FORESTRY INVENTORY TECHNOLOGY:A STRATEGIC funding arm of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has invested in a technology company that can measure and track forests, right down to identifying the species of individual trees.
Although spies and lumberjacks may not have much in common, In-Q-Tel, the agency's investment arm has invested an undisclosed amount in Imagetree, a company that uses various technologies to create an inventory of the vegetation in a forest.
Accurate to about one-tenth of a metre, Imagetree can track forestry patterns through the use of light detection and ranging technology, and infrared colour, which then provides satellite imagery to track forestry patterns. This is then married with biometric data from remote sensors on the ground and in trees in order to calculate the species, volume and height of each plant.
The technology has two potential uses. Firstly, it could be used to assess accurately the carbon capacity of specific forest areas, so that carbon credits can be issued against forest protection schemes.
The CIA and other US security agencies, however, are thought to be interested in using the technology to locate and track the growth of drug plantations that are sometimes hidden beneath taller forest canopies.
