Covering 4,203 square miles in the center of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe lies Kosovo. The country is home to less than 2 million people. Nearly 39% of Kosovo is forest land, which includes more than 100 protected areas, 11 nature reserves, and 2 national parks. Kosovo’s forests support a rich habitat for many animals, several of which are considered endangered such as roebuck deer, lynxes, foxes, and brown bears. The people of Kosovo take great pride in the vast forests that spread throughout the nation; however, these forests are currently under threat.

The mission of Sustainability Leadership Kosovo (SLK), a private organization founded by Indira Kartallozi in 2018, is to provide the resources needed to ensure that Kosovo is able to “prioritize the wellbeing of all; people, animals, plants, and the planet by being examples for others to follow,” as stated on their website. In June of 2023, SLK released a report on the rapid reduction of the nation’s forests. The report states: “Between 2000 and 2022, Kosovo lost a staggering 15,980 hectares of forest, equivalent to a minimum of 2 hectares per day, with a maximum reaching 3.5 hectares per day.” The research highlights the urgent need to address this concerning trend and implement effective measures for forest conservation and sustainable land use.

SLK used a DJI Air 2S, an off-the-shelf drone that retails for around $1,400, to survey large swaths of forest regions. Using images taken by the drone, SLK researchers compared them to high-resolution satellite images from previous years. The results led the team to conclude that deforestation was occurring due to increased agricultural demands, illegal logging, and forest fires. To combat these issues, SLK has partnered with a Croatian company called Magic Forest.

Magic Forest, also known as Project O2, was founded by Dusan Jelić in 2021 with the mission to prevent biodiversity loss across Europe. “We do this by connecting forest landowners (users) with sustainability-oriented corporations (buyers) who either rent, or plant trees on user-owner land,” explains the company’s website. Part of this initiative involves providing organizations like SLK with the tools necessary for reforestation efforts. Dusan Jelić notes that one of the primary challenges in combating deforestation is the labor-intensive nature of replanting forests, which is why Magic Forest has turned to drone technology to achieve their goal of planting 3 billion trees across Europe by 2030.

“The difference is in the speed of planting that we can make possible,” Dusan said. “Today we have millions of forest acres disappearing by fire or logging. We provide enough speed for them to catch up by providing drone technology.” Magic Forest equips a drone with an array of PVC pipes arranged in a ring pointing downward below the drone. Each pipe can hold several seed pods that are roughly the size of a golf ball. Each seed pod is comprised of all the nutrients a tree needs to grow rapidly.

A drone operator navigates the predetermined course, releasing seeds with a simple press of a button on the control system. The design ensures the seed pods are buried gently into the soil without damaging the seeds upon release. “The advantage of this system is that we can duplicate it, then with more drones flying at the same time, they can cover a much larger area,” explained Ivan Vidakovic, Magic Forest’s drone pilot. “Practically in one day with five or six such drones, we can cover 10 hectares.”

SLK has just completed the first round of reforestation with the help of Magic Forest’s drones. The collaboration between SLK and Magic Forest exemplifies a pioneering approach to addressing the critical issue of deforestation in Kosovo and beyond. By harnessing the capabilities of drone technology for reforestation efforts, these organizations not only aim to replenish lost forests but also to set a precedent for sustainable land management practices worldwide. As threats to global biodiversity persist, initiatives like these underscore the potential of innovative solutions to safeguard our planet’s precious natural resources for future generations.

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