(Feb 2007) Mr. Hoffmann explained how GMES, one of Europe‘s flagships in space, can assist the UN in their environmental & humanitarian aid programmes.
Among the United Nations organisations identified to profit from GMES are the World Bank, the Environment and Food Programme, UNESCO and the Offices for Humanitarian Affairs. Examples centred on countering negative effects of urban sprawl, monitoring of habitats and adaptation to climate change as key challenges of the 21st century.
GMES
GMES represents a concerted effort to bring together data and information providers with users. Thereby they can better understand each other and make environmental and security-related information available through enhanced or new services. GMES is driven by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA), together with their Member States.
GMES will strengthen Europe‘s role as a world leader in collecting and managing environmental and civil security information for the benefit of its citizens and institutions.
GeoVille group
GeoVille is an internationally operating group based in Austria and Luxembourg and uses satellite data to provide products and services in the environmental and geo-spatial domain.
GeoVille group is a leading GMES service provider supplying geo-information products to the EU, ESA the European Environment Agency as well as national ministries and regional administrations. GeoVille products centre on land based applications related to land use and land cover mapping, urban and regional planning, forestry, environmental monitoring and modelling.
GeoVille group has long term project experience in working with UN organisations such as the World Bank, United Nations Operational Services and UNESCO. Currently GeoVille is implementing a habitat monitoring system in seven Central American countries for ESA and UNESCO.
In GMES, GeoVille group is putting urban growth on the map in nine European countries within the ESA financed GSE Land project. In the project geoland, financed by the EU 6th
Framework Programme, Geo-Ville has successfully developed environmental indicators for urban and regional development.
Framework Programme, Geo-Ville has successfully developed environmental indicators for urban and regional development.
(Source GeoVille Group)