AI lab for biodiversity

The Impact Forest:

There is a growing awareness that biodiversity is important for the quality of our living environment. AI is surprisingly effective at mapping biodiversity, as demonstrated by the Conclusion Impact Forest near Bergen op Zoom.

It all started in 2022, when Conclusion joined forces with Trees for All and Brabants Landschap for a long-term collaboration and together launched the Impact Forest. The aim was to increase local biodiversity with a variety of trees, grasses and microhabitats.

29,000 trees were planted on approximately eight hectares of agricultural land. This gradually created an ecologically rich area with 5.5 hectares of forest and 2.5 hectares of herb-rich fields, grassland and ponds.

As biodiversity increased, so did the interest of data and AI specialists in the Impact Forest. This is because the area also harbours a rich source of applicable data.

‘Biodiversity is a much broader concept than many people assume,’ says Raymond van Ek, Director of Business Change & Sustainability at Conclusion Intelligence. ‘It's about more than just different species of plants and animals. Biodiversity is the backbone of our ecosystems. Without bees and butterflies, for example, we would have a major problem with our food supply.’

The men and women of Conclusion, Trees for All and Brabants Landschap often literally walk with their feet in the clay, in and around the Impact Forest. ‘It's wonderful to see how the ecosystem is developing. As we watch and talk, we gain new insights all the time.’

“We are also discovering which changes in the ecosystem and the environment are related to biodiversity loss. In this way, we are gradually building up knowledge that will help to make nature future-proof. A valuable form of fact-based improvement.”

AI helps to piece together the puzzle: data no longer needs to be manually extracted from archives. Policy documents from thirty years ago are being digitised and made searchable. In this way, AI establishes links between current results and measures that were taken in the past.

‘We are now testing a model in which AI makes suggestions,’ says Raymond. In this project, the black woodpecker is a so-called target species, symbolising a desirable type of habitat. If the black woodpecker is doing well, it is often a sign that the ecosystem is healthy.

‘We ask our AI model a question, such as: what can you do to help the black woodpecker? AI then analyses all the information about its habitat and the measures that have worked. AI then makes a proposal. We then check: does this match what we see in the field?’

The bigger picture involves more than just counting woodpeckers. Many organisations include biodiversity as a theme in their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) objectives. To do so, they need to be able to provide insight into their ecological impact, but that is difficult. Much of the data is fragmented and difficult to access. Our approach makes it concrete.

‘We hope this project will inspire organisations. Biodiversity sounds like something big and complicated, but it doesn't have to be,’ says Raymond. ‘This project shows how you can measure biodiversity relatively easily and how you can contribute to it in concrete terms. We expect to share our first proven insights in the autumn of 2025.’

‘The great thing is: this is not a theoretical exercise,’ says Raymond. ‘We are literally standing with our feet in the field, between the pools and herb-rich grasslands. And in the meantime, we are working with AI on a future in which biodiversity is just as measurable as CO₂.’