The company signed a framework agreement with the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, for which it will deploy its knowledge of remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems and data management.
Tracasa has won two tenders from the Government of Ireland in recent weeks. The first, in the amount of 198,000 euros, is to carry out innovation and environmental projects for the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, for which it will deploy its knowledge and experience in remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data management. The second, worth 271,040 euros, is to continue in 2021 the support work carried out over the last two years in Ireland on the implementation of the European INSPIRE directive.
Tracasa, specialized in high value-added services in land management and Geographic Information Systems, boasts extensive experience working with European entities like the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, the European Environment Agency, the Joint Research Centre in Ispra (Italy), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the European Union Satellite Centre.
“For Tracasa it is excellent news to work with national governments on the execution of innovation and environmental projects. These two new tender allocations build on our relationship with the Government of Ireland, with which we have already been working on the INSPIRE directive and the management of conservation measures pursuant to the Natura 2000 Network, allowing us to increase our activity in the field of remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems and environmental data management”, said Tracasa CEO Mar González Paredes.
Innovation and environmental projects
As part of the first award Tracasa will work for the Irish government’s Environmental Protection Agency on a framework agreement under which different projects will be carried out, to include the collection, preparation and transformation of environmental data; analysis and modelling; remote sensing work; and a final phase of communication, reporting and training.
Within this framework agreement, on which 10 members of Tracasa will participate, the Navarran company will commence its work with a first project focused on analyzing the possibility of detecting and monitoring, with information obtained through satellites, the existence of illegal landfills within Ireland’s geographical boundaries, as part of an innovation line firmly rooted in a commitment to the use of remote sensing, GIS and data analysis to make progress in caring for the environment.
Implementation of the European INSPIRE directive
As for the second of the awards on Irish soil, in conjunction with the Irish government’s Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Tracasa will continue throughout 2021 with work that it had already been doing over the last two years, supporting and advising the Irish government on the implementation of the European INSPIRE directive. In total, 12 members of Tracasa are included in this project.
The European INSPIRE directive sets down the rules for the establishment of an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community based on the infrastructures of the Member States, and was developed to make available relevant, concerted and high-quality geographic information in a way that allows for the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the European Union’s impact and territorial dimension policies.
A GIS solution linked to the Natura 2000 Network
Tracasa has also been working with the Government of Ireland (specifically with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage) on the development of a GIS solution that makes it possible to manage existing conservation measures in spaces belonging, on Irish soil, to the Natura 2000 Network, charged with protecting the European Union’s biodiversity conservation areas. Currently, a Tracasa team made up of four people is working on the development of a prototype that allows for, through a Web application, the management and standardisation of all existing conservation measures in this context.