Indonesia
Enhancing Forest Conservation in Sumatra
Overview
The project focused on using Rainforest Connection (RFCx) acoustic monitoring technology to monitor and protect the Mudiak Baduo Landscape, a biodiverse area facing threats from deforestation, illegal logging, and land-based concessions like oil palm and mining. The initiative aimed to provide real-time alerts to local Village Forest Guards (VFG) to enable quicker interventions.
Above: Watch our mini-documentary on the Sumatara project, made by Arm.
Partners
IUCN National Committee of the Netherlands (IUCN NL): Cornerstone supporter and funder of the project.
KKI Warsi: Local partner responsible for coordinating with villages, training, and developing the response system.
Village Forest Guards (VFG): Local community members from the four participating villages responsible for real-time monitoring and intervention.
Objectives
The primary objective of the pilot phase was to implement the RFCx Guardian system in the Mudiak Baduo Landscape to:
Establish effective, real-time monitoring of key strategic locations (hot-zones) in the four village forests.
Provide local partners (KKI Warsi and VFG) with the technology and initial training to detect and report illegal activities (cars, trucks, motorcycles, and chainsaws).
Start building local capacity to use the system for interventions and incident reporting.
Above: Local capacity building session with KKI Warsi and RFCx.
Implementation
Installation: A total of 12 RFCx Guardians were manufactured, assembled, and installed - three in each of the four village forests.
Mapping: The RFCx team worked closely with KKI Warsi and the VFGs to conduct on-site hot-zone mapping and select strategic Guardian locations.
Equipment: RFCx handed over 20 new Huawei phones (including 12 Huawei Mate Pros) for VFG use of the Ranger Application, and a Dell laptop to KKI Warsi for the Dashboard and Alert Management System.
Training: Extensive training was provided to VFGs on the features of the RFCx Ranger Mobile Application (real-time push alerts, GPS patrol mapping, incident reporting) and to KKI Warsi on the web-based Dashboard and tools (for report generation, alert review, and training the Artificial Intelligence model).
Technology Fine-tuning: The sensitivity of the Guardians was set too high to maximize the monitoring range, necessitating a formal review and categorization process to filter out false-positive alerts and enhance the accuracy of the machine learning model.
Above: Assembling a first-generation guardian in Sumatra.
Outcomes / Challenges
Outcomes
Protection: The project successfully installed the Guardian network, aiding in monitoring and protecting the four village forests, covering 13,584 Ha.
Real-time Detection: The new system demonstrated its immediate value by capturing live chainsaw alerts during training and facilitating the KKI Warsi team's documentation of a recently logged area, which was then filed as an incident report.
Data Archiving: The installed devices are currently collecting hundreds of hours of data monthly, with a total of 9,556 hours added to the audio ark to date.
Community Support: The VFGs were highly engaged throughout the installation process, leading to a strong sense of ownership and accountability.
Institutional Buy-in: The data gathered has empowered KKI Warsi to prepare presentations for the district police, Forest Management Units, and the Provincial Forest Agency to secure support for the real-time response process and broader deployment of the technology.
Public Awareness: The project received extensive media coverage facilitated by Google, Huawei, and the New York Times, with over 40 articles expected in total.
“When an unauthorized party is in the forest and breaking the law, we can now quickly identify what they’re doing and identify their precise location.” - Mr. Alfion, Local Ranger, West Sumatra.
