A/CONF. 184/C.2/L.2 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXII Part 7C2, UNISPACE III, Vienna, 1999 
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C. Conclusions 
6. Our ability to monitor changes in vegetation and land use in the major production regions of the world is 
important and remote sensing is the only technique offering such a capability. 
7. New satellite remote sensing systems are being launched that will be of use at both local and regional levels 
for natural resource managers. Those systems offer improvements in spatial, spectral or temporal accuracy. As more 
satellites are placed in orbit, imageiy over a geographical location will be accessible at shorter time periods. 
8. Operational low-cost satellites, such as the advanced very high resolution radiometer of the National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration of the United States of America (NOAA-AVHRR), create the possibility to 
monitor on a daily basis the status of land and water resources and crop performance. 
9. With the advantage of providing synoptic coverage of large areas at regular intervals, coupled with the 
advances made in computer-aided digital analysis and data fusion, spaceborne multi-spectral measurements made 
by Earth observation satellites offer an immense potential for generating reliable, timely and cost-effective 
information on natural resources. 
10. A judicious use of the full capabilities of Earth observation missions and data should lead to an increase in 
the quality of remote sensing products, in the information delivered to the customer and in decisions taken by the 
customer. 
11. The continuous availability of free or low-cost data for resource mapping on a global scale (e.g. NOAA- 
AVHRR. and the Satellite pour 1'observation de la Terre (SPOT) vegetation mapper) is an urgent priority' for 
environmental monitoring.