Overview of the Use of Remote Sensing 
for Natural Resources 
by 
Dr. J. J. Ulliman 
A whimsical title of this paper might be, "Replenishable Reserves Data 
Explication Using Distant Sapience." Actually that is the purpose of our 
Working Group VII 4 but that expression means about as much to us as the more 
common wording, "Renewable Resources Data Interpretation Using Remote Sensing," 
does to the natural resources land manager. Looking back over the last 20 
years in the remote sensing field, I am not sure we have advanced much beyond 
the prior 20 years of activity in what was then mainly aerial photo interpreta- 
tion. Within our own field it seems we have been "reinventing the wheel." 
If we compare the literature of both time periods we would find we have many 
of the same needs now as then and much of what is done now in research was done | 
then. For example, there was a very good conference in this same city in 1964 
in which 190 scientists from 45 countries shared their experiences in the use 
of aerial photography for the study of natural resources. The proceedings of 
that conference make interesting reading (UNESCO, 1968). If you have a chance, 
read these proceedings and then you be the judge -- how much have we progressed 
from that time and more pertinently, how much existing knowledge have we passed 
on to the resource manager to aid him in getting a job done. 
The aim of our working group should be to inform, educate, coordinate and 
promote efforts in the interpretation of remote sensing data for agriculture | 
(including crops and soils), fisheries, forestry, range, rural environment, 
  
Presented at the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing 
Commission VII Symposium, Toulouse, France, 13-17 September 1982. 
Nee 
RI