Theodore Schmitt, Conservationists
Letter of support from Theodore Schmitt, Conservation technologist
Theodore Schmitt Seattle, WA USA Allen Institute for AI
Andrea (Drea) Burbank, MD CEO, Savimbo Inc. Carerra 6 - Numero #3-21, Villagarzon, Putumayo, Colombia
Re: Savimbo Sentinel species biodiversity methodology
Dear Dr. Burbank,
I am writing to express my support for your proposed biodiversity methodology to use sentinel species as a metric of conserved biodiversity in tropical forests. I am commenting from the perspective of my experience working as a conservation technologist with field conservationists for over ten years.
There is a deep and immediate need for financing that supports the conservation of species that are at risk of disappearing or are still unknown to science. Mechanisms that enable local populations to take the necessary measures to protect their lands and the species within them are essential.
I support this methodology because it uses a logical and simple framework with a replicable scientific method. This means that it can be applied in any ecosystem to locate the umbrella species and generate projects to protect these species and other species in the ecosystem. Advancing the development of this methodology would be of enormous benefit not only to the Amazonian Piedmont area but to any area where umbrella species can serve as indicators of ecosystem health.
It is of utmost importance to guarantee a means of subsistence to those people who live in these ecosystems so that they abandon hunting, logging, and other extractive uses, instead dedicating themselves to protecting and multiplying the life that surrounds them. Being in permanent contact with the species and possessing a millenary knowledge inherited from their ancestors, they are ideal guardians of humanity's natural heritage. Biodiversity credits are a reasonable and viable way to generate nonhierarchical and decentralized paid work in this sector of the population to conserve and protect the biodiversity of the forests.
I am aware of several aspects of the methodology, which have been intentionally simplified to allow for scientific consistency, market scale, and direct access to biodiversity markets for local peoples.
The methodology will allow for the use of trusted human coders for coordinates and date/time stamps for raw data from observation points (video or audio recordings), relying on verification/validation bodies to validate this data.
The range of sentinel species will be simplified to a circle with a documented observation point in the center, and the area of the circle will be determined by species-specific habitat needs derived from public sources.
The methodology will equate rare/umbrella/keystone/endangered species with four tiers of qualification (platinum, gold, silver, and bronze) based on the species' ability to represent an intact biodiversity ecosystem.
No individual species identification or density calculations will be made. Rather, individual observations will be equated if they fall within a 2-month timeframe and the same geocoordinates.
Baseline biodiversity will be calculated from public sources, sometimes for a much wider region, organized by taxonomic kingdom.
While researchers have access to much more extensive tools with which to quantify biodiversity, this methodology is sufficient to allow for the scientific accuracy, transparency, and
standardization between ecosystems and across many different endangered species required to make investment decisions. It is a sufficiently robust standard on which a sound market could be built while being simple enough to be understood by both suppliers and consumers of the information to enable the immediate preservation of critical zones worldwide.
I am available to respond to requests for information and am happy to provide an independent voice for the validity of this methodology.
Respectfully,
Theodore J. Schmitt Senior Director of Conservation Allen Institute for AI
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