The SAT4FOREST project has been successfully completed, delivering Greece’s first integrated national operational system for satellite-based forest monitoring. Developed within Greece’s National Microsatellite Programme, the project uses advanced Earth Observation and geospatial technologies to support the protection, monitoring and sustainable management of the country’s forests and protected natural areas.

SAT4FOREST combined multispectral, hyperspectral and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data to provide detailed and regularly updated information on Greece’s forest ecosystems. The developed Forest Monitoring Service includes two main components:

• Forest Type and Forest Fuel Mapping

• Forest and Natura 2000 Areas Monitoring

The system supports the production of forest-type, fuel and biodiversity maps, while enabling the identification of risks and pressures affecting forests and protected areas. These capabilities provide public authorities and other stakeholders with valuable information for forest management, wildfire risk assessment, biodiversity protection, environmental monitoring and evidence-based decision-making.

GEOSYSTEMS HELLAS S.A. participated as co-prime contractor, contributing its expertise in Earth Observation, remote sensing and geospatial technologies. GSH was responsible for the Natura 2000 monitoring services and for integrating the developed services into the Greek Governmental Space Hub’s IT infrastructure.

The project was coordinated by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and implemented within Greece’s National Microsatellite Programme with the contribution of the Hellenic Space Center and the European Space Agency (ESA). It was funded by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) under the Greece 2.0 National Plan.

Through SAT4FOREST, Greece has strengthened its capacity to monitor forest ecosystems at national scale using satellite-based information, supporting more effective forest protection, climate resilience, biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resource management.