Rubber trees face new enemy

  by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Natural rubber constantly faces debilitating diseases. The most lethal disease on record is the leaf disease, which is endemic in Brazil's host country. Yes, the South American Leaf Blight (SALB) has stalked the natural rubber industry for years.

There is no treatment for the disease. A new rubber leaf disease, pestalotiopsis, is creating a big scare.

The disease appears during heavy rain. When infected, rubber trees lose a lot of leaves, thus lowering latex yields by up to 20 percent.

There's no treatment for it. The other worry is that trees infected with pestalotiopsis can develop other diseases like phythoptera.

Experts in rubber diseases have proposed doing collaborative research to find solutions.

Under the umbrella of the International Rubber Research and Development Board, the research will involve collaboration among scientists from rubber-producing countries.

They say any single approach may not be able to control the disease.

They propose an integrated approach to tackle it.

This refers to a decision-based approach involving multiple tactics to control pathogens.

These may include site selection and preparation; using disease-resistant planting materials; altering planting practices; modifying the environment by drainage; irrigation; pruning; thinning; shading; and applying pesticides.

We also need to monitor environmental factors, including temperature, moisture, soil pH, and nutrients.

Disease forecasting and establishing economic thresholds are other measures.

An accurate diagnosis of the causal agents is needed. Without correct identification and diagnosis, it will be challenging to design a disease control scheme.

An understanding of the disease cycle, including climatic and other environmental factors that influence the cycle, and cultural requirements of the host plant, are also needed to manage the disease.

Climate change is partly to blame for this disease. Research is the only way to develop a solution.

Let's expand rail transport

 by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim,

Kudos to the government for reverting to the earlier rail transport policy. Many are encouraged by the government's stand to expand the rail network.

We talk a lot about investing more in public transport. Rail is the most efficient and best way to move people and goods.

As the electric mode of rail transport becomes more viable, rail is also the best way to reduce the nation's carbon footprint.

We also talk a lot about achieving net zero by 2050.

These noble aims should be reflected in our transport policy because the transport sector is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions.

The East Coast Rail Line project, which links the east coast states with the capital, will boost the east coast's economy.

Even the high-speed rail (HSR) project, which has been shelved, should be reconsidered.

Many are encouraged that the government has revived the Mass Rapid Transit 3 project.

The announcement about the start of phase one of the Mass Rapid Transit 2 Putrajaya line is welcome news

The Gemas-Johor-Baru electric line reaching completion is more good news.

Many believe rail projects should be widened to include Penang, Ipoh, and Johor Baru.

The largest source of emissions is transported especially cars. As recommended by the Smart City Framework a few years ago, the investment in public transport should be intensified.

What better way to do that than the investment in electric rail.

This can reduce traffic.

Rail can also be an effective way to disperse the urban population. We saw how urban living was not helpful when dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

More rail links should be considered for population centers near the Klang Valley, including southwards to Seremban, northwards to Tanjung Malim, Perak, and eastwards to Bentong, Pahang.

An investment in rail should form part of the national agenda.

Spending RM4b on grain corn imports wasteful

by Professor Dato Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim, 

CORN is in the news again. It started with the rise in prices of chicken, the most popular source of protein for Malaysians.

The supply and price of chickens sparked a heated discussion on social media.

Various analyses and theories were shared on the issue, but one that constantly popped up concerning chicken feed.

It then became known to the public that the hike in prices was connected to the cost of animal feed, which is a significant expenditure in the production of chickens.

The spike in the global price of animal feed is rooted in the Russia-Ukraine conflict as well as supply shortfalls from other major producing countries, not to mention the yet-to-be resolved logistics that were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The grain corn industry is relatively small in Malaysia. However, the development of the livestock industry, especially ruminants, broilers, and swine, requires millions of tonnes of grain corn as the main component of their feeds.

Malaysia imports nearly 100% of its grain corn needs from countries like Brazil and Argentina. There have been efforts to grow our own corn before, with many farmers joining the venture to supply the domestic market. Even rubber smallholders grew corn to supplement their income.

Unfortunately, there was no proper channel to market their produce. As a result, much was left to rot or sold at prices not befitting their investment.

Like everything else, there needs to be a proper and efficient market for corn if it is to become a commodity. Palm oil is a good example of a commodity that benefits from the presence of an efficient market.

The Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry is targeting a 30% increase in grain corn production for the animal feed industry in the next five years. This is to meet the demand and accommodate the need for animal feed while reducing our dependence on imported grain corn. Grain corn has been cultivated in Malaysia since the 80s, but this crop is not popular among farmers who prefer to grow sweet corn, which fetches a higher price.

