In Guiyang, Mother Nature meets high-tech

Cloud technology has been playing a key role in supporting ecological protection efforts in Guizhou province in recent years, according to local officials.

By simply logging onto an app on their digital devices, members of the forestry department in Guiyang, Guizhou province, can record and compare detailed data related to their business - including biodiversity, the amount of forestry coverage, information about old and rare trees and patrol records over the past few years.

Forest fire management and an emergency response system were among the earliest ecological protection efforts in the city using digital technology.

Preventing fires

Since 2010, the city has began building a geographical information system, a forest fire remote video monitoring system and a big data management and analysis platform for fire prevention.

The system includes one city-level direction center, 11 county-level centers and 47 remote fire monitoring terminals, effectively covering about 39,000 hectares of forest area - more than 10 percent of the city's coverage - in central areas, according to the Guiyang Ecological Civilization Construction Commission.

By the end of 2017, Guiyang had invested more than 12 million yuan ($1.8 million) in the construction of the monitoring system and the maintenance of the app, and has basically formed an intelligent cloud platform that monitors for disasters, helps manage resources and supports cultivation and industry. Subsystem functions range from surveys to forest fund management.

Enhanced accuracy

"The surveillance is very accurate. The information will be transmitted through the app within 10 seconds, which greatly improves the efficiency of forest fire prevention," said Wu Zhengxing, an official in the Guiyang forest fire prevention office.

According to a recent report from Wu's department, forest fire incidents fell to only seven this year from a whopping 88 last year. Meanwhile, more fires have been reported quickly through the system.

"The reduction of fires and the quicker response times are the best evidence of digital efficiency in the forestry department," Wu said.

According to Li Tao, an engineer at the forest resources management station in Guiyang, the system has effectively improved field work, both for him and his colleagues.

"With the digital map and GPS in the app, we can easily find roads and avoid dangerous places in the forests. Before that, we needed to rely on a compass and paper map," Li said.

In July, Li completed a forest survey that had lasted for a year and a half. He needed to investigate and record information before uploading to the app - data involving tree stocks and varieties, as well as fire hazard levels.