NAIROBI, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Tuesday launched a digital telecommunication and video surveillance network to protect the country's forests from fires.
Aden Duale, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, that the digital radio network and early fire video detection first call system will equip firefighting crews with equipment and tools to respond to fire hazards in real-time.
"The technology will build Kenya's institutional capacity to respond to the threat from forest fires, thus ultimately contributing to the goal of achieving 30 percent tree cover," Duale said.
He said that the systems will be deployed in the Aberdare, Mau, and Mount Kenya Forest ecosystems, which span 14 counties, and that Kenya's forests are in a higher danger of fire due to climate change, which has resulted in rising temperatures and frequent droughts.
According to Duale, the technology deploys satellite equipment and cameras that send signals to a command center that will enable Kenya Forest Service, a government agency, to identify precise coordinates of fires. ■
