The Nature Conservancy Awarded $2 Million from Bezos Earth Fund to Advance AI Solutions for Climate and Nature
The award supports innovative use of artificial intelligence to protect biodiversity and advance climate solutions worldwide.
Media Contacts
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Alessandra Clark
Senior Media Relations Manager
The Nature Conservancy
Email: alessandra.clark@TNC.ORG
The Nature Conservancy is proud to announce it has been selected as one of 15 global awardees in the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge. The award provides $2 million in funding to help scale The Nature Conservancy’s pioneering work to mobilize edge AI technology for rapid electronic monitoring footage review to enhance industrial fisheries sustainably.
Media Statement from The Nature Conservancy’s Senior Scientist Vienna Saccomanno:
“Large-scale fishing is vital to global food security, yet over a third of the world’s fish stocks are harvested unsustainably. To reverse this trajectory, we must modernize the tools and technologies used to monitor and verify fishing activity, ensuring transparency, sustainability and long-term stewardship of our oceans.
“At The Nature Conservancy, we’re working to scale electronic monitoring by integrating edge AI—technology that processes video footage of fishing activity directly onboard vessels using computer vision—to deliver near real-time insights. This innovation has been found to reduce electronic monitoring footage review time down from months to minutes, empowering fisheries managers, supply chain actors and government stakeholders with timely, verified data to ensure legal, sustainable seafood before it ever reaches the market.
“The Nature Conservancy is honored to be part of the AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge community. This award enables us to accelerate our work at the intersection of science, technology and environmental stewardship. We are thrilled to partner with the Bezos Earth Fund to further scale this work in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, which is the heart of the world’s largest industrial tuna fishery.”
Launched in 2024, the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge is a $100 million initiative designed to harness the power of artificial intelligence to tackle the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more resilient. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 83 countries and territories (39 by direct conservation impact and 44 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.
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