MAMBO was recently featured in a dedicated article published by Horizon Magazine, the official research and innovation magazine of the EU. The piece, titled "Researchers combine citizens’ help and cutting-edge tech to track biodiversity", highlights MAMBO’s contribution to developing scalable, technology-based approaches to biodiversity monitoring in support of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

The article outlines how MAMBO is addressing the urgent need for better biodiversity data, particularly as recent reports confirm the continued decline of species and habitats across Europe. With only 15% of EU habitats currently in good conservation status, MAMBO’s goal is to improve how we monitor both species particularly invertebrates like bees and beetles and habitat conditions using tools that are cost-effective, automated, and fit for long-term use.

Project coordinator Toke T. Høye (Aarhus University) explains that MAMBO combines a suite of technologies, including drones, camera traps, sound sensors, and artificial intelligence models to provide fine-scale, real-time insights into ecological change. These tools are currently being deployed across demonstration sites in several countries, offering new possibilities for mapping habitat quality and species trends on a yearly basis.

The article also features Vincent Kalkman (Naturalis Biodiversity Center), whose work focuses on using citizen-generated biodiversity data. He discusses how platforms like Observation.org, combined with AI-based species identification models developed through MAMBO, are making it easier to analyse large volumes of data contributed by the public.

Crucially, the article touches on an important element of MAMBO’s research: understanding the environmental footprint of the AI tools themselves. The project is taking steps to evaluate the energy, hardware, and resource implications of the technologies it develops to ensure they align with sustainability goals.

Read the full article here.