Forestry Minister pushes for enhanced forest surveillance using drone technology

Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni is pushing for enhanced forest surveillance by utilising modern technology such as drones to accelerate the detection of various issues in the field. The minister stated that the use of drones can assist officers in obtaining data and mapping forest conditions more quickly and accurately. “We need technology. Drones, for example, can help ground units (Technical Implementation Unit teams from the Ministry of Forestry) to identify problems that arise in the field,” said Raja Antoni in a statement in Jakarta on Monday. He added that strengthening technology is a crucial part of improving the speed of forest area monitoring. “The need is for speed to assist our ground troops, aided by technology that can detect hot spots, land clearing, illegal logging, and even illegal mining,” he said. He further noted that routine monitoring allows potential disturbances in forest areas to be identified at an early stage. The data and information obtained from this surveillance can then be forwarded to the Directorate General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry or other relevant technical units for follow-up. Additionally, the Ministry of Forestry will evaluate the effectiveness of drone devices already owned by related units, including those in the fields of planology and natural resources and ecosystem conservation, before determining the need for strengthening or upgrading technology. “We will evaluate the efficiency of these existing tools, and if there is further procurement, we will see if it is possible to compensate for or upgrade what we already have,” the minister concluded.