Smart patrolling and digital surveillance strengthen forest management efforts
Drone Monitoring Expands Bangladesh Forest Protection
Bangladesh is expanding the use of drones and smart patrolling technologies to improve forest monitoring, protection and enforcement. The government also continues digital surveying and record updates for priority forest areas.
Bangladesh is strengthening technology-enabled forest protection by deploying drones and smart patrolling systems across selected forest regions to improve monitoring and reduce forest-related offenses.
On 18 June, Thursday, responding to a written question in parliament, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo said the country currently has around 2.3 million hectares of forest land, accounting for 15.58 percent of Bangladesh’s total geographical area.
According to the minister, patrol operations have been reinforced while smart patrolling supported by cyber tracker technology has been introduced in the Sundarbans and other protected zones.
He said drone technology is now being used for forest monitoring, maintenance and enforcement activities. The technology is expected to support surveillance in difficult terrain, improve monitoring capacity and help identify illegal activities more efficiently.
The minister also highlighted community participation through co-management and collaborative forest governance approaches to strengthen long-term conservation outcomes.
Additionally, under Section 6(4) of the Forest and Tree Conservation Act 2026, survey, boundary demarcation and record updates of priority forest areas are being carried out through the Department of Land Records and Surveys.
//DBTech/SN/IH//
