How Brazilian organisations are driving sustainability using drones and artificial intelligence to protect the planet’s most important rainforest.
At a time when deforestation in the Amazon is measured in hectares per hour, Brazil appears to live in a paradox: our environmental sciences are increasingly advanced, yet we still fail to translate knowledge into effective policy. There seems to be a kind of national blindness to the issue, even as the news highlights the enormous challenges of protecting the environment while managing the exploitation of natural wealth.
Despite all this, in this scenario, two public institutions stand out as beacons of scientific resistance and territorial innovation: Embrapa and INPE. With cutting-edge technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence algorithms, these institutions are demonstrating that forest conservation can (and should) be guided by data, forecasting, and respect for local knowledge.
Embrapa: Appropriate Technology with Feet in the Forest
The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) has been a cornerstone of national science since 1973. Internationally recognised, it is responsible for numerous innovations that have boosted Brazil’s agricultural production. We must highlight that if Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse, it is largely thanks to Embrapa — a producer of science and technology, and a public entity. But its role goes far beyond this. In the Amazon, in particular, Embrapa works directly with technologies focused on forest monitoring, sustainable use of biodiversity, and the empowerment of traditional communities.
One of the most emblematic examples is the use of drones equipped with high-precision sensors to map forests. The initiative from Embrapa Eastern Amazon can process up to 2,000 hectares per day, drastically reducing the time and cost of monitoring. The data collected feeds the NetFlora system, a platform designed to organise, store and provide access to information about Amazonian flora — serving as a taxonomic and ecological database that contributes to scientific research, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable use of the region’s natural resources.
INPE: Satellites, Algorithms, and Deforestation Forecasting
Another organisation of which we are immensely proud is the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), a leading institution in Brazilian science since 1961. It operates across various fields including space, climate and environmental research. In relation to the Amazon, INPE is known for its DETER and PRODES systems, publicly available on the TerraBrasilis platform, which monitor fires and deforestation in near real-time. But the institution is now going beyond monitoring: it is anticipating deforestation.
DETER, with its near real-time detection capabilities, is a tool for immediate response, alerting enforcement agencies before the forest is entirely felled. PRODES, with surgical precision and a robust methodology, provides the official annual deforestation figure for the Amazon — serving as a compass for public policies and international agreements.
Through a partnership with American universities, INPE scientists have developed a predictive model using artificial intelligence that forecasts areas at highest risk of deforestation for the following year. Using the Random Forest algorithm, the model analyses variables such as historical deforestation patterns, infrastructure, proximity to protected areas, and heat spots. The result is striking: 66% of deforestation recorded between 2019 and 2021 occurred in 414,000 km² previously identified as high-risk areas, while the official plan covered much larger regions with lower efficiency.
This approach provides what Brazil most urgently needs: efficiency based on data. It also reveals just how disconnected political inaction is from the technical capacity already available. The forest is screaming. Science is listening. The question is: who isn’t?
Frugal Technology, Territory, and Sovereignty: An Integrated Analysis
The solutions proposed follow the idea of appropriate technology, as defined by E.F. Schumacher (1973). For him, an innovation designed to respect the social, ecological and economic context of a region is an appropriate technology. By combining high technology with operational simplicity, these tools not only support researchers but also empower communities to monitor their own resources. Brazilian science has shown that it is possible to combine advanced technology, traditional knowledge and territorial efficiency. Embrapa and INPE — with drones, satellites, and algorithms — are paving the way for a new approach to protecting the Amazon: one based on data, rooted in the territory, and committed to life.
Both Embrapa and INPE, in their own way, are practising frugal innovation: ingenious, accessible solutions adapted to conditions of scarcity. According to Radjou, Prabhu and Ahuja (2012), frugal innovation is defined by “doing more with less” and by placing the real needs of the region at the heart of the innovation process. It does not reject cutting-edge technology, but rather reinterprets it in context.
In a scenario of climate crisis, rural poverty and environmental degradation, these approaches are more than desirable — they are essential. And by emerging from Brazilian institutions — public and committed to the common good — they also represent an act of scientific and environmental sovereignty. Technology ceases to be an imported product and becomes a tool for emancipation.
What Embrapa and INPE are saying is not merely “the forest matters.” They are saying: the forest can teach, forecast, measure, and guide. But for that, it must be listened to. And perhaps the next generation of innovation will not come from the pavement, but from the damp earth of the forest.
References
Radjou, N., Prabhu, J., & Ahuja, S. (2012). Jugaad Innovation: Think Frugal, Be Flexible, Generate Breakthrough Growth. Jossey-Bass.
Schumacher, E. F. (1973). Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. Blond & Briggs.