Refining the new My Sustainable Forest platform in Portugal for a better forest management
More than 40 local stakeholders met at the offices of RAIZ, the paper and forestry research centre in Aveiro (Portugal), to assess and give their vision of the progress of the H2020 My Sustainable Forest project, completed at its three quarters, which is currently in the validation and testing phase of its platform of remote sensing-based products for an efficient and sustainable forest management.
From 28 to 31 January the members of the My Sustainable Forest consortium, coordinated by the Spanish aerospace company GMV, met to explain to representatives of the wood and paper industry and Portuguese forest owners’ associations the services of the future My Sustainable Forest platform, which is due to be launched on the market after the project’s conclusion at the end of 2020.
After a presentation of the project’s progress and development, and an explanatory session on the characteristics of the products (ranging from forest site characterisation, biomass and CO₂ stocking to forestry accounting), several training and dynamic sessions were held to obtain their feedback, opinions and constructive comments with the aim of improving the platform for potential future customers in the forestry sector. The European Forest Institute's Mediterranean Facility (EFIMED)
Along with the opinions of the participants in the workshop on the 28th, during the same week the members of the My Sustainable Forest project presented before a review panel of the Research Executive Agency of the European Commission, led by the project officer Iulia Simon, the first tangible results of the products of the My Sustainable Forest platform. During this presentation, they outlined the business model that will be carried out to commercialise the platform in the future and maximise its impact not only in the forest sector but also in other industries, such as the infrastructure one, which require analysis of the fragmentation of biodiversity using satellite images.
To conclude the week of meetings, the My Sustainable Forest team had the opportunity to visit the eucalyptus plantations of the Navigator paper company in Quintarrei, in the suburban region of Porto: one of the most productive areas of the country, which in recent years has been seriously affected by large forest fires.
My Sustainable Forest's consortium together with European Commission's project review pannel
About My Sustainable Forest
‘My Sustainable Forest’ project aims at developing a pre-commercial service platform for forest stakeholders to integrate Earth Observation data into daily forest stakeholders’ decision making processes and operations. My Sustainable Forest is funded by the EU Commission H2020 framework programme for the period November 2017 to October 2020 under grant agreement No 776045.
