Drones for the Prevention of Forest Fires Improve Environmental Management

• Training enables the Metapán Forest Fire Subcommittee to optimize the monitoring and response to forest fires that threaten protected areas.

The Permanent Management Subcommittee Against Forest Fires of Metapán, El Salvador, strengthened its capabilities in monitoring and preventing forest fires through a specialized workshop. The activity, held from February 11 to 13, 2025, was organized as part of the Resilient and Diverse Landscapes of Northern Mesoamerica project, funded by the United Kingdom and implemented in the Trifinio sub-landscape by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Teaching Center), in collaboration with the Trinational Commission of the Trifinio Plan and local partners.

The workshop, held at the facilities of the Municipal Center for Training and Comprehensive Care (CICA), with flight practices conducted at San Diego National Park and San Felipe Las Barras, trained 18 participants from key entities in El Salvador such as the Civil National Police (Environment Section), Firefighters, the General Directorate of Civil Protection, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

Under the direction of Juan José Serrano Molina, a forest engineer from CATIE’s Unit of Forests and Biodiversity in Productive Landscapes and a certified drone pilot, the attendees received training on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), the applicable Salvadoran regulations, and conducted supervised drone flights.

Faster and More Effective Response to Fires

The use of drones enables the early detection of fire outbreaks, facilitating a more efficient response to prevent their spread and mitigate the damage they can cause. Key benefits of this training include:

• Preventive monitoring to avoid the spread of forest fires.
• Better allocation of personnel and resources in affected areas.
• Reduced response times to environmental emergencies.

As part of the follow-up to this initiative, the Resilient and Diverse Landscapes of Northern Mesoamerica project will make the official donation of a specialized drone, equipped, among other things, with an infrared camera, for use by the Permanent Management Subcommittee Against Forest Fires of Metapán, thereby consolidating its operational capacity to detect and manage forest fires.

Through this initiative, the project promotes the use of innovative technologies for the protection and conservation of the forest ecosystems in the Trifinio region.