Using drone technology to protect Madagascar's vulnerable forests

Madagascar is famous for its exceptional biodiversity, with many of its plants and animals found nowhere else. However, it is also one of the world’s lowest-income nations and this has put the island’s biodiversity under increasing strain, especially through deforestation driven by the demand for resources, such as charcoal. Jenny Williams, a senior spatial analyst at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, has been flying small drones over Madagascar to map such activity, studying how and where protected areas are being cleared. While the resulting data and 3D models can help estimate the carbon stored by the forest, they have also led to the creation of an effective system to alert authorities to illegal forest activity. The aim is to help other scientists, government agencies and local communities manage woodland in a way that will protect Madagascar’s natural resources and help facilitate immediate on-the-ground responses to tree removal.