ML4HealthyForest, EstLat
Project Partners
Lead Partner: Baltic Satellite Service LLC (Latvia)
Project Partner: Eeway LLC (Estonia)
Challenges Addressed
Over the past decade, machine learning and AI have advanced significantly but have yet to be integrated into private sector forestry programs or decision-making processes in Estonia and Latvia. Over the next 10 years, national cutting volumes will decrease, reducing forestry revenues and pushing companies to adopt more efficient operations. Forest owners must implement modern technologies and machine learning to automate, improve objectivity, and enhance cost-efficiency in planning. Estonian and Latvian forest software companies have lacked the knowledge and investment to adopt these technologies. This project aims to address these gaps and offer practical solutions for private forest management.
In addition, with increasing CO2 market activity, forest owners will soon trade CO2 credits based on their forests' carbon-binding capacity. However, only well-maintained young forests are eligible. This project will develop a service to help forest owners identify areas for cleaning and thinning using remote sensing data and machine learning.
Funding and Budget
Total Budget: € 361 500,00
Funding: Funded by the INTERREG Estonia-Latvia Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2021-2027 (European Regional Development Fund - ERDF).
ERDF Contribution: € 289 200,00 (80% of the total project budget).
Co-financing by Project Partners: € 72 300,00
Objectives and Goals
Main Goal: To develop fully automated ML4HealthyForest service which provides objective forest management and thinning recommendations based on remote sensing data, modeling, machine learning (ML) and automated forest growth algorithms.
Key Objectives:
Common development of a fully automated ML4HealthyForest service for at least 300 private forest owners (with approximately 100,000 ha of forest land) in Estonia and Latvia by both project partners.
Integrate new service in operational ForestRadar and ForestMan web services.
To encourage private forest owners towards the adoption of new technologies.
To foster regional cooperation between Latvian and Estonian SMEs, boosting growth and competitiveness in digital and green innovation.
Contacts:
Ilze Barga
Project Manager
Baltic Satellite Service LLC
+371 29284989
