Zero Net Land Take (ZNLT) is a goal set for 2050 in France’s “Climate and Resilience” law of August 24, 2021.
It calls for a 50% reduction in the rate of artificialization and consumption of natural, agricultural, and forest spaces by 2030 compared to the consumption measured between 2011 and 2020. However, in implementing the ZNLT, local authorities are currently facing both legal and practical difficulties.
We will focus on the specific challenges of mitigating soil sealing in the Mediterranean region, highlighting the strategic role of CLS’s expertise in imaging and precising land mapping within the ESA’s ULYSSE project.
Discover How CLS’s Experts Contribute to the Precise Land Mapping of Imperviousness in the ESA ULYSSE Project
CLS, a key contributor to the Mediterranean Soil Sealing (ULYSSE) project led by Planetek Italia and promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA), brings valuable expertise to address the challenges posed by soil sealing presence and degree over the Mediterranean coastal areas by exploiting Earth Observation (EO) data with an innovative methodology capable to optimize and scale-up their use with other non-EO data.
With advanced satellite imaging technologies and geospatial data analysis, CLS can accurately assess, characterize, quantify, and monitor within time the soil sealing over the Mediterranean basin, supporting users and stakeholders involved in monitoring and preventing land degradation.
CLS’s capabilities facilitate the creation of low and high-resolution maps that accurately depict soil sealing areas and soil sealing degree. This information is crucial in understanding soil sealing dynamics and identifying high-risk areas.
The ULYSSE project is fundamentally anchored in the use of the ESA Sentinel-2 satellite. The targeted products are high-resolution maps of soil sealing over the Mediterranean coastal areas (within 20km from the coast) for the 2018-2022 time period, at yearly temporal resolution with a targeted spatial resolution of 10m.
Leveraging the vast data from the ESA Sentinel-2 satellite, CLS creates comprehensive and current maps, thereby facilitating the formulation of strategic measures. CLS empowers regions with the necessary data to devise their strategic measures.
These strategies aim to curb soil sealing, safeguard natural ecosystems, and endorse sustainable land use practices, thereby facilitating regions in their ecological transition and climate impact mitigation efforts.
The Benefits for Ecosystem Preservation, sustainable Territorial Management, and quality of Life in the Mediterranean region is paramount for maintaining biodiversity, ensuring climate resilience, and safeguarding the well-being of its citizens.
Thanks, of this project, Mediterranean region could be able to have monthly and yearly imperviousness maps.
ULYSSE Project: All Together for a Sustainable World
The concept of Zero Net Land Take is gaining significant traction in Europe and particularly in France, emphasizing the urgency to mitigate soil sealing and preserve ecosystems. The Mediterranean region’s unique challenge requires strategic expertise in imaging and precise land mapping, precisely the knowledge CLS brings to the ULYSSE project.
The products will be readily available to support the actors of the new French law in their efforts to achieve the Zero Net Land Take goal. The high-resolution maps and comprehensive data provided by CLS will be instrumental in identifying areas of soil sealing, monitoring changes, and informing decision-making processes.
This will enable policymakers, urban planners, and environmental organizations to plan for effective strategies to mitigate soil sealing. In essence, the ULYSSE project is not just a tool but a strategic ally in the ecological transition and climate impact mitigation efforts of the Mediterranean region and France’s objective of Zero Net Artificialization strategy.
