Finiq Digital Landscape: Remote Sensing, GIS and BIM Tools as a Basis for Flood and Deforestation Strategic Actions

The application of Remote Sensing technology has become increasingly important in addressing environmental and landscape challenges, especially for dynamic elements such as waterways and forests. The critical evaluation of multispectral satellite imagery provides valuable insights into the current status and changes in various environmental parameters, such as vegetation indices to monitor changes in vegetation health, land cover, and classi- fication to monitor changes in land use patterns and soil moisture levels. At the same time, there is a need to integrate these data into a landscape project workflow. The digitalization of landscape context can be possible by creating a unique model capable of collecting all analysis data and using them in the decision-making process. The digitalization and design of the built environment are increasingly oriented towards the methodology of Building Information Modeling (BIM), an approach for a collaborative and dynamic design process. This study presents an examination of the use of Remote Sensing methodologies as an in- formative layer inside a digital BIM model for strategic territorial planning of environmental systems in the Finiq Municipality, South Albania. Located on the Greek border, it is a very het- erogeneous environment where agriculture, forests, water basins, and rivers are surrounded by various gradient morphology. At the same time, it is a fragile territory due to flood events and soil pollution resulting from settlements and agriculture processes. Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) represent two proficient methodologies for spatially visualizing flood events and deforestation areas through the years. Starting from RS sensing data analysis about water and vegetation and the comparison to land use data of the actual condition (Agjencia Kombëtare e Planifikimit të Territorit AKPT, 2021), this study aims to create a direct collaboration between analysis and project tool. Through the use of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery maps about different parameters showing the actual conditions, the paper investigates how a digital model can be built and how it can collect all the data coming from the analysis phase. By a methodological case study, a new workflow for the creation of a Landscape BIM model is shown and different tools are used, each one for a specific objective. The results of this study provide a valuable contribution to decision-makers and will contribute to addressing the environmental challenges in Finiq within a comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated approach involving all relevant stakeholders. The study demonstrates the potential of the collaboration of Remote Sensing technology, GIS analysis, and BIM models in addressing environmental and landscape problems, focused on flood and deforestation monitoring, and highlights the importance of considering these technologies as valuable tools in the planning and management of environmental systems.