We can see beyond the trees

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and contains some of the highest numbers of endemic plants found anywhere on Earth. Unfortunately, the island’s tropical rainforests have been devastated by illegal deforestation for many years. 

An estimated 80 per cent of the original forest has been lost, with 33 per cent of this happening since the 1970s. Causes include commercial agriculture, energy and logging, but it is predominantly due to the subsistence needs of 18 million people.

Tim Wilkinson and I recently went on a drone survey mapping expedition to the protected, and ‘at risk’ forest area in the Ambohimahamasina municipality. Classified as a 'Natural Resource Reserve', the forest comprises 20,000 hectares of biodiversity-rich rainforest. Nevertheless, mass immigration has resulted in an unprecedented increase in illegal deforestation in this area. Despite individual forest-cuts generally being small-scale (used for irrigated rice farming), they are now so prevalent that this once intact contiguous primary forest now resembles a ‘Swiss cheese’. As areas cleared by local villagers are often enclosed by forest, their understanding is that this illegal activity cannot be seen and that they will not be found out. 

Our ‘eye-in-the-sky’ has now changed all that.

Is it a bird, is it a plane? 

Our drone flights required teams comprised of individuals from local Madagascan communities and non-profit organisations. One team would remain with the drone pilots (myself and Tim) and the other three ‘roaming teams’ headed to separate but specific geographic locations as their base for the day. Their instructions were to radio to drone command on arrival and give accurate GPS coordinates; set out the Cornish flag (an air to ground marker - the white cross on the black background produces the most identifiable mark); take the GPS reading; and then wait for the drone to visit. The eBee mini drone with its fixed wing may look like a bird in flight, but it is in fact a small plane!

Community engagement and education

During our trip, I ran a training session for the local, regional and national staff from both the Kew Madagascar Conservation Centre and Ny Tanintsika community forest management group, as well as giving presentations to the local communities. Using a generator, a white sheet and a portable projector, educational topics such as ‘why and how to use a toilet’, and ‘what is malaria and the benefits of mosquito nets’ were on the agenda, but we also showcased images taken from our drone flights. Examples of good intact forest and areas of recent destructive deforestation, so detailed that we could count the number of felled trees, were shown to the communities.

The communities and children were all very interested and involved in the droning expedition. They were pleased and honoured that we had selected their community as our base for the drone missions. They helped carry equipment, monitor the drones in flight, kept watch over our generator and battery charging station, and frequently mimicked the drone noise to our absolute confusion as we couldn’t be sure whether the ‘buzz’ was actually the drone at all. And something I will always remember - the first question they asked about the drone - "will it be able to see people in the toilet?"

These communities now have an education in forest monitoring and protection. They also have a very memorable experience of drone flight and the associated hilarity when birds are misidentified as the drone (but this works to our advantage in our absence, as any bird could potentially now be a drone watching them), but also the health legacy associated with the new drop toilet constructed in each community.