Other countries in ASEAN are way ahead of us in terms of grain corn production.

One study has suggested some reasons why grain corn farming has not really taken off in Malaysia. There is no suitable variety to be planted; the cost of production is very high; there is no suitable machinery available, especially for harvesting and drying, and there is not much government support and intervention in marketing the produce.

It is no wonder then that Malaysia must import grain corn every year. We import about 300,000 tonnes, which cost almost RM4bil. This is a big drain on the nation’s foreign exchange. Furthermore, the amount spent has been increasing by 10% every year.

The government has targeted the cultivation of about 80,000ha of grain corn nationwide by 2033, but how do we make sure that this target is realized?

What is going to be different this time around in terms of the strategy? What are the lessons we can learn from past efforts?

We need to avoid repeating the past mistakes moving forward, otherwise, we will again embark on a similar program a few years down the road.

Enhancing Malaysia's disaster and management via innovation - spotlighting on drones

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

Malaysians were caught by surprise by the torrential downpour, caused by Tropical Depression 29W, throughout the peninsula for three days from December 17 which continued until December 19 resulting in a peak daily rainfall of 363 millimeters (14.3 in), equivalent to a month’s worth of rainfall in the region worst affected, Selangor. Klang and Shah Alam in Selangor were the most badly affected areas. Some areas in the State of Pahang too were ravaged by the floods.

Videos widely circulated showed overflowing rivers, landslides, major roads cut off, stranded motorists, homes, buildings, and cars submerged, buried and some washed away, as well as many residents rushing to higher levels including rooftops to keep safe. As of 27th December 2021, 48 persons perished due to these floods and 5 are still missing

This deadliest tropical cyclone-related disaster to hit Malaysia had demonstrated that the nation was ill-prepared to respond to this crisis. Global warming linked to extreme weather including worsening floods was among the factors attributed to this climate crisis.

Furthermore with the mass movement of people there was fear of covid cases and deaths escalating.

Public fury's 

Videos of many stranded on rooftops, suffering from cold and hunger with no immediate rescue from relevant Government agencies, only to be offered help and support from and saved by caring fellow citizens, NGOs, and religious groups including mosques and the Sikh house of worship committee members, and their congregation, as well as foreigners, has sparked the public’s anger on the role and response of the Government to and during this crisis.

Among key issues raised were there no early warning of the torrential rain given, and the uncoordinated and slow response in rescue and relief efforts provided by the relevant authorities.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had explained that rescue teams had difficulties in getting into Taman Sri Muda as floodwaters had risen rapidly and were unable to carry out their work as the roads were also blocked by stranded vehicles. Additionally, the Premier said rescue teams faced problems initially responding to victims stranded on rooftops as they could not see the addresses as the road signs had been submerged.

As It is globally recognized that the probability of finding survivors is highest within the immediate 72 hours following a disaster, the slow rescue and relief efforts had caused grave concerns that the death toll and damages to properties would further escalate.

As floods become more severe and more frequent, governments and authorities across multiple levels of government; districts, states, and National must embrace and invest in advanced technologies which are revolutionizing disaster management efforts.

One of the many challenges of responding to a natural disaster is the difficulty in determining the location and extent of the damage including the location of victims for effectively mobilizing rescue and relief efforts

As Location tracking of the disaster area and victims of the disaster including floods within 72 hours is one of the fundamental aspects of disaster management several technologies including drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Additionally, knowing where resources and relief centers are located will facilitate the government to easily communicate with each other about the resources they have and where and how to distribute these to flood victims as well as to accommodate them in the nearest relief centers. 

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) aka Aerial drones and Underwater Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) are being used worldwide for a myriad of applications including aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, media production, as well as in research and development

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) with various types of onboard sensors and advanced computer technologies which are able to fly in life-threatening conditions are fast becoming useful tools for large-scale aerial mapping providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety

UAVs have several advantages including their capability to fly to places manned aircraft cannot, flying at low altitudes, overcoming lack of visibility when there is cloud cover resulting in images from drones being of higher resolution than satellite

Underwater drones facilitate responders' efforts in examining infrastructure and coordinating rescue efforts in heavily flooded areas.

It is reported that Fast observation drones can reach the scene quicker than the emergency services (so long as they can be flown Beyond the Visual Line of Sight) and provide real-time aerial imagery and information that could help with decisions about the best way to deal with an incident.

