Deforestation is one of the most severe threats facing the environment today.
The world loses millions of acres of forest a year, so people need to act fast to save them.
Thankfully, new technology can help protect the world’s forests.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most exciting developments in recent technology.
You likely use IoT devices every day, but they can also help end deforestation.
People across the globe are already using the IoT in the fight to save the forest.
What Is IoT? googletag.
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display(div-gpt-ad-1439400881943-0); }); The IoT refers to the ever-growing network of internet-connected devices and sensors.
You see it in action in the near countless number of products labeled “smart” these days.
Smart speakers, smart plugs and smart lights are all examples of IoT devices in everyday life.
There are almost 12 billion of these devices in the world today, and this number keeps increasing.
Most of them help make your daily life more comfortable or convenient, but they can play a more meaningful role, too.
Here are just a few of the ways that the IoT can help end deforestation.
Stopping Illegal Logging Environmental regulations only restrain legal logging, while illegal operations still contribute to deforestation.
Finding and stopping illicit loggers can be challenging, but IoT sensors help.
Minuscule devices on trees can detect signs of unauthorized logging and alert the authorities in real-time.
These sensors can watch over the forests where people can’t.
When they hear sounds like chainsaws or large trucks, they alert nearby law enforcement and conservation agencies.
These authorities can then intervene immediately, finding and stopping these illegal loggers.
A few areas in the Amazon rain forest already use these IoT sensors.
With more widespread adoption, people can protect more forests.
Planting New Trees Fighting deforestation includes both preventing tree loss and restoring destroyed forests.
By planting more trees, you help combat the effects of deforestation globally.
The IoT can help in this area, too, with tree-planting drones.
A tech startup called BioCarbon Engineering makes drones that spray seeds to replant forests in record time.
These flying devices aren’t just fast, but they’re effective, too, taking measures to ensure healthy tree growth.
Instead of firing seeds randomly, they scan the area to find the best places to foster a growing tree.
IoT devices like drones allow you to plant far more trees than you could do by hand.
BioCarbon has already planted more than 25,000 trees worldwide.
Fighting Climate Change IoT devices can also fight deforestation by addressing the broader, overarching issues behind it.
If you don’t work to fight climate change, reforestation efforts won’t do much long-term.
By using IoT appliances instead of traditional technology, you can reduce your environmental impact.
Many smart appliances offer features like energy monitoring, so you can watch and adjust your electricity use.
By using less electricity, you decrease your reliance on fossil fuels, reducing your contribution to climate change.
As climate change slows, forests face fewer environmental threats.
Fighting this larger issue is essential to ensuring the safety of the world’s forests.
By creating a healthier world all around, you give trees a better chance to grow and survive.
Reforestation Efforts Need IoT Deforestation is so widespread at this point, stopping it will take a considerable movement.
In the fight for the forests, you need every bit of help you can get.
The Internet of Things provides the kind of help conservationists can’t afford to ignore.
The IoT allows you to fight deforestation on a level that would be impossible without it.
Features like instant communication, tracking and automation come in handy with a subject as massive as a forest.
With enough advancement and adoption, the IoT could finally end deforestation.
About the Author Caleb Danziger writes about big data, AI, cloud computing and the IoT.
Read more from Caleb on The Byte Beat, his tech blog.
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