INDIA IS USING DRONES TO REVIVE ITS LOST FOREST

There is more than one reason that we need to reforest Planet Earth.

• Less than a fifth of Earth’s original forests have survived the rise of humans since the last glaciation, and over half of them are in just five countries.

• The biggest effect from loss of forests is loss of habitat and the resultant loss of biodiversity, even if you don’t care about climate change.

                            India is going through vast industrialization and urbanization which is resulting in widespread loss of trees, which is ultimately resulting in loss of huge areas of Forests which were once a source of life for a wide variety of Flora and Fauna becoming extinct today.

         In order to prevent this, steps are being taken by the Government by conducting manual afforestation, but manual plantation of trees is a very slow process that would not fulfill the required rate of afforestation needed to revive the lost forests.

• Drones are the Great alternative as they are   fast,  reliable, automated and can reach places that are hard to access for humans

• Drones can be used to drop the seeds aerially into areas where trees need to be planted. 

• Using this technology, huge areas can be covered in less time, and lands previously un-utilized can be used for creating forests.     

       

•   India is accepting the idea of the revival of trees using a drone survey and has started to implement it. In Bangalore, aerial seeding was done in the Kallinayakanahalli hills of Gowribidanur using 5 Quadcopter Drones.

•  The bombing of seeds was done across hilly terrains from a height of 300 feet. 

•  Karnataka also took part in this initiative and dropped 1 lakh rare saplings across an empty land in the Western Ghats.

• This method of afforestation will be implemented in other parts of the country as well after testing in these areas. The reason for aerial seeding being feasible is due to their technological capabilities.

• Firstly, drones are used to capture photos and create a 3-D map of the area. Then, areas are identified where plantation can be done, the kind of trees that need to be planted with exact accuracy, and calculations are identified...

The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has brought out one aspect of modern warfare—the use of drones for both surveillance and punitive action. While India has always been dependent on countries like Israel for its drones, the new initiatives of the Modi Government are now resulting in the development of an industry which will increase self-reliance, military strength will gain strategic depth and will earn a significant role in the global supply chain of UAVs and save foreign exchange.