Electronic satellite surveillance of forests, legislated on the basis of a European Commission project

EU member states can use a new system of electronic satellite surveillance of forests to make long-term plans based on the data obtained.

The European Commission's initiative proposes the use of the Copernicus system, which provides detailed data on the situation on the surface of the globe, including the state of forests.

The Commission acts on two plans: it proposes that member states use the system to make their long-term forestry plans in a unitary manner and using common tools. Thus, the data sent to the Commission will be able to be centralized more easily and can reflect the real situation of European forests.

The Commission, using the same system, can monitor the situation itself and determine whether the data sent by the European states correspond to reality. In this way, certain phenomena can be observed better and in real time, not only by the Member States, but also by the Commission, such as illegal logging, incorrect exploitation or natural phenomena that put the forest at risk, such as fires, diseases, and so on.

European Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius says that Romania already has the advantage of implementing the SUMAL system.

Virginijus Sinkevičius: By developing the SUMAL system, Romania will monitor not only the physical state of the forests, but also the economic activities in the forest. Here, Romania will have an advantage when SUMAL will be fully implemented, because we will also collect this kind of information, centrally, from all states. On the other hand, however, Romania needs to adopt a few more pieces of legislation in order to fight effectively against illegal logging, and it needs a commitment from the entire government, and the legislation proposed today will help Romania's efforts.

Translated by: Radu Matei