Rautahat: The Division Forest Office in Rautahat has implemented drone technology to enhance the monitoring of its forest areas, aiming to curb poaching and timber smuggling activities. The Sahiya sub-division forest office has been actively using drones for the past three months, resulting in more effective monitoring procedures.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Binod Jethar, a forest officer, reported that the introduction of drones has significantly controlled the smuggling of timber, forest products, and river resources. The drones facilitate the monitoring of a 10-kilometer forest area, contributing to forest conservation efforts. Jethar emphasized that the drones have made tracking smugglers more manageable and have been instrumental in controlling the smuggling of river products from the Dhansar River. He noted that smugglers often disguise themselves as firewood collectors, using bicycles to transport Saal wood to various brick kilns in Rautahat.
Hemant Prasad Sah, the chief of the Division Forest Office in Rautahat, noted that drone surveillance currently covers the forest areas of Sahia, Chocha, Dhansar, and Gaidatar. He shared plans to expand the drone fleet beyond the single unit currently in use to enhance monitoring capabilities.
The forest area in Rautahat spans 30,170 hectares, with various management structures: 8,231 hectares are government-managed, 11,927 hectares are managed through partnership forest programs, 1,052 hectares under block forest management, 8,257 hectares are community forests managed by 43 groups, 51 hectares are religious forests managed by four groups, and 656 hectares are protected by private forests.
Sah also reported that over 12 hectares of previously encroached forest land have been cleared for tree planting in the current fiscal year. Moreover, the Division Forest Office has produced 818,078 seedlings of different species during this period, further supporting reforestation efforts.