Forestry Ministry to Deploy Drones for Early Detection of Illegal Logging

Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni is pushing for stronger forest surveillance by harnessing the latest technology to accelerate the detection of problems in the field. The use of drone technology is considered capable of helping officers obtain data and map forest conditions more quickly and accurately.

“We need technology. Drones are one option, in how they can then help our ground forces (the Forestry Ministry’s UPT teams) to identify problems that emerge in the field,” said Raja Juli Antoni.

He made the remarks during a meeting with PT Dirgantara Indonesia at the Forestry Ministry’s office on Monday (20 July). The Minister was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Forestry Rohmat Marzuki and directors-general of the ministry, while PT Dirgantara Indonesia was represented by its President Director Gita Amperiawan, Production Director Dena Hendriana, and Director of Technology and Risk Management Ony Arifianto, along with their staff.

According to Raja Antoni, strengthening technology is an important part of improving the speed of forest area monitoring. Drone technology can be used to detect indications of illegal logging, land clearance, illegal mining activities and hotspots more quickly.

“What we need is speed, to help our ground forces (the Forestry Ministry’s UPT teams), supported by technology that can detect hotspots, land clearance, illegal logging and illegal mining,” said the Minister.

He added that routine monitoring would allow potential disturbances in forest areas to be identified at an early stage. Data and information obtained from such monitoring can then be forwarded to the Directorate-General of Law Enforcement (Gakkum) and relevant technical units for follow-up.

Minister Raja Antoni said thermal drone technology could support the monitoring of hotspots and wildlife. The Ministry of Forestry will also evaluate the effectiveness of drone devices already owned by relevant units, including the areas of forest planning and conservation of natural resources and ecosystems (KSDAE), before determining the need for strengthening or upgrading the technology.

“We will evaluate the efficiency of the equipment we already have; if further procurement is indeed needed, we will assess whether it can compensate for or upgrade what we already possess,” said the Minister.