What is land monitoring and where is it used?

Monitoring is a system of monitoring something. In Latin it means "warning" or "observing". Monitoring of lands - monitoring of their condition. It acts as an integral part of monitoring all natural resources and plays a leading role among them.

According to Article 67 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation, state monitoring of lands is defined as a system for monitoring all the lands of the Russian Federation, regardless of their purpose and form of ownership. Its tasks are:

- identification and assessment of changes in the natural state of lands, forecasting possible negative processes and developing recommendations for the prevention and timely elimination of the consequences of such processes.

- providing information to state land control on the use of land and their protection.

- informing the population about the condition of lands as an object of the natural environment.

State registration of lands (except for lands that have agricultural purpose) is carried out by Rosreestr in accordance with RF Government Decree No. 457 of 1.06.09. Monitoring can be carried out according to the federal program, and also be regional or local depending on the corresponding program.

Monitoring of lands implies the collection, processing and storage of information on their condition, constant monitoring of their intended use, analysis of their qualitative status, taking into account the action of natural factors.

Methods of information collection are survey and observation from space, as well as from aircraft and other air assets, ground surveys, surveys at landfills and stationary reference sites. The information received contains data in graphic or text form.

Data that monitors land monitoring are divided into basic (state of land at the beginning of the monitoring process), periodic (data for a specific period) and operational (data to date). The necessary data include:

- location and area of land;

- their purpose (plowland, forests, pastures and hayfields, swamps, lands under water or used for construction or under roads, etc.)

- the degree of development of negative phenomena (desertification, erosion, flooding, cluttering, pollution by oil products, heavy metals, chemicals or radioactive). Degrees of negative processes can be divided into weak, moderate and strong, pollution - ranging from moderately dangerous to extremely dangerous.

By analyzing the data obtained and comparing with the normative data, an assessment is made of the condition of all lands and lands.

Land monitoring carried out by Rosreestr (its territorial bodies) allows making forecasts and recommendations on the optimal use of land resources on the basis of the attached thematic diagrams, tables and maps. The materials received during the monitoring are stored in the state data fund. This information is required when preparing the annual national report of the Rosreestr to the Government of the Russian Federation on the state of land in the country and their use. The monitoring data are used by the state authorities, as well as municipal authorities when dealing with issues of urban development, food security, environmental safety, etc.

In addition, consumers of monitoring research information are legal entities that carry out work on land management, in transactions with land plots, when developing projects for the protection of natural resources. As well as individuals - citizens who want to obtain reliable official information about land plots with a forecast for their further use (for example, for concluding transactions for the sale or purchase of a site).