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CONTENTSCEOS Task Force on Planning and Analysis Reports
Activities of Working Group on Calibration and Valldatlon, (WGCV)
CEOS Inventory Interoperability Experlment
The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS): Plan for Space-Based Observations
Analysis of the Great Hanshin Earthquake by Using Satellite Data
Feasibility Study for a CEOS Developing Country Space Information System---This page
The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS):
Plan for Space-Based Observations (continued from page 4)
CEOS Plenary/IAI/Highlight/Calender
Feasibllity Study for a CEOS Developing Country Space Information System
Volker Liebig
Head of Division, Earth Observation Utilization
Greman Space Agency (DARA)
At the last CEOS Plenary meeting in Berlin the member agencies decided to strengthen CEOS support for developing coutries (DC). The outcome of a workshop in Brazil, to discuss problems and potential improvements in this sectors, was used to produce a strategy paper which was approved by the Plenary.
- As a further result of this discussion it was agreed that DARA should
(action 8-6) arrange for a study on a space information system in support
of developing countries and circulate the outcome in time for discussion
at the 9th Plenary in October 1995.
One of the problems in applying remote sensing data to DC projects is the existing information and communication gap. In developing countries there is a lack of knowledge about applicable methods, funding mechanisms and necessary points of contact. On the donor countries side there is no means to easily find out about all relevant activities, projects or even available datasets. In fact there is a lot going on, but insufficient knowledge (some would say coordination-but this is beyond the reflections of this article).
This situation was the starting point for the idea to explore the feasibility of a system which could help to improve the information and communication in this area.
From the start of the feasibility study it was clear that a CEOS activity must fulfill certain conditions to be suited to the way CEOS is working and structured as a non-funding activity that builds on contributions and activities of its members:
Accordingly the activity must be consistent with the mandate of the CEOS;
* not duplicate what is already being done,
* allow self-contained contributions from various CEOS members who volunteer to participate; and
* not require the establishment of a new or separate network, or special hardware.
DARA was supported by a team consisting of Prof. Konecny, Roy Gibson and a contractor (Geoscan) with experience in developing countries. The first step in performing the study was the investigation of the status quo. Therefore 11 organisations were visited including different UN organisations, FAO, World Resource Institute and World Bank. In addition, the U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs had received written contributions from different organisations (e.g. from Pakistan, Malaysia, China, etc.) with experience in this field and had passed them to the study team.
Several CEOS member agencies and affiliate organisaions had also delivered contributions in written form after the discussions during the Plenary.
The evaluation of all these inputs showed a picture which confirmed the initial assumption that a great number of projects are running, hundreds or thousands of data sets are produced worldwide with different methods and sensors, but for similar goals. Resulting data sets, maps, or databases are usually not reused. Decision-makers are very often even not aware of their existence.
Many organisations run project databases which are sometimes confidential and usually not connected or, even worse, not connectable. It was expressed in many interviews that it would not be useful to set up a complete new set of project descriptions, but that there is a substantial lack of information on what is actually available in terms of datasets, know how, and expert addresses. What is needed is support to find the relevant information easier and quicker.
Information about information is usually called "metadata" and a system which contains metadata and pointers or links to real datasets could be named an "Information Locator System (ILS)". Therefore the conclusion of the assessment was that we should propose a CEOS ILS.
The second complex of questions in the first phase of the study was directed to existing communication equipment in developing countries. An astonishing result of this round was that e-mail is used by many groups. It is often working more reliable and cheaper than fax. In Africa, for example, a one page e-mail costs about $1 to transmit, a one page fax about $10, and a five minute phone call up to $25. (World Resource Institute, WRI). E-mail is accessible in more than 25 coutries on this continent. New connections are constantly occurring through support of programs like "Africa Link" (WRI). Full internet (TCP/IP) access is still the exception (e.g. in South Africa) and expensive (e.g.$1500 per month in African countries) but some regional centers will soon be connected.
On the donor countries' side good information infrastructure is available mostly based on internet tools (e.g. WWW, gopher and e-mail).
Having done this basic investigation the following questions concerning a potential CEOS ILS had to be answered:
For whom is it intended?
By what means?
What is the real content?
To the first question if seemed that, as a minimum, an ILS should address decision makers in developing countries and those who are likely to become donors. As a maximum, all who are active in the developing countries in remote sensing, including individual researchers or project workers, education and training sector, universities, relevant industry and space agencies.
to be continued on page 7
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