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Abstract
Imo State faces serious environmental challenges, including gully erosion, flooding, oil pollution in parts of the state, deforestation, biodiversity loss and poor urban waste management. Responding to these challenges requires citizens who are environmentally literate: who understand ecological systems, recognize environmental problems, and are disposed and able to act sustainably. Secondary school biology is a natural foundation for such literacy, yet it is often taught through rote learning that leaves students unable to connect classroom concepts to their own environment. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as image-recognition apps for identifying plants and animals, generative AI tutors, adaptive learning platforms, and AI-supported data analysis, now offer new ways to make biology learning interactive, local and action-oriented. This conceptual paper examines how AI-assisted biology learning can promote environmental literacy for sustainable development among secondary school students in Imo State. Anchored on constructivism, experiential learning theory, and the theory of planned behavior, the paper clarifies key concepts, describes applications of AI across the senior secondary biology curriculum, and maps them to local environmental issues and the Sustainable Development Goals. It discusses challenges, including infrastructure gaps, cost, teacher capacity, inaccurate AI output, data privacy, and the risk of replacing field experience with screens, and proposes strategies to address them. The paper argues that AI should serve as a bridge between biology concepts and students' lived environment, not a substitute for direct engagement with nature. Recommendations target the Imo State Ministry of Education, schools, teachers, and researchers.