Chapter 2
8
Global scale measurements of parameters such as ocean color, sea
surface temperature, continental land cover and biomass burning, vital
for initiating and validating models of global change, can only be
measured with satellite EO. Earth system science entails a global
partnership in which Europe has clear obligations.
EO will also form a key input to new environmental monitoring
requirements in the context of international agreements, such as the
Montreal Protocol, the Biodiversity Convention and the Framework
Convention on Climate Change. This last agreement has given rise to the
Kyoto Protocol, which recognizes forest cover change as a component to
be taken into account in future international audits of carbon sources and
sinks.
EO can be a cost-effective tool for the implementation of environmental
and civil protection policies. EO is already used pre-operationally for
monitoring changes in land cover for the Natura 2000 network as part of
the Habitats Directive, and for detecting oil spills in the context of the
Bonn Convention. The information offered from space can help in the
management and even prediction of natural hazards such as floods,
storms and forest fires. Any contribution of EO to their mitigation could
have an enormous economic impact.
EO is already used to check claims for agricultural subsidy, and for
gathering statistics. EO will also play a role in the context of an evolving
Common Agricultural Policy, particularly with an increasing emphasis
on environmental impact.
The anticipated enlargement of the EU to the East will bring the need for
harmonized statistical information over very large areas—a task to
which EO can make a unique contribution. An independent European
EO capability will provide a secure source of information as we move
towards an increasingly global economy.
Dual use aspects of EO are becoming increasingly important as the
distinctions between military and civil technologies become blurred.
Civil data has been widely used by NATO and UN forces for operations
in the Gulf, Bosnia and Central Africa. Formerly classified US and
Russian high resolution data collected during the cold war era is now
available for civil use, providing a valuable information source, but
potentially disturbing the market for commercial systems. Sensor
technologies developed for the US Department of Defense (DoD) will
form the basis of new American commercial high-resolution systems.
8
Global scale measurements of parameters such as ocean color, sea
surface temperature, continental land cover and biomass burning, vital
for initiating and validating models of global change, can only be
measured with satellite EO. Earth system science entails a global
partnership in which Europe has clear obligations.
EO will also form a key input to new environmental monitoring
requirements in the context of international agreements, such as the
Montreal Protocol, the Biodiversity Convention and the Framework
Convention on Climate Change. This last agreement has given rise to the
Kyoto Protocol, which recognizes forest cover change as a component to
be taken into account in future international audits of carbon sources and
sinks.
EO can be a cost-effective tool for the implementation of environmental
and civil protection policies. EO is already used pre-operationally for
monitoring changes in land cover for the Natura 2000 network as part of
the Habitats Directive, and for detecting oil spills in the context of the
Bonn Convention. The information offered from space can help in the
management and even prediction of natural hazards such as floods,
storms and forest fires. Any contribution of EO to their mitigation could
have an enormous economic impact.
EO is already used to check claims for agricultural subsidy, and for
gathering statistics. EO will also play a role in the context of an evolving
Common Agricultural Policy, particularly with an increasing emphasis
on environmental impact.
The anticipated enlargement of the EU to the East will bring the need for
harmonized statistical information over very large areas—a task to
which EO can make a unique contribution. An independent European
EO capability will provide a secure source of information as we move
towards an increasingly global economy.
Dual use aspects of EO are becoming increasingly important as the
distinctions between military and civil technologies become blurred.
Civil data has been widely used by NATO and UN forces for operations
in the Gulf, Bosnia and Central Africa. Formerly classified US and
Russian high resolution data collected during the cold war era is now
available for civil use, providing a valuable information source, but
potentially disturbing the market for commercial systems. Sensor
technologies developed for the US Department of Defense (DoD) will
form the basis of new American commercial high-resolution systems.