Application of unmanned aerial vehicles in earth resources monitoring: focus on evaluating potentials for forest monitoring in Ethiopia

Application of unmanned aerial systems was limited to the military until the last decade when we see dramatic growth of interest by civilian users. Among the many fields of application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), forestry has diverse uses ranging from forest cover assessment to species classification and real-time forest fire monitoring. Inspired by the potential uses of the technology, this study is a review of literature on the types and uses of UAVs, the challenges and opportunities, current experiences and the future prospects of using UAVs for forest resources monitoring in Ethiopia. The study has identified potential uses of UAVs for forestry applications. It has also shown that there is perceived need for accurate, demand-based and cost-effective tools for forest resources monitoring in developing countries including Ethiopia. Hence, the use of small UAVs in the forestry sector in Ethiopia is believed to be a supplementary method to the existing methods of spatial data capture for filling the gap of information and improving the quality of forest information that is needed to comply with international standards. The results of this study indicate that Ethiopia can make use of the technology and improve its forest information system. However, while doing so, rules and regulations must be put in place to avoid the challenges that come along with introducing the technology. If properly used, the technology will enhance the forest management decision-support system of the country