In the experiment carried out by CGI, the master planning process is digitalised to allow the efficient use and easy availability of existing master plan data in the forestry sector.

What kind of problem is the project trying to solve?

In Finland, local master plan materials are not available in vector format using a common interface service. Local master plans are often in .pdf format or georeferenced raster plans. Due to this, the regulatory impact of master plans remains partly ineffective because different actors are not able to utilise the possibilities of digitalisation in improving the efficiency of their operations. These days, viewing a local master plan in image format also requires manual labour that increases the risk of errors.

The Finnish Forest Centre, for example, processes about 110,000 notices of proposed cuttings and 90,000 Kemera support applications based on the act on financing of forestry a year. It should be possible for forestry companies and the Forest centre to consider the effects of all planning levels on the proposed measures and consequently, on the processing of forests, when planning these measures and making decisions as a part of the administrative process, respectively. In practice, taking master plans into account would require automatic checks and alerts in location data systems, which is not possible using the current plan materials in image format, given that even the material in image format is not freely accessible using an interface.

Objective: Full utilisation of the regulatory impact of master plans in the forestry sector

The regulatory impact of the plans can be improved by making all plans electronically available in vector format using a common interface service. This allows the actors on different sectors to include the plans as a part of their electronic design or location data systems and pay attention to the plans in other design and decision-making effectively.

The objective of the project is to create a data model and a process for making up-to-date digital master plan materials available as an interface service. The availability of up-to-date digital master plan materials facilitates and speeds up the operations in the forestry sector and in society in general.

What is done in this project?

The project will progress from the data model to the definition of the digitalising process and the actual digitalisation of the master plan materials. Finally, the validated materials will be published to enable the actors in the forestry sector to test them in their own systems and use cases.

The process will be piloted in Hämeenlinna, a municipality that has grown as a result of municipal mergers, resulting in highly heterogeneous local master plan materials from the various decision-making processes in the different municipalities before mergers that needs coordination and harmonisation.

What are the expected results of the experiment?

We hope that the experiment will promote the availability of master plans in vector format by using a common interface to make it possible to exploit the benefits of digitalisation even before the completion of the reform of the Land Use and Building Act.

After the reform of the Land Use and Building Act was started, the Finnish Forest Centre, for example, has expressed its opinion that the objectives of the reform should include the following: 1) In the future, master plans should not be legally valid until they are available through the above mentioned interface, and 2) a deadline should be set for converting existing master plans into vector format, and the plans should be made available in the interface service by this deadline.

Who benefits?

The development of an interface service for up-to-date master plans benefits the whole society widely. The benefits are based on the improvement in the regulatory impact of master plans as they are up to date and available thanks to the improvement in their digital usability. The experience gained in the project can be utilised in the planning of the digitalisation process covering the master plans of the entire country.