FRIDA app’s impact is wide-reaching and multifaceted, encompassing economic, social, and environmental benefits:
Economic Impact:
- Cost Savings: FRIDA’s predictive analytics and early detection capabilities can significantly reduce the costs associated with battling wildfires, which includes not only the immediate expenses of firefighting efforts but also the long-term costs of rehabilitation and recovery of burnt areas.
- Resource Optimization: By utilizing AI and machine learning, FRIDA provides forest managers with the tools to optimize resource allocation, ensuring that preventive measures like controlled burns and mechanical fuel removal are conducted in the most cost-effective manner.
- Asset Protection: The granular wildfire risk index helps protect economic assets by informing communities and stakeholders about the risk levels of specific areas, allowing for timely protective actions that can prevent loss of property and infrastructure.
- Insurance and Liability: With better risk management tools, there can be a reduction in insurance claims related to wildfire damage. This could potentially lead to lower insurance premiums for properties within managed areas.
Social Impact:
- Community Engagement and Empowerment: By functioning as a social media platform, FRIDA promotes a community-centric approach to wildfire prevention, engaging individuals in the process and fostering a sense of responsibility and collective action.
- Education and Awareness: FRIDA uses storytelling in local languages to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the forest ecosystem, which can lead to more informed and responsible behavior from the community members regarding fire prevention.
- Public Health and Safety: By reducing the number of wildfires and their severity, FRIDA contributes to better air quality and reduces the health risks associated with smoke inhalation, ultimately protecting public health.
- Cultural Preservation: Wildfires can destroy more than trees; they can also obliterate sites of cultural significance. FRIDA helps protect these areas by identifying them as high-risk zones and prioritizing their protection.
Environmental Impact:
- GHG and Smoke Prevention: Forest fires now cause enormous GHG emissions and smoke with suspended particles which are toxic pollutants as well as causes of Global Warming. Prevention of fires is the most effective strategy for the prevention of emissions.
- Biodiversity Conservation: By preventing wildfires, FRIDA contributes to the conservation of biodiversity. It helps maintain habitats for flora and fauna, ensuring that ecosystems remain balanced and thriving.
- Forest Health and Resilience: FRIDA’s insights into forest degradation and fuel buildup enable more effective management of the forest’s health, promoting resilience against not only fire but also disease and pests.
- Climate Change Mitigation: Forest fires release a significant amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. FRIDA’s role in preventing these fires directly contributes to the mitigation of climate change by preserving the carbon sequestration capacity of forests.
- Ecosystem Services Preservation: Forests provide invaluable ecosystem services such as water filtration, flood prevention, and soil stabilization. By reducing wildfire occurrence and severity, FRIDA helps maintain these critical services.