While Government and the public are rightfully concerned regarding illegal and irresponsible drone usage, the former has introduced regulations to ensure the safe and secure operations of drones. However in recognizing the unique features of drones including their lower cost of collecting spatial data compared to other remote sensing platforms, their capacity to fly under cloud cover, and their ability to collect both video and extremely high-resolution imagery. they are now increasingly being used in search and rescue operations to support national emergency and disaster management including searching for victims of hazards including floods in remote and inaccessible areas as well as to transport emergency medical supplies, first aid, and essential food items to the areas

In tandem with these developments, new regulations and policies have been introduced by several countries worldwide for the use of drones for commercial, non-hobby purposes including their use by first responders as part of disaster response and assessment operations.

Drones used in emergency and disaster management-international experience

The World Economic Forum (WEF) 08 Jan 2018 had dovetailed that Technological innovation is bringing digital solutions to sectors that have previously lacked access to technology, including the non-profit community. The rapid pace of this change suggests that one of technology’s most meaningful benefits for society may lie in the humanitarian sector, which must reach large numbers of people, in remote and dangerous locations, to provide critical resources fast and efficiently.

From aerial robotics to big data analytics, technology presents the opportunity to expedite and magnify the impact of humanitarian relief efforts through greater efficiency and responsiveness; reaching more people, sooner, more cost-effectively, and saving more lives.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) had outlined that Earth observation data is also increasingly available from aircraft, particularly unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones). Improvements in materials and electronic control systems have provided increasing drone range, along with the ability to attach high-resolution digital cameras, advanced global positioning technologies, and sophisticated computing power. 

A number of countries have incorporated drones into the National Emergency and Disaster Management operations including the US in 2005 to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi, in 2016 to collect data during floods in Louisiana and Texas, and the Philippines in 2013 for mapping and disaster assessment during the response to Typhoon Haiyan, by India’s National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015 to look for survivors, even in inaccessible regions and by Vanuatu in 2015 to evaluate structural damage in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam.

Reuters, 18 November 2017 reported that drones were deployed during Hurricane Maria which devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017 and wreaked havoc on the nation’s wireless and broadband communications networks, along with its power grid, and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis. With 39 percent of its cell sites remaining out of service, the U.S. territory had struggled to regain communications services.

CBInsights had reported that UAVs were deployed to gather information on food, water, and medical shortages experienced by the survivors of Hurricane Maria. The drones used relied on computer-vision technology to identify survivors and pattern-recognition technologies to determine which type of emergency assistance to facilitate.

In November 2021, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved AT&T’s request to use a new drone known as the Flying Cow or Cell on Wings to help restore cellular service in Puerto Rico. The Pulse Vapor 55 drone, which flies 200 feet above the ground, covering an area of 40 square miles functions like a cell tower in the sky, providing voice, data, and internet service.

WEF highlighted that the global non-profit WeRobotics’ program, AidRobotics, identifies local humanitarian needs and incubates robotics solutions via regional Flying Labs™. Following extensive flooding in 2017, Peru Flying Labs formed the Mision PIURA multistakeholder consortium to create high-resolution aerial images of more than 7,000 hectares (nearly 17,300 acres) in just three days. These maps provided humanitarian agencies with a detailed understanding of the region including infrastructure damage, locations of stranded communities, safe areas for resettlement, and efficient routes for aid delivery. Digital elevation models enabled the government to continually monitor water level changes throughout the region.

The European Commission spotlighted that in 2017 as the world saw 335 natural disasters, affecting over 95.6 million people and resulting in 9 697 deaths and nearly EUR 300 billion in damages, many emergency first responders were leveraging the power of drones to quickly locate victims and get them the support they needed.

Future water reported that on 15 March 2019 Cyclone Idai hit the coast of Mozambique causing devastating damage and severe flooding in the region. They used drone imagery to localize stranded communities in areas that are inaccessible by road transport. This information was used to improve the routing of the rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Nextrendsasia reported that Korean National Forest Research Institute opened a Landslide Prediction Analysis Center in May 2020 to better prepare for heavy rains every summer. The institute announced that the center would scientifically prevent landslides by using unmanned landslide surveillance sensors and drones. The drones analyze real-time rainfall levels and conduct on-site investigations after the landslides occur to detect their causes and human injuries if needed. The Korean Police officially announced the use of drones in 2019 by enacting drone operation rules and hiring drone experts with applicable licenses. As of May 2021, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency secured nine drones and supported 50 employees in obtaining drone licenses. Drones have been used to search for missing people, search at disaster sites, and deal with situations with the risk of suicide.

