14 
environmental management , regional and sectoral (resources) There is not a clearly defined link between this specialist level, in 
development and planning. and the official apparatus that is to make use of the information aw 
they make (or can make) available. fro 
Approximation of product users fields : pre 
National mapping Here lies one of the main bottlenecks in user education.. j n 
Map updating the 
Cadastral surveys, land information What was said above about the rapid development of our data ^ 
collection capacity, applies also to the capacity of information 
Environmental monitoring management. 
Desertification by 
Natural hazard identification This gap between data collection and management on the one 
Natural disaster mitigation hand, and the 'users' 'capacity to make good use of it on the f or 
Pollution control other hand, is a reality, but understandable: ¡ n 
remote sensing still is technology-driven, and although an 
Geological mapping operational status is claimed, there are plenty of constraints. We ^ 
Engineering site selection list only a few: 
Mineral prospecting - weather (cloud) constraints for optical satellites 
Ground water survey - complexity of radar data for the interpreter 
Watershed management - weather constraints for aerial photography 
Water resources management - security constraints for aerial photography and airborne radar 
- occasional mishaps in launching (Landsat 6) or operation 
Agriculture (SPOT 3) Tht 
Crop monitoring It amounts to a semi-operational status at best, and the ^ £C 
Soil survey information extraction from RS data depends highly on the ^ 
Pests and diseases professional level of reference of the interpreter. 
Estate farms * 
Range land monitoring and management It may be clear that for Local Administrations, the scale factor ove 
Forest inventory/management must be added to all this: is the area big enough to warrant SP< 
remote sensing application ? We presume it is. exii 
Land use and evaluation surveys eart 
Regional development studies The local authority will not normally develop its own ava 
information-extraction capability, leaving that to the rather ^ 
Coastal zone management diffuse professional expertise. 
Fisheries On the other hand, the information management capacity (GIS) 
Aquaculture is often developed by these authorities. 
, . . . . . arra 
Maritime monitoring 
It may be assumed that for development purposes, the P ro< 
Development planning (a derivative) policy is set somewhere at the interplay of the level of Thi: 
International agencies for project execution planners and decisionmakers. of n 
It may be stated that in general terms, the 0 the 
Educational institutes information-collection potential of remote sensing techniques is thei 
Primary and secondary schools, geography not optimally used for planning and decisionmaking. can 
Universities, research , regional studies j n f 0 
Scientific laboratories, research projects This includes traditional aerial photography, which, after all, 
remains a fully operational and thoroughly tested technology. 
Urban and local authorities The haze of security constraints and secretiveness that surround terr ‘ 
Urban planning, expansion monitoring air photos at the official level will be a familiar and recognized S eo l 
Infrastructure and communication phenomenon for most users. The picture differs, of course, from Teel 
Urban geology/hydrology one country to another. tend 
Road traffic Especially the combination of aerial photography with the as 
Road construction, planning "other" remote sensing techniques is a very powerful source of mos 
information, and not only for planners. w j t j, 
5. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TECHNICAL AND 
USERS LEVELS Education for this important category of end users (Planners, ^ 
Policymakers, Decisionmakers), and the technical toplevel that t0 d 
The specialist echelon that is engaged in information extraction is engaged in decision-preparation therefore is an instrument to 
from remotely sensed data, is mostly a conglomerate- not very optimize the proper use of remote sensing. ^ 
coherent- of university laboratories, research institutes, 
government departments or bureaus, resource management That is not enough: the (end) user must also be made aware of INF 
offices, specialized educational institutes and the like. what is available in terms of data collection techniques, now valu