Following the August 2024 rural fire, the Government of Madeira acquired professional drones to map forest areas with "previously unattainable levels of detail," indicated the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN).
This investment, which complements existing unmanned aerial vehicles, is strategic for enhancing response capabilities in monitoring, collecting geographic data, and assessing intervention areas. The new drones are equipped with thermal, multispectral, photogrammetric cameras, and laser scanning sensors.
The IFCN also tested seed launching in hard-to-reach areas using drones, although the original spherical bomb model proved unviable. A redesigned model with disc-shaped matrices is now under development. Additionally, 2,746 meters of fencing and three gates were installed in areas affected by the fire in Paul da Serra, with an investment of approximately 69,000 euros, to protect recovering spaces from unregulated grazing.
