Company Announces Trilateral Deal for Remote Sensing of Carbon Stocks
Tel Aviv, Israel & Quito, Ecuador, May 26, 2021 – Albo Systems, based in Israel, announced that it is partnering with the Universidad De Las Américas (UDLA) and Fundación Futuro, both based in Ecuador, to produce a high-resolution productivity and carbon stocks map of the area of the Chocó Andino UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as develop a Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) Methodology for the use of remote sensing in tropical mountain forests.
Mountain Forest of the Mashpi Reserve in the Chocó Andino Reserve
The Chocó Andino de Pichincha Biosphere Reserve, a natural heritage reserve and tropical cloud forest, is located in northern Ecuador, in the Pichincha province, north-west of the capital city of Quito. It harbors the last cloud forest remnants of the western versant of the Ecuadorian Andes. The size of the region is 286,805 hectare with late successional forest covering some 140,000 hectare. It extends over two critical ecoregions: The humid forest lowlands of the Chocó - Darien, extending from Panama to the Ecuadorian West, and the Northern Andean Mountain Forests. Rich in biodiversity, it serves as a critical global carbon sink. Approximately 880,000 people live in the biosphere reserve, engaging in ecotourism, agriculture, and cattle grazing.
“We are thrilled to announce this fantastic partnership. It offers a crucial opportunity to launch the use of remote sensing technologies to scale carbon sequestration projects, making a real dent on climate change,” stated Dr. Marco Calderón, CTO of Albo and Associate Researcher at Deakin University in Australia and Universidad de Las Américas in Ecuador.
In addition to producing an AI model and mapping of the region, Albo and UDLA will collaborate to develop a Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) methodology for the use of remote sensing of carbon sequestration in tropical mountain forests such as those in Ecuador. Such a methodology will prove crucial in expanding the use of satellite-based monitoring technologies across other tropical forests, introducing more projects to the carbon credits marketplace.
“We are delighted to commence this project with Albo and Fundacion Futuró to create a scientifically-proven map of the carbon stocks, sequestration, and emissions of the Chocho-Andino Biosphere reserve,” stated Professor Francisco Xavier Cuesta, Senior scientist at the Universidad De Las Americas and Associate Researcher at the Universidad Andina Simon Bolivar. “These maps will be used by Fundación Futuro to implement their carbon program in the Choco-Andino Biosphere Reserve which will mitigate the effects of climate change and implement the conservation and sustainable management of the Andean Choco region.”
About Albo
Albo Systems is an Israel-based startup applying AI to satellite imagery to map, measure and monitor carbon sequestration remotely.
About UDLA
UDLA is an institution of higher education created under the laws of the Republic of Ecuador. UDLA has defined the following lines of research: habitat, biodiversity and heritage, health and well-being; education; communication and technology; society; community and culture.
About Fundación Futuro
Fundación Futuro is a private non-profit that develops social and environmental responsibility projects within the Ecuadorian territory. Fundación Futuro focus helps companies reduce their emissions and offset the emission that cannot be reduced through forest conservation.
CONTACT PERSONS:
Albo
Dr. Marco Calderón, marco.calderon@albosys.com
Dr. Jacques Amselem, jacques.amselem@albosys.com
Ariella Charny, ariella.charny@albosys.com
UDLA
Dr. Francisco Cuesta, francisco.cuesta@udla.edu.ec
Dr. Tannya Lozada, tannya.lozada@udla.edu.ec
F. Futuro
Carolina Proaño, cproano@futuro.com.ec
Felipe Andrade, fandrade@futuro.com.ec