Protecting Natural Heritage Areas with Satellite Imagery

The Republic of Ireland is responsible for protecting raised bog habitat as they have a significant proportion of the small surviving remnants of raised bogs across Europe. A number of raised bogs have been designated for protection in 53 Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the 1992 European Habitats Directive and 75 Raised Bog Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000.

National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) is responsible for ensuring these designated sites are protected from significant damage.

The Covid-19 pandemic led the NPWS to look for alternatives to field and aerial monitoring of these bogs. They reached out to Geocento for a pilot project using Planet SkySat imagery. Planet’s high-cadence, high-resolution satellite imagery allowed NPWS to remotely monitor these sites for unauthorized activities and natural events, helping them fulfill their responsibility to safeguard these important sites. Download the full case study to learn more.