Drones Reduce Illegal Logging in Amazon
Brazil's controversial "all-seeing-eye" project, using hundreds of autonomous flying drones to monitor the Amazon rain forest for illegal logging, has already resulted in over a dozen arrests this year. The program, begun in 2017, saw a quadrupling of the number of drones in use this year. The Brasilia government has declared the program a success and has announced that it will seek funds for further expansion in the next budget.
Environmental advocates are pleased with the results and the government's commitment to expanding the program, but they caution that spotting illegal logging does not always mean the logging has been stopped. One group, "Allies of the Amazon," notes that only five percent of the investigations of logging have resulted in prosecutions.
"We still see too much willingness on the part of local officials to give the loggers a break," the activist website noted. "While we empathize with the need for local peoples to make a living, it cannot be at the expense of the planet." For more details, see http://superstructgame.org/StoryView/5.