Johannes Reiche graduated in radar remote sensing in Germany and obtained his PhD in Wageningen. He has spent the past nine years developing methods to detect deforestation as quickly as possible. ‘My father is a forester, and I have had a passion for the forest for as long as I can remember. I have witnessed the gigantic scale of deforestation in Indonesia and the Amazon with my own eyes. That made a big impression on me. Time is running out, and hopefully our work will contribute to the preservation of tropical rainforests.
Forests in Indonesia and Malaysia are rapidly disappearing in favour of palm oil plantations. To prevent illegal deforestation, Wageningen scientists are developing a self-learning computer system. This system analyses radar-satellite images and raises a red flag when parts of forests disappear. Governments and companies can then go to the location,…