Organiser: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)
Description
Eight European countries share the Alps. Alpine-wide cooperation and coordination is key to conserving and restoring their extraordinary nature. With the Alpine Convention and the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region unique institutions and numerous alpine-wide working groups exist; still, new technologies and innovative tools can further contribute to upscale restoration endeavours. This session will provide opportunities to explore two pre-projected pathways to support nature restoration in the Alpine region, namely artificial intelligence (AI) and digital solutions as well as innovative tools and standards. Both pathways will be introduced and contextualized through short expert impulses. This will be followed by a discussion with the audience on how to better utilize the pathways to support the implementation of nature restoration in the Alpine region and beyond.
Moderation
Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst, German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN)
Agenda
- Introduction/Context, Bettina Hedden-Dunkhorst (Head of the Division “International Nature Conservation”, BfN)
The introduction will set the scene through a brief overview of global and European policy frameworks for nature restoration and elucidating respective cooperation processes among the Alpine states. - Artificial intelligence and digital solutions for biodiversity monitoring and nature restoration, Christian Schneider (Head of the Division “Strategic Digitalisation for Nature and Society”, BfN)
The input aims to showcase digital solutions for biodiversity monitoring, as well as nature conservation and restoration, with a focus on machine learning. In addition, it aims to raise awareness of the potentials and challenges of AI and digital solutions, and to foster collaboration on AI methods and systems. - Participatory processes and governance in nature restoration, Irina Kozban (Division “International Nature Conservation”, BfN)
The short input underlines important principles and considerations related to the engagement of stakeholders and the broader public in restoration actions, to improve acceptance, suitability and sustainability of measures. - Case study: Ticino landscape restoration plan, Serena Arduino (President of CIPRA International, former Senior Advisor to the Ticino Initiative)
The presentation of the project “Restoring the Ticino River Basin Landscape” will provide a closer look at the multi-stakeholder process of conceptualising, planning and implementing a large-scale transboundary restoration programme. Discussion with the audience. Potential questions:
- Do you consider the presented AI and digital solutions as useful to support and scale up nature restoration in the Alpine region (or in any other region)? If yes, how could they be implemented? What resources exist already, and which additional resources are necessary to foster their utilization?- As the engagement of stakeholders and the broader public seem to be crucial in restoration processes, how can this be realistically achieved at a broader scale?
- How to foster mutual learning on AI and digital solutions and innovative governance tools in restoration activities in the Alpine region and beyond?