Space Intelligence fuels climate action with Microsoft Foundry, Planetary Computer

Roughly 30% of the emissions reductions humanity needs by 2030 in order to conserve a habitable planet could come from nature-based solutions, according to the World Economic Forum. Protecting and restoring forests is an example of a nature-based solution. Many organizations from small coffee farmers to large tech companies pledge a deforestation-free supply chain or build carbon avoidance portfolios from nature-based solutions.

Space Intelligence produces high-quality maps of the world’s forests by processing petabytes of optical, radar, and LiDAR satellite data, combined with machine learning and ecological expertise. “Our audit-grade land-cover and carbon maps show what’s where, and the changes going on in the forests. Which areas are forest, which areas are plantation, where forest is regrowing, where deforestation is happening,” explains Ben Ritchie, Head of Engineering at Space Intelligence.

The company’s mission is simple: Turn mapping data into trustworthy insights so people can keep trees standing and plant more where they’re needed to ensure a habitable planet. “We make a difference by providing trusted, independent data so decision-makers can know what’s happening on the ground,” explains Ed Mitchard, Chief Scientist and Co-founder at Space Intelligence. But “Every decade we lose 10% of the world’s forest. We need to move more quickly.”

The evidence gap in nature-based solutions

“Defending the world’s forest is a very complex problem,” says Mitchard. A key challenge is visibility—literally being able to see what’s happening with the forests across the globe. Satellite mapping data is petabyte-sized, requiring high compute power to process and analyze. Images are often obscured by clouds. Data comes from multiple sources in inconsistent formats. Organizations and governments need to show that forest restoration efforts are working, but they can’t do that without trustworthy data. For example, an African chocolate company needs evidence that its supply chain is deforestation-free so it can gain a foothold in the lucrative European market. It needs photo proof to back up its claims. 

Infrastructure for speed and scale

At first, mapping an area the size of greater London or New York in a period of weeks on a desktop computer was a victory. “The problem was scaling beyond that,” says Mitchard. Then, the European Union Deforestation Regulation, designed to prevent commodities coming into Europe that had a deforestation footprint, was introduced and with it a contract to map 39 tropical countries. The Space Intelligence team recognized that defending the world’s forest was directly linked to the ability to map more of it, quickly and accurately.

Space Intelligence moved to cloud computing with Microsoft Azure. “Azure provides very, very high scale, remarkably affordable compute. Paired with the Microsoft Planetary Computer ecosystem, we have everything we need to map the world’s forest and provide key metrics for sustainability,” says Ritchie.

Microsoft Planetary Computer gives fast access to a petabyte-scale catalog of global environmental data (from the European Space Agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), available via intuitive APIs. Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro serves as the private catalog and tiling engine that powers web experiences, letting users zoom in and out instantly and query high-resolution layers without downloading massive files.

Making truth visible

Building on the Azure and Planetary Computer infrastructure, Azure Machine Learning, a part of Microsoft Foundry platform, accelerates every aspect of forest mapping. “With Microsoft Foundry and Planetary Computer we’ve increased data production by 100 times, and our time for mapping has gone from six months to six weeks—a 75% reduction,” says Stephanie Earp, Head of AI at Space Intelligence. “In the last year we mapped 3 billion hectares over more than 50 countries. Previously that would’ve taken us about six years.”

In another example, AI helps distinguish between biodiversity-rich farms and actual forest: In West Africa, cocoa is grown underneath a canopy of rainforest trees. This makes it difficult to see the cocoa from satellite data sets. With AI, the Space Intelligence team detects the differences in spectral signature across satellite data of cocoa agroforestry and disturbed but natural forest. “We can now separate the two with 99% accuracy, which is critical for ensuring chocolate really is zero deforestation if it claims to be,” explains Mitchard.

From accuracy to action

As the world faces the daunting challenge of safeguarding its forests, the work of Space Intelligence stands as a testament to the power of innovation and collaboration. “With the AI features in Azure and Planetary Computer Pro we have an opportunity to make a large impact on the world,” says Earp.

Mitchard agrees. “Microsoft Foundry helps us produce trusted, high quality data sets at scale. And that, in turn, will unlock finance for protecting and restoring forests around the world, a big step for sustainability.” With trusted, independent data now more accessible than ever, the path to a deforestation-free future and a habitable planet is clearer and more achievable.

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