

• AI can also improve integrity in MIDAS for conservation finance. An example is Africa’s first REDD+ registry, launched by Kenya in August 2025. It is a digital platform that verifies and manages forest carbon projects to improve transparency in carbon markets. The system is designed to close long-standing gaps in accountability by preventing double counting of emissions reductions and ensuring fair benefit-sharing with forest communities and other partners. 

Our take

• AI can improve the reporting mechanisms for MIDAs, which have the potential to amplify environmental protection and improve benefits for local communities.

• To achieve this, conservation partners must identify capacity-building needs and governance gaps to ensure the equitable and sustainable application of AI in multilateral and national environmental processes.