Illisys V2: A Solution dedicated to the monitoring of Illicit Crops
Laurent Bascle
Project Manager, Spot Image, France
Tel.: +33 (0)5 62 19 40 96, Fax: +33 (0)5 62 19 43 43,
Email: laurent.bascle@spotimage.fr
Françoise Font
GIS consultant, SIGbea, France
Tel.: +33 (0)2 38 86 59 36, Fax: +33 (0)2 38 86 21 57,
Email: ffont@sigbea.fr
ABSTRACT:
Spot Image has more than 10 years word wide experience in the monitoring of illicit crop with
satellite imagery acquired through projects with national authorities and international
organisations like the UN. From this experience, Spot Image has realised that despite local
specificities, countries with illicit crop cultivation face the same problems of inventory and
monitoring. The company has designed a package which includes the provision of a
customisable software, Illisys, for analysing satellite images with ground observations, high
resolution SPOT images and training with technical assistance in order to assure a complete
transfer of technology.
The Spot Image current project in Thailand is located at ONCB (Office of the Narcotics Control
Board) which has a tremendous and effective experience in poppy monitoring and eradication in
the northern highland territories. This project aims to set up a Regional Training Centre in
Chiang Mai dedicated to the monitoring of illicit crops using satellite imagery.
A training room has been installed in ONCB Northern Branch premises, with workstations all
equipped with a customised Illisys and the reference database of Thailand. This version
developed to fit ONCB needs, integrates standard photo-interpretation and GIS functions and
specific cartographic and field work tools. It has also been loaded on the project tablet PC to
record poppy fields location in real time with a GPS while conducting field work. The future
lecturers of ONCB have been trained in France and Thailand. They have received all pedagogic
documents needed to carry out an Illisys training program as well as SPOT-5 high resolution
images of poppy cultivation areas to be used in the tutorials and case studies. The operational
side of Spot Image monitoring package will be demonstrated at ONCB where Illisys and SPOT
data are expected to be used in the poppy survey methodology for the next campaigns.
