Drones As Forest Guardians

By Saanvi Goel

Forests, rightfully titled as the lungs of our planet, provide resources which are basic requirements for our subsistence. Few of the innumerable advantages offered by forests include shelter, clean air, food security, medicines etc. They provide habitats and security to wildlife,birds and insects. Forests are the only asset presently countering the impact of climate change and global warming due to reckless human activities. They protect us from natural disasters and also promote ecotourism. Thus it is evident that forest ecology is invaluable in every aspect of our livelihood. 

There has been a sharp decline in the forest area globally and India itself lost 144000 hectares of its tree cover. The forest health and cover are deteriorating at an alarming level over the recent years mainly because of the carelessness of humans and the traditional practices of forest conservation which are proving to be ineffective with the growing population and shift to modern technology. According to a study conducted by Global Forest Resources Assessment(2020), the global forest cover accounted for 31% of the total land area whereas this figure was an abysmal 21% for India. Thus it's high time that we incorporate technological and scientific advancements in the departments of forestry and agriculture.If we are successful in building AI-governed drones facilitated with feeding and storing information and capturing high resolution visuals, it would be a breakthrough in the management and maintenance of forests and wildlife. The condition and health of the forests could be surveyed and assessed and submitted on a weekly basis. It could generate detailed maps indicating distribution of different species of trees and wildlife which can further be used to curate data and statistics. In addition the drones could be sent on hovering rounds every hour to detect and report any damage caused by disasters or disease outbreaks for it to be rectified as quickly as possible. Small specialized units can be set up near or in every forest at low costs to receive the regular reports. Drones equipped with smoke detectors and thermal receptors can play a very significant role in identifying forest fires, monitoring and determining their speed of escalation as well as delivering real time data to fire fighters and helping in search and rescue operations thereby reducing the response time drastically and visibly improving outcomes. Not only this, drones can also be useful in deforestation by dropping numerous seeds over vast areas as has been tested by a firm in Australia. 

Drones would minimize human intervention in forest ecology which in turn would reduce the harm caused by human activities to the forests and its creatures such as illegal trading, poaching, hunting of wildlife, human-animal conflict deforestation, air and water pollution etc. Drone technology would enable humans to attain maximum benefits from the forests with minimum engagement.

By Saanvi Goel