Last Wednesday, June 25, the Hackathon “GenAI Solutions for Biodiversity”, an event organized by the National Green Algorithms Program (PNAV), under the Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, in collaboration with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This event brought together experts in artificial intelligence, sustainability, biodiversity, and standardization with the aim of proposing responsible solutions based on generative AI that help preserve the environment.
The event agendaincluded inspiring presentations, mentoring sessions for participating teams, and panel discussions. One of the highlights was the panel discussion “Sustainable AI and Biodiversity,” held at 11:20 a.m., featuring RetechFOR, an ambitious project for the digital and ecological transformation of the forestry sector promoted by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and the Canary Islands.
If you want to watch the entire event, click here.
RetechFOR: Innovation for the Region
During the debate, Carolina de Castro, project manager for RetechFOR, presented this initiative as one of the key efforts to apply enabling technologies, such as AI, to forest monitoring, disaster prevention, and the development of the forest bioeconomy. The full presentation can be viewed starting at 2:12, and her specific presentation at 2:23.
Among RetechFOR's objectives are:
- Promote the digitization of the forestry sector.
- Apply AI to automated forest inventories, precision forestry, and fire prevention.
- Establishing digital entrepreneurship ecosystems in rural areas.
- Improve the traceability of forest products and reduce the carbon footprint.
The project, with a budget of over 28 million euros, is in line with Spain's Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan and is part of the national RETECH program.
A collaborative event with a significant impact
The panel discussion in which RetechFOR participated also featured presentations by:
- Jesús Carrasco Naranjo, Global Head of Biodiversity at Iberdrola.
- Cecilio Angulo, AI representative at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC).
- Blanca Ruiz Franco, Deputy Director General of the Integrated Biodiversity Information System (MITECO).
The discussion focused on how public and private initiatives can join forces to integrate technologies such as artificial intelligence into efforts to protect the natural environment.
The Ministry highlighted the strategic role of RetechFOR in this type of event, promoting its active participation as an example of regional innovation and ecological transition.
