In 2020, the Ministry for the Environment contracted a consortium, led by Lynker Analytics Limited, to complete an aerial survey of areas of forest loss to determine whether they represented deforestation or harvest activity. This report details how Lynker used artificial intelligence techniques to detect the various land covers present in the imagery acquired – including newly planted seedlings, cutover and grassland. Using this land cover information, Lynker were able to determine whether each area had been deforested or was still in a forestry land use.
In 2020, the Ministry for the Environment contracted a consortium, led by Lynker Analytics Limited, to complete an aerial survey of areas of forest loss to determine whether they represented deforestation or harvest activity. This report details how Lynker used artificial intelligence techniques to detect the various land covers present in the imagery acquired – including newly planted seedlings, cutover and grassland. Using this land cover information, Lynker were able to determine whether each area had been deforested or was still in a forestry land use.