The Forests and Nature Conservation Institute (IFCN) of Madeira has acquired drones that will enable strengthening forest management and monitoring, fire prevention, as well as carrying out rescues, it was announced.
The regional secretary for Tourism, Environment and Culture highlighted that the equipment was acquired under an application to the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), costing 200,000 euros, and they feature a “highly advanced technology”.
The system offers several functionalities and, “above all, it is a great help” to understand the terrain, emphasized Eduardo Jesus, during the presentation of these unmanned aerial vehicles, which took place at Miradouro do Paredão, in the municipality of Câmara de Lobos.
The official highlighted that it is possible to perform “a vertical reading of the canopy,” thus allowing “to know the height of each tree where the drone is operating”.
The system acquired consists of a main drone, a set of modules that can be attached to the device, and two smaller drones that are complementary.
Eduardo Jesus noted that this is a tool that provides “precious information” for the development of the forest inventory, enabling updates to be faster, and also a valuable asset in fire prevention.
Regarding rescue operations, with the modules that can be attached to the main drone, it is possible to project voice, or in other words, to converse with the person being rescued, he highlighted.
It is also possible “to issue a recorded message for a circumstance in which someone needs to be warned in a given area,” he noted.
The regional secretary with the Environment portfolio also stated that the drone’s control can be shared, meaning that two professionals can operate the same device.