Public-private sector collaboration for disaster management- the Korean experience 

Trilateral Best Practices: Application of Technology for Reducing Disaster Risks in China, Japan, and Korea July 2021 showcased Korea’s Public-private partnered emergency drone operation team for disaster response.

It shared that since it introduced drones as part of its disaster investigation equipment in 2013, the National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been using drones to investigate damages caused by typhoons and torrential rains and conducted research on the use of drones in the areas of disasters and safety to enhance national disaster management capabilities the government and private sector became partners for national disaster management, creating the ‘Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response’ (hereafter, ‘emergency drone operation team’), composed of individual drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

The Korea Aero Models Association verifies members’ drone expertise, and the drone owners participate in disaster management activities on a voluntary basis. The emergency drone operation team came up with its disaster response plans in 2017 and launched the operation in 2018 in cooperation with 89 individual drone experts in the areas that were affected by Typhoon Soulik, allowing it to assess the potential for using drones in disaster management.

The emergency drone operation team serves as a good example of citizen participation and cooperation, as it involves individual drone operators’ donating their talent for national disaster management. The team aims to strengthen region-based disaster response capabilities by maintaining great interaction with government agencies, including police stations, fire stations, and local governments, on a strong basis of the private drone infrastructure across the country. In addition to typhoon emergency response, the emergency drone operation team has supported searches for missing persons, such as elderly dementia patients and those suspected of committing suicide.

In the disaster response process, efficiency can be improved by strategically harnessing private sector resources, particularly when it is difficult to resolve a situation using only government-led manpower and equipment. Therefore, the active participation of the private sector in the disaster response process is not an option but a necessity in the governance of disaster management.

The disaster management paradigm is shifting toward greater public-private partnership, where the citizens and the government work together closely. The activities of the emergency drone operation team have filled the voids and overcome the limitations of the government’s drone resources and management. Recognized for its excellence and innovation in cooperation between the government and citizens in disaster management activities, the achievements of the emergency drone operation team were selected as a best practice by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for two consecutive years from 2018 to 2019.

Recommendations for Malaysia 

1. As Drones are fast becoming standard operation in many emergency situations due to their unique features It is recommended that the Malaysian Government adopt this international best practice to enhance national emergency and disaster management aimed at saving lives and protecting as well as reducing damages to infrastructures and properties

2. As Malaysia has a number of drone specialists, the Government could develop a directory of these specialists to invite and engage them to support the nation’s disaster management

3. A number of drone suppliers are providing services in several aspects of the economy in Malaysia. The Government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in Malaysia’s Disaster Management efforts

4. MCMC and MDeC have portfolios in drone policy and regulations and should be invited by the Government to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the usage of drones in Malaysia’s Disaster Management efforts

5. Disaster Management personnel from NADMA, Police, and Armed forces could identify a select number of personnel under training on drones to enhance their skills in this technology with the aim to further strengthen Malaysia’s Emergency and Disaster skills, competency, efforts, and management.

Using drones in disaster management

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

As floods become more severe and frequent, the government and authorities must embrace and invest in advanced technologies like drones, which are revolutionizing disaster management efforts.

Drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aerial drones, and unmanned underwater vehicles are used worldwide for aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, media production, as well as in research and development.

UAVs with sensors and advanced computer technologies able to fly in life-threatening conditions are used for large-scale aerial mapping, providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety.

They can fly to places manned aircraft cannot, flying at low altitudes, overcoming lack of visibility when there is cloud cover, resulting in images from drones being of higher resolution than satellites.

Drones are used in search-and-rescue operations, including searching for victims in remote and inaccessible areas, as well as transporting medical supplies, first aid, and food items to these areas.

In 2005, the United States incorporated drones into disaster management operations to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi and to collect data during floods in Louisiana and Texas in 2016.

The Philippines used them for mapping and disaster assessment in response to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.

India's National Disaster Relief Force used them during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015 to look for survivors, and Vanuatu used them when evaluating structural damage post-Cyclone Pam in 2015.

The drones that were used relied on computer-vision technology to identify survivors and pattern-recognition technologies to determine which type of emergency assistance to facilitate.

Emergency first responders have been leveraging the power of drones to quickly locate victims and get them the required support.

Future water reported that on March 15, 2019, when Cyclone Idai hit the coast of Mozambique causing devastating damage and severe flooding in the region, drone imagery was used to localise stranded communities in areas inaccessible by road transport.

