Security & Monitoring I Case study
Fighting illegal deforestation in Brazil
CIE looks at how Cargo Tracck and Gemalto, working together, were able to use M2M technology to help protect Brazil’s endangered Amazon rainforest from illegal logging operations
T
he Amazon rainforest is the largest remaining rainforest on the planet and is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. It plays a vitally important role in the earth‘s environment by balancing the production of oxygen with the absorption of greenhouse gases but it also provides the natural habitat for 30% of the world’s plant and animal species. It contains a staggering 15 per cent of all land-based plant species with as many as 300 different tree species in a single hectare. This enormous array of plant life helps the rainforest to play a vital role in maintaining global biodiversity. The Amazon is vast covering 5 per cent of the Earth's total surface and several South American countries. Over 60 per cent of the forest, however, lies within Brazil's borders.
The Amazon is and has been experiencing one of the highest rates of deforestation on the planet. Strong global demand for rainforest wood combined with the enormous profitability of illegal logging operations has helped fuel the decimation of this resource at an alarming rate. According to the Brazilian government's own estimations, up to 80 per cent of logging in the Brazilian Amazon is illegal. Cheap timber is not the only driver of
deforestation. As Brazil's agriculture industry booms, areas of rainforest are cleared to provide land for crops such as soya which is exported to feed livestock. Loggers, many of whom operate with false permits, are ignoring legal restrictions. As a result of the deforestation the quality of the soil has rapidly deteriorated and has become fit for little more than poor grazing or farmland, providing few economic opportunities for local communities.
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More than 4,000 square miles of Brazilian rainforest has been destroyed in the last two years alone with 224,000 square miles decimated since record keeping began in 1980. With current lumber prices at an eight year high, lumber gangs unlawfully felling trees for profit have become increasingly pervasive. Deforestation in Brazil's huge Amazon
region has slowed in recent years, but despite tougher regulations, loggers are still finding ways to get timber out of the jungle and selling it as legally felled wood, locals say. Traditionally, satellite and radio monitoring were effective at policing the massive Amazon rainforest, but as sophisticated thieves have abandoned clear-cutting for stealthy new logging strategies that target small tracks of the most prized trees, new monitoring methods and strengthened protection have been needed. IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental protection agency, enlisted the help of Cargo Tracck to develop new technology to help locate and identify thieves so they can be brought to justice.
Successful sting operation To put this into some perspective illegal logging and the international trade in illegally logged timber is a major problem for many timber-producing countries. Not only does it cause environmental damage, but it also costs governments billions in lost tax revenue, undermines the rule of law and in many cases actually funds armed conflict. Illegal loggings also plays a role in holding back sustainable development in some of the poorest countries of the world. In June 2012, with international attention turned to Brazil and the United
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Nations’ Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, Cargo Tracck and Gemalto devised and executed a successful pilot programme and sting operation that demonstrated how powerful Machine-to- Machine (M2M) technology can be used to catch thieves in action and stop deforestation.
Designed by Cargo Tracck, the discreet tracking solution uses Gemalto’s Cinterion BGS2 M2M module to enable cellular communications between trees and law enforcement agencies. New Radiation Data Exchange (RED) technology boosts the range of wireless
communications extending the reach to extremely remote areas that lack mobile network coverage. Smaller than a deck of cards, the tiny tracking device is camouflaged in a resin case made to blend in with the trunks of trees. Ten of the devices were covertly installed in remote active harvesting areas deep in the jungle. In addition, specialised night vision cameras were installed in nearby trees to capture visual evidence of illegal logging activities. The sophisticated power management system of the Cinterion module provided enhanced power efficiency that
allowed the device to operate reliably in the field for over a year without recharging batteries. When lumber gangs harvested a tagged tree, the solution immediately began sending alarms to law enforcement officials.
Cargo Tracck’s leading-edge geo-location algorithms, along with the R.E.D. boosters provided unprecedented location accuracy, delivering tracking data and alarm notification to officials as soon as harvested trees passed within 20 miles of a cellular
solution highlights how M2M technology can be applied to help deter crime and protect the environment. It is also used to enable secure POS transactions; remotely manage assets, buildings and industrial operations; improve productivity of fleet operations as well as power specialised industrial PDAs for work forces. ■
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network. This allowed officials to remotely track trees and intercept and arrest thieves in the act of selling timber at sawmills, which ultimately led to quicker prosecution.
M2M technology brings success Deforestation of the Amazon causes significant environmental and global economic damage. Environmental consequences include soil erosion and climate change estimated by the Skoll Foundation to cause roughly one-fifth of global carbon emissions. Economically, the illegal lumber trade depresses world timber prices and accounts for up to $7 billion in lost capital for producing countries every year. To adequately fight illicit logging trade and make criminals accountable, it is vital to catch thieves in the act. It is exceedingly difficult to track timber after it has been smuggled out of the country or sold and processed at sawmills. The Cargo Tracck device provides a new, cost effective solution for real-time, remote monitoring and it delivers new hope for preserving one of Brazil’s most precious resources. Using Gemalto’s ultra-compact Cinterion module, the device is small enough to remain undetected in logs, rugged enough to operate reliably in rainforest heat and moisture, and powerful enough to track trees through remote and dense forests. Combined with the sophisticated
software developed by CargoTracck, the solution allowed tracking even in no or low GSM coverage areas. Addressing these geographic and environmental challenges had previously eluded law enforcement using satellites and other traditional methods. Gemalto’s Cinterion M2M technology has been integrated into a variety of solutions that enable machines, devices and even trees to communicate on mobile networks to improve processes, productivity and efficiency. The Cargo Tracck
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