ISPRS
2000
The main event in 1999 for the WG VII/1 was the involve-
ment in the organisation together with the US Army Topo-
graphic Engineering Center (TEC) of the /nternational
Symposium on Spectral Sensing Research (ISSSR) held
in Las Vegas in October. The theme of the symposium,
was “Systems and Sensors for the New Millennium”,
emphasising the next generation of capability in data
acquisition, analysis and product generation. This was the
fifth symposium in a series of outstanding events cover-
ing both military and civilian research in the field of spec-
troscopy. Hyperspectral image simulation and the design
of spectral libraries were featured at the symposium.
There was also a mix of military and civilian applications,
including minefield detection (including the detection of
disturbed soils), military target detection, chemical and
biological agent, and disaster mapping and monitoring.
Special attention was paid to spectral mixture analysis
(both linear and non-linear) and spectral matching tech-
niques. Use is not only made of the reflective, optical part
of the spectrum, but also of the thermal infrared and
microwave parts.
ISPRS is now a CEOS affiliate. At the 14th meeting of the
CEOS Working Group on Calibration and Validation
(WGOV, Tokyo, July 1998), it was recommended that a
special session on CEOS Cal/Val be proposed for the next
ISPRS Congress in Amsterdam in 2000; the four most rel-
evant ISPRS Working Groups, including WG VII/1, will be
invited to help coordinate and participate in this session
The main WG VII/1 activity for 2000 will be involvement in
the ISPRS Congress to be held in Amsterdam in July.
Imaging spectrometry will continue to be of special inter-
est to the WG. Apart from the ISPRS Congress, this topic
will be featured at many conferences in 2000, most
notably at NASA's 9th Annual AVIRIS Earth Sciences and
Applications Workshop (Pasadena, February), the Interna-
tional SPIE Conference on Algorithms for Multispectral,
Hyperspectral, and Ultraspectral Imagery VI (Orlando,
April), and the International SPIE Conference on Imaging
Spectrometry VI (San Diego, August).
Successful negotiations continued and concluded with
CNES regarding the possibility of holding the 8th Interna-
tional Symposium on Physical Measurements and Signa-
tures in Remote Sensing, which has traditionally been the
main event of WG VII/1, at the beginning of 2001 in the
French Alps. The ISPRS Commission VII Colloquium on
"spectral signatures" organised by CNES will take place in
Aussois, from January 8th to 12th and will be hosted in
the Paul Langevin centre.
Working Group VII/2 - Application of Remote Sensing
and GIS for Sustainable Development
Chair: Dr. Dasika P. Rao, NRSA, INDIA (Since
1996)
Co-Chair: Dr. Vernon Singhroy, CCRS, CANADA
(Since 1996)
Terms of Reference
- Development of concepts for sustainability indicators
- Promotion of applications in environmental and natural
resource management
- Monitoring and assessment of environmental hazards
and disasters
- Monitoring environmental changes including socio-
economic factors
State of Science and Technology of WG VII/2 Topics
The Rio Summit 1992 envisaged that Remote Sensing
and GIS would have a prominent role in promoting efforts
for sustainable development. The agricultural production
in the Third World countries is not able to meet the needs
of the growing population in these countries. This is
because the advantages accruing from science and tech-
nology are not fully exploited and a holistic approach for
development needs to be excercised. If the development
of rural areas has to sustain a growing economy and
ensure ecological balances, an integrated approach is
required to make optimal use of land and water resources.
The satellite remote sensing applications for agriculture,
soil, water and land management offer ample scope for
the preparation of an integrated plan for an action pro-
gramme for achieving the sustainable development of
renewable natural resources. The data from Indian
Remote Sensing Satellite series, including the latest
state-of-art technology satellites IRS 1C/1D which have
5.8 m resolution camera, 23.5 m multispectral camera and
188 m Wide field Camera with a re-visit period of 5 days,
have provided valuable information at operational scale in
this Project. This approach needs to be further refined
taking into account the need to identify indicators for sus-
tainability. The approach to improvement of the environ-
mental conditions, monitoring of such improvements
through remote sensing and the impact of the implemen-
tation activities on the social fabric at the grass root level
will have a far reaching effect on the utility and accept-
ability of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques.
Activities and Accomplishments of WG VII/2
An International Workshop on Sustainable Rural Develop-
ment using integrated GIS/Remote Sensing was conducted
at the National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad from
17th-21st, September 1996, where participants from thir-
teen developing countries participated, sponsored by UN-
ESCAP. The Workshop unanimously resolved that the holis-
tic approach to rural development using Remote Sensing
and GIS is in the right direction and that it should be pur-
sued in all developing countries where it is relevant.
The Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), which is a
member of ISPRS, during its annual convention on 4th
December, 1996 at Puna, India organised a Special Session
on ISPRS WG VII/2 activities with the following topics:
Application of Remote sensing in Sustainable Rural Devel-
opment, Recent Advances in Remote Sensing Technology
Data Processing and GIS and a Short course on "Environ-
mental Modelling and GIS" which may address the activities
requested in the Agenda 21, including: Strengthening the
basis for sustainable development, Building up scientific
capacity and capability, Improving the analytical and predic-
tive tools required to better understand the environmental
impacts of development and Expand predictive modelling of
the Earth systems.
Preparation of the International Conference on Remote
Sensing and GIS/GPS (ICORG-97) by Prof. Muralikkrishna,
March, 1997 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological Univer-
sity, Hyderabad, India. Focal themes: GIS/GPS for micro
level planning; additional topics: GIS/GPS technology and
applications, Applied Remote Sensing for Land Resources,
Applied Remote Sensing for Water Resources, Applied
Remote Sensing for Marine Resources, Integrated Surveys
for Sustainable Development, Digital Image Processing,
204 - = ores — International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.
