Thousands of acres of forest are lost every year in Kosovo due to illegal logging and wildfires. Environmentalists hope to combat that with seed-dropping drones, which they say can help reforest faster than planting by hand and reach difficult terrain.

Belgrade

Kosovo is combating its annual loss of forests with an innovative reforestation method using seed-dropping drones. These drones, developed in a partnership between Sustainability Leadership Kosovo (SLK) and the Croatian company Project O2, are deploying seeds over areas that have been stripped bare by illegal logging and wildfires. The initiative targets the planting of linden and pine seeds over territories that are difficult to reach by traditional planting methods.

The environmental challenge in Kosovo includes the destruction of habitat for wildlife species such as brown bears and lynx, which are seeing their populations decline. SLK has reported a loss of over 1,700 acres of forest each year, a significant portion of the country's woodland. The drone technology promises a faster reforestation process, capable of planting seeds five times quicker than manual planting. This method not only accelerates the planting process but also enables access to remote and treacherous areas that have been affected by natural disasters.

The seed-dropping drones carry about 100 seed balls per flight, encapsulated in a nutrient-rich coating to protect them from predators. Each drone can cover approximately two and a half acres in a span of two hours, necessitating between 2,000 to 5,000 seed balls depending on the seed type. Given the germination rate of about one-third, the drones plant triple the number of seeds needed to ensure adequate forest regeneration.

This technique is not exclusive to Kosovo; it has been utilized in various parts of the world including the United States, Brazil, Africa, and Europe, to counteract the global issue of rapid deforestation—a problem of such magnitude that, according to United Nations Environment Programme estimates, woodland the size of Portugal is lost worldwide every year.



Seed-dropping drones helping to reforest Kosovo

This drone is dropping linden and pine seeds onto a barren hillside outside Kosovo's capital Pristina. Thousands of acres have been lost due to illegal logging and wildfires. That's endangering wildlife like brown bears and lynx, according to environmentalists, who say the animals' populations are declining in Kosovo. A study by the non-profit organization Sustainability Leadership Kosovo, or SLK, found the country is losing more than 1,700 acres of forest yearly. They hope drones will change that. For every flight in Kosovo, the drones are filled with about 100 seed balls. The seeds are surrounded by a mix of clay, sand, waste biomass with rich minerals, and other ingredients, which protects the seeds from insects or rodents. SLK partnered up with Croatian company Project O2 to drop the seeds from drones. They say the process is five times faster than planting by hand and can reach remote areas more quickly. Lara Vukosovic is with Project O2. The benefits of such technology is that we can plant on remote areas, so especially in areas where there was disasters such as fires or floods, where even firefighters had difficulties coming on the terrain. This is where we have our advantage. So we can plant on any terrain, but especially the ones that are non-accessible for human hands, yes. Each drone can plant about two and a half acres in two hours and needs between 2,000 to 5,000 seed balls, depending on the type of seeds. Only about a third of those seeds germinate, so they plant three times more than required. The technique has already been used in the United States, Brazil, Africa, and Europe to counter rapid deforestation. Woodland the size of Portugal is lost globally every year, according to estimates from the United Nations Environment Programme.

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