This information was used to improve the routing of rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Nextrendsasia reported that South Korea's National Forest Research Institute opened a Landslide Prediction Analysis Centre in May 2020 to better prepare for heavy rains every summer.

South Korean police announced the use of drones in 2019 by hiring drone experts.

Since 2013, South Korea's National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Interior and Safety Ministry has been using drones to investigate damage caused by typhoons and torrential rains.

The South Korean government and private sector became partners in national disaster management, creating the Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response, comprising drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

For Malaysia, it is recommended that:

AS drones are fast becoming standard operation in many emergency situations, the government should adopt this international best practice aimed at saving lives and protecting as well as reducing damage to infrastructures and properties;

AS Malaysia has a number of drone specialists, the government could develop a directory of these specialists to invite and engage them to support disaster management;

SEVERAL drone suppliers are providing services to the economy. The government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in disaster management;

THE Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation have portfolios in drone policies and regulations and should be invited by the government to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the use of drones in disaster management; and,

DISASTER management personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), police, and armed forces could identify some personnel to undergo training on drones.

Enhancing disaster management with drones

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid, 

Malaysians were caught by surprise by the torrential downpour caused by Tropical Depression 29W throughout the peninsula from Dec 17 to 19. Several areas in Selangor and Pahang, in particular, were ravaged by floods.

Videos were circulated showing overflowing rivers, landslides, major roads cut off, and motorists stranded. Homes, buildings, and cars were submerged, buried and some washed away. Many residents had to rush to higher levels, including rooftops, to keep safe.

This deadliest tropical cyclone-related disaster to hit the country demonstrated that Malaysia was ill-prepared to respond to a crisis of this nature. Among the factors mentioned in relation to the disaster is that global warming is contributing to extreme weather events, including worsening floods, which are increasing in frequency.

Public's fury

Videos of people stranded on rooftops, suffering from cold and hunger while waiting to be rescued, have sparked the public’s anger over the government’s response to this crisis.

Insufficient early warning of the torrential rain and the uncoordinated and slow response of rescue and relief efforts provided by the authorities were factors that contributed to the public’s fury.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob explained that rescue teams had faced difficulties in getting into Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam as floodwaters had risen rapidly. Rescuers were unable to carry out their work as the roads were blocked by stranded vehicles. Reportedly, the teams could not respond to victims stranded on rooftops as they could not see the road signs that had been submerged.

It is globally recognized that the probability of finding survivors is highest within the first 72 hours following a disaster. So, the slow rescue and relief efforts caused grave concern that the death toll and damage to property would escalate.

As floods become more severe and more frequent, the government at the district, state, and national levels must embrace and invest in advanced technologies that are revolutionizing disaster management.

One of the many challenges of responding to a natural disaster is the difficulty of determining the location and extent of the damage. Locating victims to effectively mobilize rescue and relief efforts is also a pressing issue. In this regard, drones can be used to pinpoint the location of victims, damaged sites, buildings, floodplains, emergency service resources, and disaster relief sites.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), aka drones, are being used worldwide for myriad applications, including aerial photography, agricultural monitoring, infrastructure inspection, construction, and media production, as well as in research and development.

The Asian Development Bank has noted that improvements in materials and electronic control systems have made drones very useful. Their range has increased and their capabilities enhanced with high-resolution digital cameras, advanced global positioning technologies, and sophisticated computing power.

UAVs are being equipped with various types of onboard sensors and advanced computer technologies with unique properties, including the ability to be deployed in life-threatening conditions and at low altitudes. The images from drones are of higher resolution than satellite pictures. They are fast becoming useful tools for large-scale aerial mapping, providing aerial photographs of inaccessible disaster areas without risking human health and safety. Underwater drones facilitate responders’ efforts to examine infrastructure and coordinate rescue efforts in heavily flooded areas.

In tandem with these developments, new regulations and policies have been introduced by several countries for the use of drones for commercial, non-hobby purposes, including their use by first responders as part of disaster response and assessment operations.

Drones used in emergency and disaster management 

In January 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) had flagged that technological innovation is bringing digital solutions to sectors that have previously lacked access to technology, including the non-profit community. The rapid pace of this change suggests that one of technology’s most meaningful benefits for society may lie in the humanitarian sector, which must reach large numbers of people in remote and dangerous locations to provide critical resources quickly and save more lives.

A number of countries have incorporated drones into their National Emergency and Disaster Management operations, including the US in 2005 to search for Hurricane Katrina survivors in Mississippi and by India’s National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to look for survivors during the Uttarakhand floods of 2015, even in inaccessible regions.

