Exclusive ITV of Baomiavotse Vahinala Raharinirina, Malagasy Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development.

From the COP 26 to the reforestation policy through waste management, the minister gives us insights on the ecological issues of the Big Island. This exclusive interview realized for the Journal des Archipels by our correspondents Tsirisoa Rakotondravoavy & Liva Rakotondrasata is to be found on our next paper magazine.

Here is an extract from this ITV on the use of drones.

“In the objective set by the President of the Republic to increase to a minimum of 40,000 hectares of reforestation, the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development has decided to increase these ambitions to 75,000 ha. This choice is based on the observation that we are at an annual average of 100,000 ha of forest degradation or burned areas. The objective is to be much more efficient in order to reverse these two curves, i.e., by 2023, we should have fewer burned areas than planted or reforested or restored areas. The idea of the President of the Republic is both to rely on the population and on the various actors of the environment and, above all, to mobilize new technologies to accelerate the achievement of the objectives. Drones have arrived but, for the moment, there are no drones tailored to plant trees. It is the technicians of the Ministry, the dronists of Madagascar National Parks and other partners who work to have these models of drones that can do reforestation.

Drones will never replace men

The drones will be used primarily for the restoration of mangroves, particularly the Afiafy seeds. In addition, it is essential that the actions are carried out on moistened land. Therefore, we are currently identifying the most suitable areas to host the drones. The east coast will certainly be one of them, as it is an area that has a lot of rainfall and is therefore able to receive the seeds. It is clear that drones will never replace humans, but they are important auxiliary tools. This technology will improve yields in well-specified areas. We have already conducted two trials. The goal is to have these drones operational for the next reforestation campaign.