A ground-breaking initiative known as Project Forest Foresight is poised to revolutionise the management of natural disasters and forestry. Led by Indicium Dynamics, this collaborative project brings together key forest and fire managers to implement a technology-driven approach that enhances the prevention, prediction, detection, and response to fire disasters. Source: Timberbiz
By leveraging existing technologies and networks, Project Forest Foresight aims to achieve beneficial environmental, social, and economic outcomes for Tasmania’s forest managers and communities alike.
The project will deploy a range of Digital Forest Technologies to collect real-time data across selected private and public forests and wilderness areas. This data will then be shared across the industry and agency participants to provide forest intelligence about environmental variables that will optimise practices relating to two key aspects of disaster risk management:
Project Forest Foresight will equip forestry managers with valuable insights into local environmental conditions and risk factors, enabling evidence-based decision-making for prescribed burn activities.
This technology-driven approach facilitates the timely, safe, and efficient deployment of assets and personnel. It also encourages improved local community communication and engagement.
The project deploys cutting-edge technology to remotely detect and monitor fires during fire seasons. This allows for efficient deployment and monitoring of firefighting assets, collection of local weather and environmental conditions data, and sharing of information with adjacent landholders, firefighting agencies, and local communities for a coordinated response to fire events.
Project Forest Foresight will expand a comprehensive state-wide network of IoT monitoring devices within managed forestry and wilderness areas.
These devices collect real-time data and feed it into a secure, shared data platform, providing forest managers, supporting agencies, and local communities with the information needed to make informed decisions about forest management practices and activities.
This project aligns with the Tasmanian Disaster Resilience Strategy, focusing on understanding disaster risk, reducing disaster risk, working together, and being prepared for disasters.
By improving situational intelligence through remote monitoring IoT technology, the project enhances understanding of factors like fuel moisture, soil moisture, and local weather conditions.
The project promotes collaboration between organisations responsible for managing forested areas, facilitating data sharing, communication, and cost-effective solutions.
By deploying technology that provides better visibility of forest conditions, Project Forest Foresight will help prevent and mitigate forest-related disasters.
Real-time environmental data and early warning systems contribute to effective and efficient resource allocation and response.
The project will utilise various network connectivity options, such as LoRaWAN, satellite, and cellular networks. It also deploys a range of Digital Forest Technologies, including fuel and soil moisture sensors, weather stations, fire detection cameras, and water resource monitoring systems.
In addition, the project will also incorporate Fire Foresight, a fire detection solution that merges Robotic Cats’ AI Wildfire Detection software with Indicium’s IoT connectivity and data insights.
The project commenced in 2023 and will progress via planned infrastructure rollouts occurring in phases that align with the 2024, 2025 and 2026 burn seasons.