Drones were also used by Puerto Rico during Hurricane Maria in 2017, which devastated the nation and wreaked havoc on its wireless and broadband communications networks, along with its power grid. With 39% of the US territory’s cell sites out of service, Puerto Rico had struggled to regain communications services.

Mozambique used them in 2019 during Cyclone Idai, which caused severe flooding in the region.

In November 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved AT&T’s request to use a new drone known as the Flying Cow or Cell on Wings to help restore cellular service in Puerto Rico. The Pulse Vapor 55 drone, which flies 60m above the ground covering an area of 100 sq km, functions like a cell tower in the sky, providing voice, data and internet services. Mozambique used drone imagery to localize stranded communities in areas that were inaccessible by road transport. This information was used to improve the routing of rescue boats for food supply and evacuation.

Public-private sector collaboration for disaster management - the Korean experience

The report, “Trilateral Best Practices: Application of Technology for Reducing Disaster Risks in China, Japan and Korea” (July 2021), showcased South Korea’s emergency drone operation team for disaster response, which is the result of a public-private partnership.

Since South Korea introduced drones as part of its disaster investigation equipment in 2013, the National Disaster Management Research Institute of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been using drones to investigate damage caused by typhoons and torrential rains to enhance national disaster management capabilities.

The government and private sector became partners for national disaster management, creating the “Emergency Drone Operation Team for Disaster Response”, composed of individual drone owners who hold official drone qualifications.

The emergency drone operation team serves as an exemplar of citizen participation and cooperation, as it involves individual drone operators donating their talent for national disaster management. The team aims to strengthen region-based disaster response capabilities by maintaining interaction with government agencies, including police stations, fire stations, and local governments.

As the disaster management paradigm is shifting towards greater public-private partnerships, citizens and the government work together closely, particularly when it is difficult to resolve a situation using only government-led manpower and equipment.

The report noted that the active participation of the private sector in the disaster response process is not an option but a necessity in the governance of disaster management.

Recommendations for Malaysia

1.    As drones are fast becoming standard equipment in many emergency situations due to their unique features, it is recommended that the government adopt this international best practice to enhance national emergency and disaster management to save lives and protect and reduce damage to infrastructure and property.

2.    As the country has a number of drone specialists, the government could develop a directory of these specialists to engage them to support disaster management.

3.    A number of drone suppliers are providing services for various economic activities in the country. The government could invite these companies to deliver a presentation on their products and services to identify their suitability as partners in disaster management efforts.

4.    The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation have portfolios on drone policies and regulations. The government should invite them to discuss new policies and regulations that may be needed to support and facilitate the use of drones in disaster management efforts.

5.    Disaster management personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency, police, and the armed forces could identify a select number of personnel to undergo training on drones to enhance their skills in this technology with the aim of further strengthening the country’s emergency and disaster skills, competency, efforts, and management.

Using Drones for Managing the COVID-19 pandemic

by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid bt Dato Syed Ahmad Idid,  

The COVID-19 pandemic, causing infections and deaths from the SARS-COV-2 virus and its variants including Delta and presently Omicron, continues to create health, social, industry, and economic crises.

Apart from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) espoused by the World Health Organisation (WHO), including vaccination, washing hands with sanitizers and soap plus keeping a physical distance of between one and two meters, several countries have introduced innovations to manage the pandemic, including technological innovation – the use of unmanned aerial vehicles aka drones.

Drones can be used in various ways to manage the pandemic. These include delivering essentials including medical and food supplies, maintaining security, undertaking surveillance and inspection including crowd monitoring to ensure compliance in wearing masks and physical distancing, broadcasting, surveying, mapping, spraying or dispensing, and sanitization.

Delivering COVID-19 vaccines

i) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in Ghana, Africa

Brookings, an American research group, in its paper titled Assessing the Impact of Drones in the Global COVID Response, reported that Zipline, one of the world’s largest and best-known drone delivery companies, had been trialing its drone delivery systems for light-weight medical supplies in Rwanda and Ghana for years by the time the pandemic hit, working closely with policymakers more willing to accommodate delivery drones in their airspace than authorities in the United States, European Union countries, and other, larger nations.

