Category: Earth Observation News

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP along with ESYS Consulting plc and DNV
(the Consortium) have been contracted by the European Space Agency
(ESA), in cooperation with the European Commission (EC), to perform a
socio-economic benefits study of Global Monitoring for Environment and
Security (GMES), an initiative being developed jointly by the EC and
ESA, with the objective of establishing by 2008 a European capacity for
global monitoring of environment and security.

The objectives of the study are to:
Characterise and evaluate the overall benefits and impact resulting from GMES implementation;
Produce a political and strategic view of the benefits and impacts due to GMES implementation;
Evaluate benefits against cost envelopes from an economic perspective;
Understand the variation in benefit resulting from different implementation levels for GMES;

The Consortium will be undertaking a comprehensive consultation
exercise during the spring and summer of 2005 and will be contacting
key GMES stakeholders shortly. We welcome input from the Earth
Observation community on the perceived benefits of GMES and the
mechanisms by which these benefits can be demonstrated and quantified.
The Consortium can be contacted by email.

The 2005 Edition of the CEOS Earth Observation Handbook has been
prepared by the European Space Agency (ESA). The report presents the
main capabilities of satellite Earth observations, their applications,
and a systematic overview of present and planned Earth observation
satellite missions and their instruments. It also explores society’s
increasing need for information on our planet. As humanity exceeds the
planet’s capacity to sustain us, such information is playing a vital
role in understanding, monitoring, managing and mitigating key Earth
System processes. This is true on a global scale, in support of
improved global environmental governance and the underlying conventions
and treaties (such as the Kyoto Protocol), and on regional and national
scales, as countries adapt competitively to shrinking reserves of
natural resources and to the basic needs of expanding populations.
Earth System information may be considered as the essential foundation
for sustainable development policies aimed at ensuring our continued
health and prosperity.

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