MDA Aids Indonesian Rainforest Preservation with RADARSAT-2 Satellite
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MDA Aids Indonesian Rainforest Preservation with RADARSAT-2 Satellite

MDA has announced that its Forest Alert Service (FAS) space-based capabilities have enabled Asia Pulp & Paper's (APP) pulpwood suppliers to more strategically monitor forest cover loss in conservation areas and meet their commitment to stakeholders that conservation forest areas are not cleared in connection with their products. In less than three years since MDA began providing the monitoring service, APP reports the losses of natural forest cover in its suppliers' forest concessions has dropped from between 5-6% to just 0.06% of more than 600,000 hectares.

The strategic partnership between APP and MDA launched in 2016, enabling APP's pulpwood suppliers to respond rapidly to detected forest changes. Monitoring land cover changes in production areas are essential for efficient operational planning and minimize illegal encroachment, further protecting high-value forests.

Employing MDA's RADARSAT-2 satellite, FAS provides near real-time space-borne services to deliver critical and timely information to APP, typically within two days of data collection. Every 24 days, the system monitors approximately 3.8 million hectares, which also comprises APP's pulpwood suppliers and the Giam Siak Kecil Biosphere Reserve. RADARSAT-2 penetrates clouds and precipitation to detect subtle forest disturbances, in an area as small as 0.5 hectares.

“By partnering with MDA, we're able to monitor the condition of the forests we manage and quickly investigate and resolve disturbance and preserve our precious natural resources,” said Elim Sritaba, director of sustainability and stakeholder engagement, APP.

The RADARSAT-2 satellite has global high-resolution surveillance capabilities that allow it to acquire data regardless of light or weather conditions, and to provide frequent re-visit imaging options. The information provided is ideally suited to markets that require either broad-area monitoring or targeted surveillance, such as maritime surveillance, defence and security, land use management, agriculture, disaster management and natural resources.

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