Zipline’s largely autonomous drones can carry a payload of up to 3.9 pounds (1.76 kg) almost 50 miles (80 km). Since 2019, the company has been working to build Ghana’s drone delivery infrastructure in concert with Pfizer, Ghana’s Health Ministry, UPS, and other partners. These efforts laid the groundwork for a system that could easily be expanded when the pandemic began. In a June 2021 interview, Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo said the company had delivered at least 2.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses (primarily of the Aztra-Zeneca vaccine which does not require temperatures as cool as those needed for the MRNA vaccines) in Ghana.

ii) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in the United States

Biopharma-reporter.com reported in 31 August 2021 that the first vaccine drone delivery program system in the United States was launched by the North Carolina-based health system Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Operated by UPS and its subsidiary UPS Flight Forward, the Matternet M2 drones, are outfitted with a special cargo box that contains Cold Chain Technologies’ customized PCM Gel Solution, a temperature-sensitive packaging mixture that maintains the COVID vaccines at 2-8 °C, and a temperature monitoring device that monitors the vaccine temperature while in transit, are delivering vaccines from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in Winston-Salem to one of the health system’s family medicine practices located at Piedmont Plaza, about a one-mile (1.6 km) drive by car.

Biopharma-reporter.com dovetailed that this program is the second COVID-19 vaccine drone delivery operation globally following the drone deliveries in Ghana.

iii) Delivering COVID-19 vaccines in India 

WHO had highlighted that India is using indigenously developed drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to access-compromised areas and strengthen the vaccine delivery system.

The ICMR-led pilot project is being rolled out in Manipur, Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The inaugural flight of the Indian Council of Medical Research Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone) delivered 900 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the Old DC Complex in Bishnupur district in Manipur to the Karang Primary Health Centre (PHC), which is on an island in Loktak Lake. These doses were used to vaccinate 25 people at the Karang PHC on the first day of the initiative on 4 October 2021.

The drone delivered the vaccines over 31 km in less than 15 minutes from the District Hospital in Bishnupur to the Karang PHC compared to the three to four hours needed to transport the vaccines to Loktak Lake, which is the largest natural freshwater lake in India.

The i-Drone project will also deliver vaccines from plains to plains, plains to hills, and plains to islands in the districts of Imphal West, Churachandpur, and Tamenglong in Manipur.

Ferrying medical equipment

Brookings further highlighted that in the United States, a number of companies conducted drone delivery trials during the pandemic, usually operating with special, tightly limited waivers for flight beyond visual line of sight issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In May 2020, Zipline partnered with North Carolina’s Novant Health to ferry small items like masks, gloves, and gowns weighing no more than four pounds (1.81 kg) between a medical center and a supply storage location, making trips of 20 to 30 miles (32 km to 48 km).

Thus, it is evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged governments, academia, and businesses to seek new innovative solutions for transporting urgent and time-sensitive medical supplies, particularly in more remote areas of the country which may be difficult via existing transportation network, revolutionizing the health sector.

Transporting food toCOVID patients 

Reuters on 1 September 2021 reported that a group of drone enthusiasts in Indonesia was using their aerial skills to help during the pandemic by providing a contactless medicine and food delivery service to COVID-19 patients isolated at home.

Armed with five drones, the seven-member team has been working around the clock in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province, since early July to provide deliveries.

Hartati, who along with her family has been self-isolating since she tested positive for COVID-19 in mid-August, welcomed the innovative service.

Surveillance and Monitoring 

Drones are being deployed to monitor physical distancing, quarantine rules, and lockdown compliance.

Governments in a number of countries, including China, the United States, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and India, are using drones to check whether the people are wearing masks and to deter gatherings that violate physical distancing rules.

The magazine Popular Mechanics reported that despite public health officials recommending physical distancing policies and governments banning large events and shuttering businesses to stop the spread of COVID-19, some people still aren't listening, and thus to keep people indoors, Spanish authorities are using drones, mounted with microphones, to scold people who aren't self-quarantining.

Geospatial World, another magazine, had spotlighted that in addition to street surveillance, authorities are also using drones to broadcast messages and information about lockdown measures, especially in rural areas that lack open communication channels for health information. Drones equipped with loudspeakers are used to make public announcements to keep people indoors, take necessary precautions, maintain physical distancing and wear a mask if stepping out of their homes. China and many European countries are using drones for broadcasting messages to the public.

Geospatial World further shared that a Global Times video on Twitter had shown a drone hovering over a village in Inner Mongolia, warning an old lady with audio in Chinese “Yes, grandmother, it’s the drone who is talking to you. You should not go out without wearing a mask. You’d better go home and don’t forget to wash your hands,”

However, the use of drones for surveillance raises a debate about privacy and individual rights. Brookings highlighted that a court in Paris ruled that city authorities couldn’t use drones to monitor physical distancing, and communities in the United States snapped back at their use by the local police.

