Illegal logging & forest protection: Indonesia

A resource cleared faster than it can be policed

The forests are too large and too remote to patrol comprehensively, and clearing that is noticed late cannot be stopped, only recorded. It tends to begin in the interior, far from the road network, so rangers dispatched on rumour arrive to find a site abandoned or an access road already built. The revenue lost to the state is compounded by the ecological cost and, frequently, by the organised crime the trade finances, which gives the problem a security dimension beyond forestry. What is needed is a way to detect clearing as it begins and to direct limited ranger forces to the ground that is actively changing rather than to yesterday's report.

Change detection that puts rangers on the right ground

Observation satellites provide the detection layer through change analysis: by comparing imagery of the same forest over time, they flag new clearings and access tracks the moment they appear, turning a vast unwatchable interior into a short list of sites actively being cut, so a site can be identified while it is still small and reachable. Modular aerial platform kits then convert a satellite alert into an actionable intervention, closing on a flagged site to confirm activity, map the access route and guide rangers in across terrain with no roads. Because both come from independent, non-aligned makers, the imagery and analysis are held by the forestry authority and can be used as evidence and shared on national terms, with localisation arrangements scoped per programme and subject to export controls and end-use approvals, important where the trade crosses jurisdictions.

How engagement works in Indonesia

As an independent, non-aligned prime vendor, Unstrat fields one accountable team with end-use certified equipment and in-region sustainment. A programme typically begins by establishing a satellite change-detection baseline over the most exposed forest regions, then pairs drones with ranger units so alerts translate into interventions on the ground while clearing is still small. Analysts and crews are trained in-region to task the sensors and build cases, with localisation arrangements scoped per programme rather than promised in advance.

Putting rangers on ground that is actively changing

The first step is a briefing to the forestry authority on the most exposed interiors, where clearing begins far from any road, followed by export-control and end-use confirmation before any capability is represented, a single accountable team carrying that clearance rather than a distribution arrangement. Capability is matched to the ground truth: roadless terrain, clearing that starts small and deep in an island interior, a trade that often crosses jurisdictions. A satellite change-detection baseline over the priority forests is established first, giving rangers the advantage of a short list of sites being cut now rather than yesterday's report; drones are then paired with ranger units so an alert becomes an intervention while a site is still reachable. Sustainment is phased, analysts and crews are trained in-region to task the sensors and build cases, and localisation arrangements are scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals, protecting a strategic national asset.

Indonesia: security context

About this challenge

Illegal logging erodes a strategic natural resource and often finances organised crime. Satellite change detection reveals clearing as it begins, and aerial surveillance directs rangers to active sites across terrain no ground patrol can cover alone.