1. General
Category
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Category
Agricultural Services & Products
2. Project Details
Company or Institution
The Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve Ecolabel Moroccan Association (ABR EMA)
Project
Assessment of the ecobranding positive impacts on sustainability
General description of the AI solution
With support from the United Nations Development Program and the Global Environment Facility, The ABR EMA laid out a management plan to rehabilitate 50,000 ha of Argan forest. Social business entities within the Biosphere Reserve that comply with the agreed sustainability requirements can use an Ecolabel to distinguish their products and services, encompassing Argan oil, honey, goat products, handicrafts, and tourism. The ecolabel standard sets out requirement based on payment for ecosystem services along with other human rights critera. LandScale will provide credible and independent information about sustainability trends in the Argan Biosphere Reserve to demonstrate the positive impact of the Ecolabel to general public and government institutions.
The main focus of the AI solution is therefore to make use AI for data mining to inform indicators reflecting on sustainability performance.
Website
https://www.landscale.org/pilots/
Organisation
ABR EMA
3. Aspects
Excellence and Scientific Quality: Please detail the improvements made by the nominee or the nominees’ team or yourself if your applying for the award, and why they have been a success.
The main focus of the AI solution is to set out a digital marketing platform based on Distributed Leger Technology where claims regarding sustainability performance will be reported. Additionally, the Artificial Intelligence for Environment & Sustainability (ARIES ) tool as well as other appropriate useful software are being used for data mining to inform indicators defined by LanScale.
LanScale is assessing natural ecosystem, social wellbeing, governance and Eco labeled products indicators.
The DLT solution has already been developped while the ARIES application is still under progress.
Access to the digital market is expected by january 2022 and the landscale platform will be launched this automn.
Scaling of impact to SDGs: Please detail how many citizens/communities and/or researchers/businesses this has had or can have a positive impact on, including particular groups where applicable and to what extent.
The AI solution will help drive uptake from international markets for the argan Ecolabel premium as Payment for ecosystem services to reverse the loss of biodiversity. The ecolabel is designed to federate, under common conditions, the other applicable certificates and approvals (organic label, SDOQ, fair trade …) and promote the regeneration of the Arganeraie ecosystem based on a circular economy embedding payments for ecosystem services and human rights. Its main goal is lay out conditions for sustainable production and consumption patterns (SDG12).
The ecolabel is taking part in the ongoing pilot demonstration conducted by Verra through its landscape independent assessment program.
Assessment of natural capital conditions will make use of the ARIES tools while the human, social and built capitals are already conducted through a structured survey. Aggregate indicators reflecting on these elements of the total economic value will be informed and displayed in the Verra platform. On the other hand, a DLT solution has been developed by Convergence Tech in the frames of the DLT4EU project.
Starting with 5 promoters in 2021, this solution shall be extended to 50 other operators over the next 4 years. It could also benefit other national biosphere reserves and ultimately extend to the MAB global network of biosphere reserves.
Moreover, the AI solution will enhance the pace of circularity in value chains and build resilience through a virtual ethical market.
Scaling of AI solution: Please detail what proof of concept or implementations can you show now in terms of its efficacy and how the solution can be scaled to provide a global impact ad how realistic that scaling is.
Verra is an independent assessor for positive impacts on sustainability that will certify SDG 12 targets. In deed the process to get results and profile on platform by launch is expected by autumn 2021.
Currently, the pilot under demonstration covers 22000 ha in the Ain Asmama Site of Biological and Ecological Interest (SBEI). The process will be generalized over the 3 million ha of the ABR within the 2018-27 management plan timeline. A potential of 50 operators will access this technology. Other academic institutions are also involved in modeling ecosystem services.
The ecolabel standard as well as associated new technologies are supposed to be protected at the national level (OMPIC).
Ethical aspect: Please detail the way the solution addresses any of the main ethical aspects, including trustworthiness, bias, gender issues, etc.
The AI technologies will help create fairer and more transparent supply chains that help drive more value back to producers. It aims to empower women cooperatives to better market their products to eco-consumers and benefit from certifications.
In fact, DLT provides tooling for a privacy protecting decentralized identity layer, supporting provable claims around certifications and ownership, and allowing the automation of administrative and reporting functions related to program payments, while ARIES will help assess ecosystem services and inform indicators.