Analyze the Ayapel Marsh with big data and statistical models to define its conservation strategy

SOLTEL is participating in a project to improve the planet's sustainability. This involves the creation and development of Eco-SmartNet, an ICT tool that will be of great help in preserving wetlands and ecosystems worldwide. The tool is based on Big Data analysis instruments, the use of a comprehensive set of information sources of all kinds, domain descriptions, and the use of mobile solutions, selective monitoring of observed data, and the identification of atypical elements, among other things. From this volume of information, the tool interprets the results to predict behaviors and help managers define the most appropriate strategies to enable the maintenance and improvement of the overall health of wetlands, as well as to mitigate the effects of climate change on them.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with Irdetec Consulting y Asesoría SL and the Antioquia Science and Technology Center (CTA) in Colombia, as the fieldwork is taking place in the Ciénaga de Ayapel, in northern Colombia. This location was chosen because it is situated in a country with exceptional biodiversity, home to numerous wetlands, 12 of which have been selected for their special significance and included on the Ramsar Convention's List of Wetlands of International Importance, the international body that oversees the protection of these ecosystems.

The Eco-SmartNet tool aims to develop a data analysis system that enables the following functionalities: Environmental characterization of the study wetland, with a comprehensive description and assessment of the physical environment (particularly land use and hydrology), biotic environment, and socioeconomic environment; identification and establishment of a model for the temporal evolution of the main physical and biotic variables of the selected wetland; analysis and understanding of the main historical interrelationships between them, such as "land use versus hydrology" or "land use versus bio-indicators"; study of high-impact environmental processes that imply "point of no return" scenarios in the wetland's equilibrium; enabling the forecasting and prevention of crises associated with these events; establishing predictive models of the behavior of the wetland's physical and biotic environment; preparing the data, feeding, training, and field-validating the models; and helping to define the Best Strategies that enable the maintenance and improvement of the overall health of wetlands. and establish best practices in wetland management for mitigating the effects of climate change.

All these algorithms will allow managers to obtain all the information possible to make real-time decisions that improve the health of wetlands.

The project budget is €392,169, of which €333,343.45 is financed by CDTI and FEDER. The planned project implementation dates range from October 2020 to June 2022. The project will be carried out in Andalusia (Spain) and Colombia.

A comprehensive work program to provide managers and researchers of wetland ecosystems with a set of ICT tools that will allow them to make effective decisions to ensure the protection of these ecosystems, which, according to the latest international reports, face the challenge of mitigating the environmental impact that threatens a large part of the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations and which will have a clear economic and all-around dimension in the world.

• SOLTEL Budget: 392,169 euros
• CDTI and FEDER co-financing: 333,343.45 euros
• Implementation period: October 2020 to June 2022
• Place of execution: Andalusia (Spain) and Colombia