International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B7. Istanbul 2004 
that remote sensing, now integrated with the geomatics, 
presents enormous benefits in assuring environment protection) 
and possibility (following three classical models: buying key- 
services, technology transfer and institutional development). At 
the present, the market of these models is, to an important 
extent, out of date; in this respect, there was proposed, in view 
of fighting against the permanent dependency on highly 
industrialized countries, the partnership model, focused on the 
observance of mutual needs and on the alternative of a lasting 
technological development. 
Considering some opinions expressed in profile literature, 
syncopes or even the obstructions in the field of the 
abovementioned cooperation could have been facilitated by the 
following factors: 
e inadequate combination between high technology and 
classic instruments (existent and active); 
e hostility of some specialists or decision factors 
against the technological revolution; 
e insufficient specialists training and motivation at local 
level, etc.. 
Yet, from our point of view, the main cause consists in the poor 
intra- and inter- institutional collaboration, existing at regional 
and international level. We ask ourselves how can we cope with 
new risks of failure or with old challenges already known, 
concerning the absence of binding rules in terrestrial remote 
sensing activity. 
12.3 Confirmation of premises for a normative 
consolidation - SEOS: The premises for establishing a System 
of Earth Observing Satellites (SEOS) are either existing 
(unfulfillments and imperfections but especially the needs of 
new approaches) or future (the necessity of a preceding 
multilateral convention, signed by the interested countries). 
Their confirmation would first of all mean that the obstructions 
circle would close. Once confirmed, the new juridical entity 
may develop, on a permanently monitored and coordinated 
strategic basis, a multilateral and multispecialized collaboration. 
Regarding the preparation of the convention project, it is to be 
effected within the COPUOS Legal Subcommittee, based on the 
answers given by all UNO member states to a questionnaire and 
based on the text proposals (articles, norms) of the interested 
countries. 
2. PARADIGM CHANGES AND PROJECT OF AN 
INTERSYSTEMIC STRUCTURE 
2.1 Integrative strategy, institutional recognition 
2.1.1 Globalizing trends and catalyst role of remote 
sensing: Paradigm changes appear at different levels: socio- 
professional structures (of attitude, mentality, including 
surveyor or cartographer mentality), complexity degree of 
problems (technical, economic and social) convergence or 
communication force (interdisciplinary, intersystemic) or 
juridical strategy content (from cooperation strategy to 
cooperation between systems of strategy). 
Digital civilization, expression of modern technologies that has 
revolutionized the processing and information speed; in 
consequence, the action plan and the impact on decision had 
profound effects on the global market within which all the 
other markets including that of thematic spatial information 
interact. As global system, the development of Earth 
teleobservation itself, with the main products brought on GIS 
market (public-civil information as well as private-commercial 
information) had a catalyst role for the globalizing and 
automation trends of Society and Man-Nature relationship. 
2.1.2 Informational explosion imposes communication 
improvement: Informational society is about to develop new 
institutional forms of international and regional cooper tion; 
they represent the reintroduction of the chance to reduce, in a 
certain historic time, the hiatus existing among the developing 
countries and the industrialized ones. At internal level, the 
information access law is the decisive step of any democratic 
society to the condition of civil society, a new type of relations 
between state and citizen. At its turn, the international civil 
society, through the relations democratization between 
sovereign states, can become a partner of the states. 
We must admit that, in doctrine, information is sometimes 
considered as neutral; of course, the important thing is who will 
benefit of it or in what purpose. The purpose must be a peaceful 
one; it must serve the harmony of human society, the 
reestablishment of natural relationship between Man and 
Nature. At the same time, information has the attribute of being 
extensible and non-linear (of multiple use). In its present 
format (digital), information may be electronically transported 
(easily and rapidly). It is true, at prices that, in some opinions, it 
is not yet reasonable. We do not avoid restating a well-known 
assumption: the one who owns information also has the power 
to set the price (and not only that). So, we do not avoid asking, 
rhetorically, the following question: is information, really, 
neutral? 
We shall also stress out that, in the perspective of the 
globalization of the informational market, the fact that GIS 
techniques play the major and unique role of integrating, 
analyzing and evidencing different types of information and, 
fundamentally, the component with spatial reference. The use 
of these techniques will be more and more requested in view of 
achieving the objectives of correlating population growth with 
the urbanization degree, with pressure on environment and 
natural resources limitations. Concluding, we can admit that 
this spatial component is dominant, objective, decisive and 
opportune for the improvement of Terra's system model. 
2.2 Towards a specialized structure: ICC/RSEP 
2.2.1 Identity of interests, dominant attitudes, 
institutional approach: As we have seen, the “spatial era” was 
finally connected to the “informational era” and the critical 
signals have accelerated, in the middle of transition to 
geomatics, geoinformatics and geoiconics, among the possible 
signs of paradigmatic change, the transition from the 
cooperation strategy based on different objectives, to 
communication or specialized cooperation of some strategy 
systems (SIEA and SEOS), on one unique objective. 
- Identity of objectives. Behind the two systems there are, 
placed at a major convergence, two “intergovernmental 
communities”, one that serves international, regional and sub- 
regional treaties unification and the other serving the symbiosis 
between remote sensing and geomatics, materialized through a 
possible, yet necessary multilateral convention concerning 
remote sensing activity using satellites, oriented towards an 
unique objective: environment and resources protection. So, 
besides the two “communities of interests”, embodied by SIEA 
and SEOS hypothetical systems there is a common fundamental 
theme that, in a possible future, could be double-focused on the 
projection of Earth’s ecological systems. 
- Attitudes and other dominant themes. In some "critical 
moments", in view of supporting the development of a remote 
sensing system, a series of positions were taken up and 
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