New tech boosts emergency response in NW China forest

High-resolution surveillance cameras, remote sensing images and other technologies are halving the time that responders need to contain wildfires, insect plagues and plant diseases in an ecologically critical forest in the northwestern city of Yan'an, a local official said.

They are also making it more efficient to fight illegal development projects in large swathes of the pristine forests in the Ziwuling National Nature Reserve, according to Bai Yingfei, chief engineer of the city's reforestation office.

The reserve, lying immediately south of the sprawling Mu Us Desert, is considered a crucial shield against the desert's southward expansion, and is usually metaphorically referred to as the lungs of Shaanxi province. The area is also home to a couple of endangered species including the leopard and golden eagle.

Bai said since the forest is comprised of mainly oil-rich evergreen species such as pine and cypress, it is prone to fires in dry seasons.

The dozens of surveillance cameras and almost 200 infrared cameras – scattered across 200,000 hectares of forestland overseen by the city's Qiaobei forestry administration – could enable monitors to detect fires, diseases or pest plagues almost immediately, he said.