4. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING EARTH
OBSERVATION APPLICATIONS IN FINLAND
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6.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Finnish experience in developing both commercial applications and
public sector services reveals that Earth Observation methods can be utilized
in a large number of potential application areas. In Finland this can be seen
from the large number of research units active in this field. Co-operation
between these scientists is intensive, which makes the diffusion of results
effective and also helps bring together the experience needed in a new
development project.
Development of applications, however, suffers from technical and
commercial drawbacks. From the end-users point of view, EO policy should
support the development of new applications. Space programs should be
designed to take into account the whole value-added chain. Commercial
market for EO products and services is currently small, and companies are,
therefore, entering this field slowly. To promote commercial activities, it is
important that national research centers support the growth of EO companies
and that activities focus on the creation of new markets for EO products.