UAV Image Processing Algorithms for Analyzing Reforestation Efforts in Tanzania

The impacts of climate change and unsustainable land use practices in the Zanzibar Islands along the coast of Tanzania are threatening rural community livelihoods. Sustainably managing existing forests and reforesting degraded areas are adaptation strategies to improve their livelihoods. Communities are depending on the success of these conservation and reforestation efforts. To improve the reliability, transparency, and accountability of these efforts, we are implementing drone imagery, photogrammetry, and image processing algorithms to quickly identify strenuous areas of planted forests. This will be done by implementing two functionalities, crop health detection and crop detection, into a solution that can be used on any drone images of a given canopy. These solutions will be used by a non-profit non-governmental organization, Community Forests Pemba, to help aid their reforestation efforts in Tanzania.