Enabling systems cha nge We are focused on new ways to harness the power of technology, partnerships, investments, and policy to drive impact at scale and pace to help the world protect ecosystems and biodiversity. At Microsoft we know that our actions alone will not be enough to protect ecosystems and biodiversity. The world will need new partnerships, solutions, and policies that have the potential to scale rapidly and globally. Investing in AI To empower organizations working on environmental challenges, we provide training and access to cloud and AI technologies. Since its inception in 2017, our AI for Earth program has provided more than 850 grants to organizations working in 110 countries around the world. While initially these grants provided access to Microsoft cloud services and additional training, we’ve expanded the program to now include the Planetary Computer. This past year, we also added new partners that bring significant new capabilities to the program. We partnered with the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat to better reach geospatial researchers and practitioners working at the forefront of environmental use cases. We launched the $1 million GEO-Microsoft Planetary Computer grant program to support early adopters of the Planetary Computer to apply Earth observations to address environmental and societal challenges. We selected the first eight grant recipients in September 2021 who all received access to the NICFI Satellite Data Program on Azure and launched a second request for proposals in October 2021 in partnership with Planet Labs. Monitoring to be able to create more effective reforestation plans and monitor reforestation progress. Deforestation prediction We partnered with Vale and our Brazilian subsidiary to build PrevisIA, a solution for NGO Imazon that anticipates information on regions with a higher risk of deforestation and wildfires in the Amazon Rainforest through AI. The open platform analyzes various data such as topography, land cover, urban infrastructure, official and unofficial roads, and socioeconomic statistics to refine the deforestation risk model and identify the different types of territories threatened by deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest including indigenous lands and conservation units. All the information is publicly disclosed at a control panel. Public bodies, private companies, and civil society can plan and carry out preventive actions, combating and controlling deforestation. 84
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