International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXII Part 7C2, UNISPACE III. Vienna 1999 
8 
I5PRS 
UNISPACE III - ISPRS Workshop on 
“Resource Mapping from Space” 
9:00 am -12:00 pm, 22 July 1999, VIC Room B 
Vienna, Austria 
I5PR5 
measurements, as well as local knowledge (Turner and Baiuner, 
1984). Consequently, GIS has been rapidly adopted in well 
mapped areas. Regardless of the approach, it is possible to 
quantify resources such as vegetation species and type, number 
of wildlife, crop yield, timber volume, water yield, water quality 
etc. 
Interpretation of aerial photographs remains a powerful tool for 
mapping and monitoring land cover and natural resources. The 
main advantage of using aerial photography is that it 
significantly reduces the time spent undertaking field work, as 
well as making field work much more effective. Consequently, 
since the 1950s. aerial photographs were enthusiastically 
embraced by professionals managing natural resources. Aerial 
photographs are relatively easy to obtain, flights can be 
arranged locally (and often at short notice) when conditions are 
suitable, and photographs may be obtained at large scales. 
However, the cost of acquiring aerial photographs is high 
compared to satellite imagery, and a high labour input is 
required to compile and interpret a series of aerial photographs. 
Satellite remote sensing is often the most up to date source of 
data and information for earth resources, and as indicated 
earlier, may be the only data available in developing countries. 
It is synoptic, allowing regional scale studies to be undertaken 
relatively quickly and cheaply. It is possible to order satellite 
images over any portion of earth’s surface from a number of 
different satellite systems 
A number of remote sensing systems provide very long term 
data sets (eg. the US Landsat MSS and NOAA AVHRR 
systems, as well as the French SPOT imagery') which are 
proving invaluable for identifying change. The NOAA AVHRR 
is a particularly useful system, as twice daily images are 
available. Food early warning systems and estimated cereal 
production, based on NOAA AVHRR satellite data, have been 
developed by FAO in conjunction with national donor agencies 
in Africa. The change in biomass over a season may be 
monitored and food shortages predicted. Such systems are 
operational in Kenya and West Africa and used to predict food 
shortages, as well as projected national income from agriculture. 
New projects, using aircraft based scanner to monitor the health 
of vegetation and crop biomass, are also being developed, as are 
applications to predict biodiversity. 
Techniques incorporating the values of local people have 
become important in development and conflict resolution. Such 
participatory approaches may be made more effective through 
the use of remote sensing to inform local people about the 
landscape in which they live. Participatory approaches are 
possible through the use of GIS to develop land use planning 
scenarios to highlight the effects of selecting different land 
management strategies, both from an individual perspective, as 
well as at a village or community level. 
Countries with remote sensing systems include France 
(SPOT), European Union, US (NOAA AVHRR, Landsat), 
Russia, India (IRS), Japan, 
Using traditional method scientific methods, local point based 
data and associated models have become ubiquitous. An 
interesting development is how to scale up detailed point based 
studies. A typical example includes estimates of pastoral and 
crop production, as well as wildlife habitat potential. Another 
type of point based study is agricultural ‘yield gap’, where the 
actual production from a site does not match the potential 
production, for example as developed in experimental research 
stations. Such point based studies may be extrapolated over 
large areas using GIS and remote sensing, in order to indicate to 
planners and farmers where production may be increased, and at 
what cost. 
The environmental impact of development activities can be 
severe in countries undergoing rapid economic development, as 
planning controls may be poorly designed and policed. 
Environmental impact assessment and land use planning are 
based upon environmental profiles, which are geographical 
descriptions of a region of interest. Land use planning requires 
maps showing land capability for different purposes, as well as 
techniques to allocate land to different uses. It is a key factor in 
agricultural and nature conservation at a local and regional 
level, as it aims to select the best use of land, based on land 
capability and the needs of people. GIS and remote sensing 
provide a cheap, rapid and efficient method to generate tire 
spatial information required for planning, impact assessment, 
and environmental profiles. 
Operational remote sensing systems in the EU were analysed 
during a of a workshop held by the Centre for Earth 
Observation (CEO of the Space Applications Institute. Joint 
Research Centre, Rome) entitled ‘Has remote sensing found its 
customers?’ The conclusions are summarised in Table 1~. Neil 
Hubbard et al (1999) found that specific applications (eg. 
precision farming) within broad market sectors (eg. agri- 
industiy) are becoming operational, but that broad economic 
segments cannot be categorised as operational or successful. 
The main markets with greatest potential within the next 5 years 
were identified as agri-industry, insurance, software, 
travel/tourism/leisure, intergovernmental bodies. In addition, 
other markets which have been most strongly purchasing 
imagery and using remote sensing included oil and gas, land 
navigation, the European Commission, and the meteorological 
sector. 
2 Italics refer to emerging or ‘rising star’ industries.