Application potential of remote sensing for developing countries

Remote sensing comprises techniques which serve to record data about the condition of the Earth's surface e.g. using sensors carried on board of aeroplanes or satellites. Remote sensing is extensively applied in the military domain (e.g. for reconnaissance) but applica-tions in the civil sector are becoming increasingly relevant: Resource management in agri-culture, forestry and fishery, exploration of raw material deposits, obtaining environmental information, monitoring urban development, and catastrophe management.

The advantages of remote sensing – e.g. the ability to record data about inaccessible areas, comparatively low costs per unit of charted area – make it particularly attractive for developing countries. It can be assumed that technical development in the field of data acquisition (sensors) as well as in the area of data analysis (geographic information systems, GIS) will extend the application options of remote sensing still further in the near future. Moreover, the above-mentioned fields will gain further in importance due to increasing social (urban development) and ecological problems (desertification, erosion and others) in developing countries.

The aim of the project is to determine the current status of remote sensing technology and its use in developing countries, as well as to outline emerging future applications. Past attempts of "technology transfer", which often failed, are analysed in order to identify possible conditions for a successful and solution-orientated future use of remote sensing techniques in developing countries.