Seed-dropping drones seek to stop Kosovo's logging

A hovering drone drops linden and pine seeds wrapped in soil onto a barren hillside outside Kosovo's capital Pristina, part of an effort to reforest thousands of hectares lost to illegal logging and wildfires.

Environmentalists say logging, likewise driven by demand for popular wood-fired stoves, is threatening wild animals such as brown bears, lynx, wild goats and roe deer whose populations are lessening in Kosovo.

A study by non-profit organisation Sustainability Management Kosova (SLK), the small Balkan nation is losing more than 700 hectares of forest yearly.

SLK has actually teamed up with Croatian company Job 02 to drop seeds from drones, a procedure that it states is five times quicker than human planting and can reach remote areas more quickly.

We need to do something now, our forests are being ruined, SLK founder Indira Kartallozi said in the village of Butovc outside Pristina.

Today we have dropped 500 balls with numerous seeds inside, and this is simply the beginning before we will begin an enormous reforestation in autumn.

The strategy has already been utilized in the United States, Brazil, Africa and Europe to counter quick logging. The United Nations Environment Programme approximates that forest the size of Portugal is lost globally every year.

For every single flight in Kosovo, the drone is filled with about 100 black balls comprised of seeds surrounded by a mix of clay, sand, waste biomass with other active ingredients and abundant minerals that safeguard the seeds from pests or rodents.

The drone can plant one hectare in two hours and requirements in between 2,000 to 5,000 balls, depending on the kind of seeds.

The advantage is that we can plant on any surface, especially the ones that are non accessible for human hands, sustainable advancement professional Lara Vukasovic from Project 02 said as the drone buzzed overhead.

She said about 25-30% of seeds sprout, so three times more are planted than required.

(source: Reuters)