Timber iQ December 2018 - January 2019 // Issue: 41 | Page 10

NEWS
Precision Forestry:
a Revolution in the Woods
New McKinsey report addresses which advanced technologies for forest
management are most promising, and how forestry companies can start
their digital transformation.
MORE THAN THE ADOPTION OF
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
Precision forestry is not simply the adoption of digital
technologies. For forest managers, it involves a paradigm
shift from a highly manual and analogue system with
broad-brush management prescriptions, to a system with
digital data capture and planning, granular management
prescriptions and tight operational control.
The report details 15 precision forestry technologies or
practices the authors believe show the greatest promise to
transform operations and improve forest management
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onducted by Harsh Choudhry and Glen O’Kelly for
McKinsey & Company, the report argues that while
digital technology is revolutionising industries
around the globe, forestry has lagged behind. However, this
is finally starting to change, state the authors.
Choudry and O’Kelly report some forestry pioneers are
starting to achieve productivity increases and returns on
investment similar to other industries, and the size of these
gains is comparable to the shift from animal-powered to
mechanised processes.
Unfortunately, according to the authors, digital solutions
in forestry management science currently confront a
system that still operates largely on the basis of
fundamentals developed by Hans Carl von Carlowitz
more than 300 years ago.
However, inspired by advances in agriculture, some
forestry operators have begun pioneering the use of
advanced technologies to improve forest management
results. Within the industry, this approach is widely called
‘precision forestry’.
The potential for value creation from improved forest
management is significant. Besides the ecological benefits
of increased productivity there is substantial economic and
social value at stake.
Globally, about 300 million hectares of plantation forests
supply almost two billion cubic metres of industrial wood
(for use such as construction, paper and packaging) and two
billion cubic metres of fuelwood for household heating and
cooking. The economic value of industrial wood is about
USD200-billion, while fuelwood remains a critical source of
energy for households in developing countries.
Precision forestry is enabled by a wide range of emerging
technologies such as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs), laser scanning (lidar) and soil sensors.
The ‘Precision Forestry: A Revolution in the Woods’ report
highlights how forestry companies can launch their
digital transformation.
results. These are grouped in the categories of genetics and
nurseries; forest management (silviculture); harvesting;
wood delivery; and ‘across the full value chain’.
Choudry and O’Kelly find that many global, leading
forestry companies are adopting precision forestry
technologies and there has been a noticeable proliferation
of technology suppliers seeking to develop this space.
While many precision forestry technologies remain in
trial phases, some are already established and increasingly
gaining traction. The availability of these technologies,
even those being trialled, signals a major shift in
the industry.
The authors advise that the key to capturing the
potential value is a holistic digital transformation
that brings together the disparate applications of
new technologies.
‘The advent of these new tools and capabilities offers
potential beyond raising the efficiency of practices handed
down from the 18th century. It heralds the start of a
revolution in how we manage the health and the
performance of the world’s forests,’ concludes the report.
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