Planet Labs PBC , a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth,  announced the launch of Amazon.ia – Inteligencia Ambiental, an ambitious multi-partner initiative dedicated to producing timely, actionable intelligence on biodiversity to drive effective conservation and restoration across the Amazon. The initiative is supported by many partners, including Planet and the Bezos Earth Fund, which granted more than $14M across both the Andes Amazon Fund and the World Resources Institute to support work on the initiative.

The Amazon is one of the world’s most diverse and unique places on Earth, but understanding what is happening to its biodiversity across such a vast region remains a major challenge. Amazon.ia is built to provide fast, accurate data on biodiversity to scientists, conservation organizations, research institutions, governments, local communities, and technology partners to better measure the effectiveness of efforts to conserve and restore it.

By combining satellite imagery with information collected on the ground across the Amazon, Amazon.ia will use AI to track changes in biodiversity and ecosystem health at unprecedented scale. The goal is to deliver information that conservationists, communities, researchers, and policymakers can use to make better decisions, identify hazards sooner, and measure what is working – ultimately, helping better inform action.

“At the Bezos Earth Fund, we’re committed to protecting and restoring nature – and the Amazon is one of the most important and diverse places on Earth. Understanding how it’s changing across millions of square miles remains extraordinarily difficult, and we know that our work requires inventing new tools, not just scaling existing ones to meet this challenge,” stated Dr. Cristián Samper, Managing Director and Leader for Nature Solutions, Bezos Earth Fund. “Amazon.ia brings together leading partners and technologies to build something that does not exist today: a more complete, dynamic understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem health across the Amazon. By combining cutting-edge technology with scientific expertise and local knowledge, we hope to equip conservation leaders with the information they need to act faster and more effectively.”

“We’re at a critical juncture for the Amazon, and we must use every available tool we have to protect it. Together with many partners, including Andes Amazon Fund, World Resources Institute, and the Bezos Earth Fund, Planet is thrilled to be a founding partner of Amazon.ia. It represents an incredible opportunity to create new and powerful tools for biodiversity by training AI on our satellite imagery and analytics – advancing crucial Planetary Intelligence,” said Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer at Planet. “Preserving biodiversity and protecting global forests is at the core of Planet’s mission, and we couldn’t be more excited to further this work with this breakthrough program.”

With more than two dozen partners, Amazon.ia is developing core data infrastructure and analytical capabilities, testing new dynamic, integrated models, and generating meaningful insights. Co-developed with local communities and decision-makers, these learnings can provide the critical information needed to take decisive action, such as change alerts, biodiversity status and ecosystem condition, evidence of protected area effectiveness, and proof of ecosystem recovery.

Amazon.ia partners include:

• Andes Amazon Fund
• Arizona State University (Asner Lab)
• Associação de Levantamento Florestal do Amazonas (ALFA)
• Bezos Earth Fund
• Conservación Amazónica (ACCA)
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Cornell University (Davis Lab)
• George Mason University (Luther Lab)
• Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
• Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá
• Instituto Humboldt
• International Barcode of Life (iBOL)
• Limelight Rainforest
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Beery Lab)
• Microsoft AI for Good Lab
• National Museum of Natural History, Bolivia
• Planet
• Smithsonian ForestGEO
• Tiputini Biodiversity Station
• Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Rivas Torres Lab)
• Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
• University of Guelph, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics
• Wildlife Conservation Society – Bolivia
• Wildlife Insights
• WildMon
• World Resources Institute
• WWF