An innovative move to curb illegal logging and combat the timber mafia is underway in Punjab, India. For the first time in the region, the state forest department has taken the initiative of implanting radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in trees, opening up a new avenue for tree protection.
RFID technology, a high-tech method that uses radio waves to track objects or people without physical contact, has been given a new mission - to protect the green treasures of forests. Each RFID chip costs about Rs 2,500, but the value they provide far exceeds their price. These chips are like guardians of trees, recording the growth of trees in real time and keenly capturing any attempt to cut them down.
The pilot project was officially launched in the Lower Shivalik Hills in Mohali district, which borders Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. This area has become a hot spot for illegal logging due to its special geographical location. The forest department identified 15 vulnerable areas along the Siswan-Badi road and in Mullanpur and Mirzapur districts as the first pilot areas, and installed "smart bodyguards" for trees in these areas.
Among the many tree species, the khair tree is the most in demand for its wood. The 'kattha' and 'cutch' extracted from the khair tree are key ingredients in making 'paan' and medicines, while cutch also plays a role as an additive and preservative in the leather industry. These valuable uses make the khair tree a thorn in the side of illegal loggers. In order to protect this rare tree species, more than 200 RFID chips have been implanted in mature khair trees.
However, the protection action does not stop there. The forest department said that after the successful pilot of khair trees, the project will be expanded to other rare tree species such as sheesham trees. They hope that through this initiative, a tree protection network covering the entire region can be gradually built. Based on the success of the pilot project, RFID chips may be installed on trees in more areas in the future, contributing scientific and technological power to the protection of forest resources.
Kanwardeep Singh, the project supervisor and department forest officer, emphasized that the trees were randomly selected to embed the chips to ensure the fairness and comprehensiveness of the monitoring. Faced with the dilemma of the lack of monitoring facilities such as CCTV cameras, the introduction of RFID technology undoubtedly provides a new solution for tracking forest crimes. Once the chip detects any abnormal movement or signal loss, the alarm system will be activated immediately, greatly shortening the time delay of crime detection.
This action to protect rare trees with RFID technology is not only a practice of technological innovation, but also a firm commitment to the ecological environment and sustainable development. This initiative in Punjab provides valuable experience and inspiration for other regions. Let us look forward to a greener and more harmonious natural environment together.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
