A Special Report on the 2009 Taiwan Integrated Earth Observation System Forum
In recent years, as the world's population increases and economies develop, people have become wealthier. However, the damage brought about by environmental changes has become more sever. To resolve the problems arising from environmental changes, how to integrate earth observation data and pROVide them to decision makers has become a major priority all over the world.
Because of this, the United Nations has called this year (2009) as “The Year of Climate Change.” Under this air of consensus and camaraderie, the forum was able to invite more than one hundred local and international experts in the field of earth observation to witness Taiwan's first step towards the integration of its earth observation resources and aligning them with the rest of the world.
There are No Geographical Barriers when it comes to Environmental Changes
In an outline for the program, Capt. Craig N. McLean, an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), pointed out why it is difficult for global environment to be divided up. Using the American experience as an example, Capt. McLean emphasized the importance of international cooperation during crises arising from environmental changes. He also recognized and praised the excellent achievements of the Formosat–3/COSMIC, which won the accolade of being “the most accurate global thermometer in space.”
From Earth Observation to Information Integration
In this forum, Prof. Chris Rizos from the University of New South Wales and Vice President of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) used the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) as an example to share IAG's experiences and strategies in data collection with forum participants. This completely coincides with the goals of TIEOS.
Integrating Observation Data, Merging Geographic Information Platform
NARL embarks on the goal of constructing an integrated system for earth observation by consolidating all available earth observation resources in Taiwan.
Ultimately, it hopes to take cold hard data and develop it into a decision making support system which policymakers will find easy to use. Prof. Choen Kim of Kookmin University and Honorary President of the Korean Society of Remote Sensing (KSRS) shares the experience of using open source software to conduct research. This has pROVided an ideal entry point for the construction of an earth observation resource integration system in Taiwan.
Discussing Taiwan's Strategies for Earth Observation Resource Integration
Other than leaing from the experiences of other countries, the forum also presents the current achievements of Taiwan in the area of earth observation to the audiences. As one of the primary builders of Taiwan's “Disaster Rescue and Prevention Decision-Making Support System,” Prof. Lin Feng-Tien reported on the relevant research projects of various govement agencies on earth observation.
The sharing of the Taiwan experience by Prof. Lin Feng-Tien and Dr. Chang Guey-Shin yielded more fruitful outcomes. In the following one-hour discussion, local participants and international guests voiced their opinions and suggestions for the strategic blueprint of Taiwan's integrated earth observation system. The ideas were very diverse on a variety of topics including the promotion of the steering committee's position, initial goals and infrastructure built-up, govemental support, and education outreach, and possible problems of data acquisition, etc. Aside from pROViding ideas for the construction of Taiwan's integrated earth observation system, these constructive opinions and recommendations pROVide a fruitful ending to the forum.
