Il Forestale, the magazine of the State Forest Police (Corpo forestale dello Stato) has attached to its latest issue (26/2005) a DVD made by Agrisian, in partnership with Finsiel, dedicated to the implementation of the 2nd National Survey of Forests and Carbon Sinks (INFC).
The Survey is made by the State Forest Police, on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, and with the support of the Ministry of the Environment, and the scientific advice of the Istituto Sperimentale per l'Assestamento Forestale e per l'Alpicoltura - ISAFA, the Experimental Institute for Forest Stabilization and Alpiculture of Trento, and the 'La Tuscia' University of Viterbo.

 

The Forest Police has employed, for its surveying and photo interpretation activities, the land management services of the Mountain Information System - SIM, developed by Finsiel for the Agriculture Ministry.
The aim of the Survey is to determine the extent of forestation in the country, to ensure its preservation and use consistently with the principles of sustainability. The project, in fact, stems from the commitments undertaken by Italy with the protocol signed at Kyoto in 1997, within the framework of the International Convention on Climate Change, which obliges the signatories to set up a national system for surveying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon dioxide absorption. The Survey, which is scheduled to be completed in 2007, will also be a useful tool in support of the country's other international commitments, such as the preservation of biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity, Rio de Janeiro, 1992), and the sustainable management of forests (Helsinki Process).

 

The implementation of the National Forest and Carbon Survey (INFC) was incepted in December 2001, in accordance with the decree issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and laying down its objectives, requirements and guidelines. In particular, the decree sets forth that the data surveying, the sharing and updating of the survey database, and data processing and analysis activities must be carried out using the services of the Mountain Information System (SIM), which guarantees the uniformity, certification and completeness of the information, due to the fact that it covers the entire country, which are absolutely necessary requirements in an international context.

 

In phase one of the project, the use of the SIM land management services has allowed the photo interpretation of a sample of over 300,000 forest interest points, constituting a basis for subsequent field surveys, according to increasingly in-depth levels of investigation.

 

Agrisian, the Finsiel Group subsidiary that manages the National Agricolture Information System SIAN (of which the SIM is a part), has supported the Forest Police in all the surveying activities from March 2003 to July 2004, providing - inter alia - consulting services for the definition of the organizational model, training over 20 teams of photo interpreters, and customizing the software employed.