Earth Observation from Space: More than a Technical Issue!

The European Commission
Brussels, Belgium

There is a critical need in Europe to make the policy on Earth observation
data and the underlying economic issues more explicit and more user
oriented. This is the message a high-level expert team led by Professor
Ray Harris delivered to the European Commission and European space data
suppliers in Brussels last week. The message comes at a time when space
is very much on the Commission’s agenda: earlier this month EU research
Commissioner, Philippe Busquin discussed the EU-Russia Space Dialogue
with the Russian Space Agency, and he will also present a communication
on a European strategy for space, “Europe and space: turning to a new
chapter”, to the Commission next week. A coherent European approach to
using satellite-based tools for environmental monitoring will feature
prominently in this
communication.

Professor Harris has been coordinating a working group under the Eopole
initiative (see below) for the last two years. The group presented its
findings to the Commission, the European Space Agency, Eumetsat and
national space organisations at a workshop in Brussels on 12 September
2000. Their main recommendations were:

* to develop accounting measures to quantify the benefit of Earth
observation to the environment;

* given the enormous volume of data produced, to find political, financial
and institutional agreements to support medium and long-term archiving
of Earth observation satellite data;

* that no Earth observation mission should be launched without a statement
of its archiving policy;

* that special consideration should be given to facilitating the trade and
exchange of geographical information, especially via the internet;

* to create an independent European ‘think tank’ to monitor the economic
and policy issues of Earth observation.

(See: Recommendations from the Eopole final workshop. [Attached below])

The Eopole [1] initiative — ‘Earth observation data policy and Europe’ —
is based on the idea that data policy and related economic and industrial
issues are just as important as many technical issues in the development
and maturity of the Earth observation sector. The Eopole Concerted Action
took shape during an Information Day organised by the Commission’s
Research DG in June 1997 on the subject of Community research
opportunities in the field of Earth observation applications. An independent
Eopole working group, financed by the Commission’s Environment and
Climate research programme, was then created to spend two years looking
at current Earth observation data policies and recommend improvements
with a distinctly European perspective.

The group included representatives from industry, government and academia
from eight different member states. It has held seven dedicated workshops
over the last two years, culminating in the presentation of its
recommendations last week.

More information about the workshop and the Eopole concerted action can
be found at http://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/eopole/

For further information, please contact:

Dr Michel Schouppe, Research DG, Biodiversity and Global Change Unit

Fax: +32 2 29 60588

E-mail: michel.schouppe@cec.eu.int

Professor Ray Harris, Eopole co-ordinator, University College of London

Fax: +44 171 5044293

E-mail: rharris@geog.ucl.ac.uk

Ms Piia Huusela, Press Officer, Research DG

Fax: + 32 2 29 58220

E-mail: piia.huusela@cec.eu.int

[1] Eopole — ‘Earth observation data policy and Europe’ (EC concerted action
ENV4-CT98-0760)

*****

Recommendations from the Eopole final workshop

September 13, 2000

Looking at Earth observation as a major contributor to global research and
observing programmes, Eopole pointed out the value of Earth observation
data, not only in strictly market terms but also in terms of its value to
society. In the current context of growing concern about human-induced
global change, it would be extremely helpful to develop accounting
measures to quantify the benefit of Earth observation to the environment.

Within the next few years, Europe will be confronted with storing and
analysis of growing amounts of space data. ESRIN (one of the four
establishments of the European Space Agency) will receive 160 gigabytes
of Earth observation data per day. SPOT data archived in Toulouse and
Kiruna comprises approximately 130 terabytes, which represents only 50%
of the 7 483 285 SPOT scenes in the SPOT Image central catalogue as at
31 December 1999. The forthcoming Meteosat Second Generation mission
is expected to deliver about 25 terabytes per year which means about 300
terabytes for the whole mission. It is foreseen by CEOS (Committee on
Earth Observation Satellites, http://www.ceos.org/) that by the year 2009
there will be 126 missions flying 217 instruments for Earth observation
from the many and growing number of nations active in space. Against this
background, active steps should be taken to find political, financial and
institutional agreements to support medium and long term archiving of
Earth observation satellite data. In parallel, Eopole suggested that no
Earth observation mission should be launched without a statement of its
archiving policy and that pricing policy should be the servant of mission
objectives.

With the current trend from imagery to geo-information, users would
directly take benefit from more compatible data policies for Earth
observation and other kinds of data. Special consideration should be
given particularly to facilitate trade and exchange of geographical
information, notably via the internet.

A crosscutting recommendation by Eopole was the elaboration of a European
scale institute or ‘think tank’ with independent and continuous capability
to carry out assignments on the economic and policy issues of Earth
observation. Space is a rapidly evolving sector that needs continuous
monitoring!