Live Forestry Reporting on Interactive Web Maps
From Manual GIS Exports to Click-on-Map Analytics
The Starting Point
Forestry organizations relied on the Information System for Forestry Management—a system I had built earlier—for calculations and reporting, while operational geography lived in GIS polygons. The workflow worked—but it was slow: exporting reports to Excel/CSV, importing into GIS, and manually reconciling the state on the map.
The company already had two critical foundations: the Information System used for data entry, calculations, and official reporting, and an ArcGIS-based environment used to model forestry geography as polygons (compartments/sections) with identifiers.
These two worlds were interdependent: data quality depended on both being aligned. But the day-to-day operational flow required exporting, interpreting, importing, joining datasets, comparing results, and repeating whenever data changed. It was reliable—but too slow for scale.
The Goal
Automate the link between map features (polygons) and reporting outputs. Provide a single online interface for map and reports. Ensure users always see live, accurate data without manual reconciliation.
Most importantly: make it reusable as a product offering for forestry organizations across Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The Solution: Map as Reporting Interface
I designed and built an online mapping portal where users choose a basemap (topographic or orthophoto), GIS polygons are loaded as interactive layers, each polygon is linked to its identifier in the information system, and clicking a polygon opens contextual reports for that exact area.
Reports reflect the current state of the information system—not a stale export. This capability was not available before: a direct, live connection between operational geography and reporting.
Orthophoto basemap with compartment selection and instant report preview for the chosen polygon
Key Features
Basemap switching for different use cases: topographic view for terrain context and navigation, orthophoto view for real-world visibility and verification. GIS layers display forestry polygons with clear operational boundaries, visual styling, and layer controls.
The core capability: click a polygon, open the right report instantly. One click on an area brings up relevant reports—inventory structure, compartment analytics, and more. This eliminates export/import and manual joining steps entirely.
Topographic view with forestry boundaries and operational layers, enabling quick navigation across management units
How It Works
Every polygon already had an identifier. The information system also referenced those same logical units. The solution is essentially a live join: the map polygon contains an ID (unit/section/compartment code), and when clicked, the web app requests data for that ID from the reporting layer.
The report is rendered immediately, scoped to that exact geography. This turns "GIS + reports" into a single, consistent workflow.
How it works: The architecture connects a web map client with interactive UI and layer controls, a GIS data source with polygon geometries, the information system for authoritative business data, and an integration layer (API/endpoints) that connects map selection to report queries.
Data Quality and Trust
Because the output comes directly from the reporting source, the organization avoids stale exports, mismatched join files, and human error in manual reconciliation.
GIS and reporting stay synchronized by design, not by manual process. Users can trust that what they see on the map reflects the current state of the system.
The Outcome
Less manual work: reduces repetitive export/import and comparison cycles. Faster analysis: users go from "find report + find polygon" to "click polygon → see report" in seconds.
More scalable offering: makes it feasible to roll out the same capability to multiple forestry organizations with consistent UX and governance. Better alignment: GIS and reporting stay synchronized by design.
Technology Stack
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