Spraying 

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the critical need to maximize the cleanliness of public spaces and disinfect these areas to reduce virus transmission.

UAV dealer DroneNerds outlined that as the world faces the unknown with the coronavirus pandemic, public officials have turned to agricultural drones to help them guard against the spread of COVID-19 pathogens. Why agricultural drones? Unmanned agricultural aircraft are equipped to spray chemicals. Their spraying capabilities have been adapted to disinfectant duties.

During the pandemic, the need to disinfect large areas was presenting a problem for public health officials in China, where COVID-19 was first encountered. Using handheld spraying equipment deployed by ground crews threatened the safety of personnel. It was time-consuming, so workers spent a great deal of time potentially exposed to chemicals and pathogens.

Technology company DJI went to work to find an alternative to ground-applied disinfectants over wide areas. The company, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of civilian drones, started by pledging US$1.5 million to China’s pandemic control efforts. Then it worked on adapting Agras agricultural drones to disinfection duties.

DJI, working with county governments in China, has used agricultural drones to disinfect about 6.5 billion square feet across 1,000 counties. The drones have disinfected outdoor areas, traffic hubs, residential developments, factories, industrial parks, and waste treatment plants. Drones sprayed disinfectant on more than 32 million square feet of surfaces in Shenzhen province alone, including road surfaces in contaminated neighborhoods.

To disinfect, crews load the agricultural drones with chlorine or ethyl-alcohol mixtures. DJI has worked with officials to find the best concentrations based on circumstances, including whether the area is known to be infected or not. Spraying has reduced the risks workers face compared with ground-based applications.

Brookings reported that as the pandemic spread around the globe, the downside of this chemical craze became apparent. Wildlife died from overexposure to chemicals, workers were placed at risk of chemical exposure, and calls to poison control centers about exposure to chemicals skyrocketed. And, COVID infection rates continued to rise. By May 2020, WHO had recommended against the “routine application of disinfectants to environmental surfaces by spraying or fogging.” By April 2021, the EPA stated that it “does not recommend” applying pesticide products with wide-range spraying tools like drones “unless the pesticide product label specifically includes disinfection directions” for that method.

While expert opinion has turned against the spraying of public areas with disinfectants –including with drones – there still appears to be demand for such services. In October 2020, the Atlanta Falcons announced a partnership with a drone disinfection company to hose down its stadiums. Ahead of the 2021 spring training season, drones were used to sanitize at least one baseball stadium. And in March 2021, an Arizona auction house said it would rely on the drone-maker Draganfly to hose down its facility. Ultimately, these disinfecting drones likely do very little to reduce the spread of the virus, but they do give companies and venues an eye-catching way to reassure the public that they’re doing something.

UNICEF's Recommendations on How Drones Can Be Used to Combat COVID-19  

1. Appropriate financial and human resources need to be in place in order to have drone technology that is available when needed - either through service contracts or by having the local organizational capacity to run drone operations. It also needs to take international movement, health, and supply restrictions into consideration.

2. Establishing procurement algorithms that are built on selecting the most cost-efficient service that offers quality (service and technology), agility, sustainability, compliance, and other key elements.

3. Drone program implementation cannot be done without local skills and capacity. Therefore, local education and knowledge transfer is the key enabler. This does not only apply to people who can run drone operations but also to governmental entities and the health sector that are the ultimate end-users of this technology.

4. Drone utilization is not possible unless there is a local regulation enabling safe drone operations.

5. Local sensitization of communities and stakeholders needs to be done before and during the drone program implementation, in order to inform the public and raise awareness about the technology, ultimately ensuring local social and political acceptance.

6. Drone integration into the health supply chain has to be shaped and determined by the design of the existing health supply chain system, taking into consideration the problem that drones are solving, the purpose of the use of this technology, as well as clarifying whether drones are the cost-effective alternative to existing transport modalities.

Recommendations for Malaysia 

A. Malaysia should consider investing in and using drones to offer innovative solutions for its medical and social sectors. The Ministry of Health could consider deploying drones for transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, other vaccines, and medical supplies to areas difficult to access.

B. The food and beverage sector could use drones to deliver food and other essentials, especially to COVID-19 patients self-isolating at home instead of delivery riders as a means to protect human interaction.

C. Respecting public privacy, only when necessary, the National Security Council (MKN) in partnership with MoH and other enforcement agencies could deploy drones in particular in crowded spaces such as stadiums, and polling stations including the coming Johor State Election 2022 or PRN JOHOR 2022 to monitor SOP compliance.