The forest ecosystems is one of the vital aspect of the world’s biodiversity. Being the important elemental source of air for other ecosystems, the sustainability of forests is immensely crucial. Ironically, the understanding of the significance and sustainability of forests is heavily impaired.
Forests offer a variety of ecosystem services that are experiencing rapid negative impacts due to the economical, ecological, climatic and biophysical forces. Apart from these, vast forest area, low labour force, less infrastructure and low financial support were also limiting the efficient administration and management of the forests. There is an urgent need for the collection of accurate information for the sustainable management of forests.
Nowadays sophisticated sensors, aerial photogrammetry and remote sensing techniques provide the most advanced tool for monitoring, inventorying and mapping forests and wildlife. Other than airborne and spaceborne platforms, in recent years, drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are widely used in the management of forests due to their low operational costs, lightweight, high-intensity data collection in a short time, variety of sensors, and usability in inaccessible and high-risk areas.
That said, drones can assist in tracking illegal activities, monitoring animals, counting their population, planning reforestation, taking exotic images and more. Drones for forest and wildlife give us a better tomorrow by assessing forest health, encroachments, tree-felling, forest fires, poaching, the status of water bodies, biodiversity protection, and mangrove conservation. So there is huge potential for drones in Indian forestry and it is already in use.