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Satellite landfill screening flagged at least 6 candidates in Moldova

A Landfill Watch case study by ClimateScope.

Landfill Watch is ClimateScope's satellite-based solution for landfill screening, map review and monitoring workflows.

For this Moldova pilot, ClimateScope's geospatial screening pipeline analysed 2,465.1 km² across Ungheni, Nisporeni and Călărași and flagged at least 6 large candidate waste sites for closer review.

The result is a focused review queue: mapped locations to inspect against imagery, authoritative records and local evidence.

Area screened
2,465.1 km²
Pilot districts
3
Large candidates flagged
6+

Moldova boundary and screening candidates

The OpenStreetMap national boundary frames Moldova while candidate polygons show the published pilot-area screening result. Select a candidate marker to fly to its source polygon. The boundary provides country context; it does not imply countrywide screening.

  • Moldova and screening candidatesAerial imagery · OSM national boundary · Landfill Watch screening candidates
See the reference layers

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OSM and CORINE provide complementary context

OpenStreetMap shows discrete, community-mapped landfill and waste-related features. It can reveal known mapped sites and infrastructure, but coverage and tagging depend on local contributor activity.

The CLC reference dataset currently published in Landfill Watch does not cover Moldova. It remains useful as broader international context: covered countries can help reviewers compare recurring spatial patterns and investigate possible siting factors or screening triggers associated with where mapped waste sites tend to appear.

Both are highly useful context layers for screening and review, but in different ways. OSM offers locally contributed features, while CLC provides a consistent land-cover comparison outside Moldova. Neither is a complete or validated inventory of current landfills.

Complementary landfill context layers

The synchronized maps use the same CARTO Light basemap and cross-border camera so differences come from the reference layers themselves. The currently published CLC reference does not cover Moldova; pan or zoom either map to compare the same international context.

  • OSM mapped landfill featuresCARTO Light · Community-mapped landfill and waste features
  • CLC dump-site land coverCARTO Light · CLC class 132 · no Moldova coverage
Compare with regional screening

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Compare what regional screening adds

The two views share one aerial basemap and one camera. The reference view shows the selected OpenStreetMap and CORINE layers; the screening view adds Landfill Watch candidate polygons.

Use the comparison to inspect spatial relationships visually. Proximity on this map is not a published match result.

Reference and screening comparison

References and screening use the same synchronized aerial view. On smaller screens, switch between the two full-width states.

  • Selected referencesAerial imagery · OSM and CORINE references
  • Screening addedAerial imagery · References and screening candidates
How this comparison should be read

A reproducible matched or unmatched count requires frozen reference snapshots, a documented spatial-match rule and reviewed per-candidate results. Those inputs are not part of this release, so the case study does not publish a gap total.

Absence from a selected reference layer would not establish that a site is new, illegal or unknown to local authorities.

Inspect the review queue

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Inspect the queue one candidate at a time

Pointer-based map inspection can reveal a candidate's identifier, approximate mapped area and available proximity attributes for structured review against aerial imagery. The published result and evidence limits do not depend on this interaction.

These attributes do not establish permit status, current operation, waste composition or environmental impact.

Candidate inspection

Candidate polygons remain in a regional aerial view. Selecting one reveals review-oriented attributes without changing its evidentiary status.

  • Candidate reviewAerial imagery · Screening candidate polygons
Methodology and limitations

The pilot's landfill-candidate detection workflow combines satellite-derived signals, land-cover context, geospatial proximity features and candidate-selection logic to narrow a large territory to locations for review.

A real site can be missed and a candidate can be a false positive. Imagery date, season, resolution, cloud, vegetation and incomplete reference data all affect what can be observed.

Internal scores are ranking aids, not calibrated probabilities, and no accuracy benchmark is presented here.

See the verification workflow

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From regional screening to managed evidence

Regional screening narrows a large territory to locations for review. Confirmation depends on current imagery, authoritative records, local knowledge and field evidence.

A recommended sequence keeps each review traceable: screen, review, verify, record and monitor.

Operational handoff

The synchronized handoff keeps the reference context and screening queue visible in separate, clearly labelled views.

  • Selected referencesCartographic basemap · OSM and CORINE references
  • Screening queueAerial imagery · Landfill Watch candidates
Why this region matters

Ungheni, Nisporeni and Călărași form Waste Management Region 5. Moldova's national programme and the EBRD-backed solid-waste project place the districts within a broader transition toward integrated regional waste services.

Landfill Watch is an independent ClimateScope screening project. Its candidates are not official project sites, and ClimateScope is not presented as a programme partner.

  1. Screen the pilot area.
  2. Review candidate geometry and available attributes.
  3. Verify against current imagery, official records, permits and local knowledge.
  4. Record the reviewer, evidence date and outcome.
  5. Monitor confirmed locations as new evidence becomes available.

Roles in verification

Landfill Watch currently supports

  • satellite-based regional landfill screening
  • imagery and reference-layer comparison
  • shareable map views and candidate attributes
  • an Explorer handoff for further map review

Local partners decide

  • official record and permit checks
  • field access and verification
  • legal or enforcement classification
  • operational response and cleanup

Policy and project sources

Continue in Explorer

Explorer opens a separate review workspace. After map activation, the handoff preserves its current views and candidate selection; the evidence boundary remains unchanged.

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