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Precision forestry: A way forward for the timber industry in East Africa

Forestry is a vital sector for the economies and livelihoods of many people in East Africa. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have a combined forest area of about 65.5 million hectares, which accounts for about 27% of their total land area¹. These forests provide a range of goods and services, such as timber, fuelwood, charcoal, non-timber forest products, biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, climate regulation and recreation.

Date Posted:

June 20, 2023

Precision forestry: A way forward for the timber industry in East Africa

Forestry is a vital sector for the economies and livelihoods of many people in East Africa. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania have a combined forest area of about 65.5 million hectares, which accounts for about 27% of their total land area¹. These forests provide a range of goods and services, such as timber, fuelwood, charcoal, non-timber forest products, biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, climate regulation and recreation.

However, these forests are also under increasing pressure from various drivers of deforestation and degradation, such as agricultural expansion, population growth, urbanization, infrastructure development, illegal logging, fire and pests. According to FAO, the annual net loss of forest area in these three countries was about 0.4 million hectares between 2010 and 2020³.

To address these challenges and to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of forestry, there is a need for innovation and transformation. One of the emerging trends that is reshaping forestry is precision forestry. Precision forestry is a method in which the characteristics of forests, treatments, biodiversity preservation, and recreational opportunities can be accurately determined, at the forest stand, plot, or individual tree level.

Precision forestry is enabled by wide range of emerging technologies, such as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), laser scanning (lidar), soil sensors, satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), web-based platforms and mobile applications. But precision forestry is not simply the adoption of digital technologies. It is also the use of data management and analytical tools to support site-specific, economic, environmental and social decision-making and actions along the forestry value chain.

Precision forestry can be applied in all phases of forestry, from planning to harvesting to processing to marketing. Some of the benefits and applications of precision forestry are:

Planning

Precision forestry can help forest managers to plan optimal silvicultural regimes based on detailed information about forest inventory, growth and yield, wood quality, site conditions and market demand. For example, lidar can be used to create high-resolution digital terrain models and canopy height models that can be used to estimate forest biomass, volume and carbon stocks. Drones can be used to capture aerial images that can be processed to generate orthophotos and vegetation indices that can be used to assess forest health, density and diversity.

Site operations

Precision forestry can help forest operators to execute silvicultural treatments such as planting, thinning, pruning, fertilizing, and pest control with greater accuracy and efficiency. For example, soil sensors can be used to measure soil moisture, temperature, pH, and nutrient levels that can be used to optimize fertilization rates and timing. Computer vision and robotics can be used to automate planting and harvesting operations with simultaneous localization
and mapping (SLAM) techniques.

Monitoring

Precision forestry can help forest owners  and stakeholders to monitor forest performance and compliance with environmental and social standards. For example, drones can be used to conduct regular surveys of forest conditions and detect changes such as fire damage, disease outbreaks, illegal logging, or encroachment. Remote sensing data can also be integrated with GIS and web-based platforms to create interactive maps and dashboards that can provide real-time information and alerts to forest managers.

Processing

Precision forestry can help forest processors to optimize the utilization and value recovery of forest products such as logs, chips, pellets, or biofuels. For example, lidar can be used to scan logs at landing sites or mills to measure their dimensions, shape, and defects that can be used to sort them according to quality grades or end-use specifications. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to analyze wood properties such as moisture content, density,
and chemical composition that can be used to optimize drying, sawing, or pulping processes.

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