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Business News/ Brand Stories / Enabling A Greener Tomorrow through Technology
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BRAND POST

Enabling A Greener Tomorrow through Technology

How IBM is Helping Conserve the Environment with Data-powered Solutions

IBM’s smart technology solution utilizes IoT data and images from earth observation satellites to evaluate water health and quality.Premium
IBM’s smart technology solution utilizes IoT data and images from earth observation satellites to evaluate water health and quality.

Coined in 1987 by Bruntland Commission Report for the United Nations, “Sustainable Development '' is defined as a growth that fulfills the present requirements without compromising the future generation’s ability to grow for their needs. It has four intertwined pillars to focus on - environment, society, economy, and culture – to improve and maintain quality of life. However, growth is driven by a specific need that ignores the future impact. 

The Industrial Revolution generated extraordinary financial prosperity. However, it has caused a detrimental impact too. In the last two decades, we have witnessed an increase in global temperatures - causing great distress among environmentalists – as the delicate ecosystem is on the verge of collapsing. The longer we ignore to maintain a balance among the four pillars, the more severe and frequent the damage will become. We need to act now, and what could be better than using smart technology to save our planet!  

Active deployment of technology can play a significant role in reviving, recycling and overall conserving our environment.

Role of Technology in Sustainable Development for the Environment 

Air and water quality have suffered to hazardous levels due to environmental problems caused by fossil-fuel-based energy production and use. However, vehicular and industrial emissions; especially nitrogen oxide, poses a severe threat to the quality of water. Nitrogen promotes the growth of algae in rivers, estuaries, and lakes, forming eutrophic conditions that destroy submerged aquatic vegetation. Consequently, the marine animals do not have enough food for their survival, which makes them endangered, and disrupts the ecological balance.    

To prevent further degradation and save the environment, it is time to leverage data-driven, AIoT powered solutions at identified sights to nip the problem in the bud. Today, the geographic information systems (GIS) tool has offered new methods to identify sources that threaten the disruption of ecological balance. It combines land-use information with topography, soil data, and hydrology to create detailed, digitized maps about the health of the environment. Consequently, environmentalists, governments, and industries can act precisely to control pollution and allow the Earth to re-generate.      

How IBM Contributes to Maintaining Ecological Balance 

IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite is AI-enabled software that combines climate and weather operational data and environmental performance management system into a unified solution to assist governments, environmentalists, and businesses to address sustainability objectives, and precisely respond to ecological risks, such as polluted lakes, flooding, and wildfires.   

In India, IBM has played a pivotal role in combating water pollution. Lake Sembakkam is a struggling lake in Chennai, with a high eutrophication level, threatening the balance of native biodiversity in the surrounding wetlands. Cozily nestled on the east coast of South India, this beautiful lake has suffered from untreated solid waste dumping, sewage disposal, and excessive accumulated silt. Consequently, the aquatic life in the lake and the surrounding swamp has drastically deteriorated, leading to a disturbed ecology and environment. 

To improve the health of Lake Sembakkam, IBM volunteers partnered with The Nature Conservancy India agency for monitoring, generating evidence-based solutions, and supporting sustainable development decisions in 2021.       

The team developed a roadmap and technical design for an Internet of Things (IoT) system with remote sensing features and 3-D datasets to monitor and measure water quality. The system alerts The Nature Conservancy team when the quality reaches an alarming level. The goal was to sustain a healthy aquatic ecosystem by averting and curtailing pollution with consistent monitoring of the swamp, and restoring it where fish and wildlife could prosper.

The Powerful Combination of AI, IOT and  Data Analytics 

IBM’s smart technology solution utilizes IoT data and images from earth observation satellites to evaluate water health and quality. IBM Geospatial Analytics tool accurately processed data satellite images to regulate water quality parameters and actionable insights for better decision-making capability.

The data collected by using IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite revealed the high pollution present in the lake due to inward wastewater. Further, the water quality failed to meet the drinking water standards and propagation standards of fisheries and wildlife as established by the Central Pollution Control Board. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC), a critical parameter for determining the level of organic pollution in water, indicated an alarming range of 3-70mg/l when the permitted adulteration level is 0-10mg/l.   This cloud-based platform utilizes advanced data modeling methods to optimize the local data value. An estimated three months of IoT data would enable simple models already able to help The Nature Conservancy India to better understand water quality dynamics and spatial distributions in lakes. In a year, the consolidated IoT data from Lake Sembakkam along with complementary environmental, climate, soil, and other datasets, could be used to create a scalable model for monitoring other lakes and water bodies across the globe.   

“There is nothing more satisfying than getting an opportunity to help our local community for moving towards achieving their sustainable development goals while creating social impact" - Mohan Reddy Tikkam, an IBM Consultant in the Oracle Customer Experience (CX) and Digital Practice that served as one of the volunteers on the team.

Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by the HT Brand Studio team.

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Published: 16 Jun 2022, 03:24 PM IST
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