Military Forests and Estates keeps a detailed track of wood logging, stocks and deliveries, with the data now available to the public

As part of the company's wood harvesting operations since 2005, Military Forests and Estates has operated a registration and management system for industrial roundwood and fuelwood, where the harvested logs or stacks of logs receive a unique identifier in the form of a tag with a barcode. Thanks to this, the state-owned company has a detailed overview of real-time (online) data on wood logging, stocks, and deliveries. Under the new arrangements, the public can access this information via the “Open Data” Military Forests and Estates website at Open data.

As Director General of Military Forests and Estates Ján Jurica noted, the data tracks the volume of harvested tree species by location, removals to storage sites, the total amount of wood stocks by location, deliveries to customers, and sales. “It is interesting to note that the website enables people to find information on all harvested wood by entering the tagʼs unique barcode digits into the search system on the website. So, the public can access data on where the wood was harvested or the customer to whom it was delivered,“ he said.

The website also includes a link to an Android app to check on harvested wood. By entering the digits or scanning the barcode from the tag, the app provides information on the current state of wood harvesting, wood stocks, and the place of origin. In the case of wood deliveries to customers, the Certificate of Origin and the Shipping Note are also available for viewing.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď has appreciated the scope of and easy access to information, saying: “If we speak about transparency, then this is yet another excellent example of honest work and resource management that can be checked, even by the whole public. I am pleased that the MOD Forestry Department knows, so to say, where each log lies.”