Treetop sensors help Indonesia eavesdrop on forests to curb illegal logging

Rainforest Connection CEO Topher White installing a Guardian in the Pasir Talang Timur forest in Indonesia. - ST

SOLOK, Indonesia (Reuters): Clipped onto a rope, climbing high up in a tree swaying in gusts of wind, Topher White finally reaches the roof of the rainforest and opens a laptop to run checks on a machine he built to transmit 24-hour live sound from the surrounding forest.

The machine is one of 27 "Guardian" sensors eavesdropping on forests in Indonesia's West Sumatra province, to listen out for chainsaws as a way to tackle illegal logging in the region.