In December 2017, the Portuguese Environmental Inspectorate hosted an IMPEL workshop aiming to share procedures and practices to be applied by the entities that use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellite images in environmental inspections.
Topics related to the acquisition of remotely geographic information through UAV, such as drones, were addressed, as well as data protection and other legal matters (probative value) and the importance of institutional cooperation in the use of civil and military airspace.
This workshop was a significant starting point for the undertaking of an 2018 IMPEL project regarding the use of satellite images and UAV data in environmental inspections. Remote sensing and Copernicus data, especially satellite images, enable the recognition of changes in land use patterns for the subsequent select of locations to be inspected. UAV can be extremely useful on the collection of accurate data on the areas previously identified using satellite images.
The event included members from Environmental Inspections from 10 European countries as well as the Directorate-General for the Territorial Development, Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the NOVA University of Lisbon, National Aviation Authority, Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority, Portuguese Environment Agency, Portuguese Prosecutor General’s Office.
For further information, see IMPEL’s project on the use of satellite images.