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December 2002 |
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ISPRS... The journey continues
How ISPRS generates funds for its various activities?
Funds come from 4 main sources: Member (Ordinary, Associate, Regional and Sustaining Members) subscriptions; interest on its investments; donations and gifts; and levies on ISPRS Congresses and Symposia (this last item was only introduced in 2000)
What are the achievements of ISPRS so far?
- It has achieved an excellent reputation in the fields of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences, particularly in photogrammetry. It also has made significant contributions in the applications of remote sensing and spatial information sciences. This is demonstrated by the quality of papers at the ISPRS meetings.
- It has expanded its membership now to 103 Ordinary Members. Its overall membership would include people from more than 120 countries.
- It has recently been admitted as a full member of the International Council for Science (ICSU), the apex scientific body for science. This is a recognition of its achievements.
- Amongst peer organisations ISPRS is recognised for its scientific excellence.
- The International Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing is ranked highly. The Newsletter published by ISPRS, named ‘ISPRS Highlights’, which was first published in 1997 is proving very successful. The number of hits on ISPRS Web Page demonstrates that it is serving a need.
Since ISPRS has a long history, how has it impacted GIS and related sciences?
The original purpose of studies undertaken by ISPRS (ISP) was to develop methods for the acquisition of data for mapping. The fields covered by ISPRS are now much broader, primarily because of the availability of space images and the vast amount of information that can be extracted from them. This expansion in activities commenced in 1972 with the launch of the first Landsat satellite.
The field of ‘spatial information sciences’ has only been in existence for less than 30 years. ISPRS has always considered that it plays an essential role in the spatial information sciences, since the processing, management and archival of spatial data, whether it is vector, raster or image data, cannot be divorced from its collection. The most significant impact that ISPRS has made in the field of spatial information sciences is the development of methods of acquiring the data from aerial or space images. However, it has become increasingly involved in other aspects of spatial information sciences, including processing, applications, management and archival of spatial information. Nowadays, a number of Working Groups in Commission II and Commission IV cover a number of aspects of spatial information sciences, including the theory of GIS.
What are the future plans of ISPRS?
The immediate plans of ISPRS Council is to implement the Strategic Plan that was approved by the General Assembly in Amsterdam in 2000. Many actions derived from this plan have already been implemented. It includes a review of the terms of reference of the Technical Commissions that have been in existence for more than 50 years. The purpose of this review will be to ensure that scientific directions of ISPRS are well structured for the future.
Council also wants to expand its cooperation with other international organisations with which it has synergies. The fields covered by ISPRS are becoming multi-disciplinary, and it is important that ISPRS is able to garner the expertise of other professions to assist it in its work. An example of this need is the use of applications of remote sensing for sustainable development. The recognition of ISPRS as a full member of ICSU is a good step in this direction.
What are some of the technological advancements that you see as having great potential for further development in the field of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences?
Developments in aerial and space imaging will have a major impact on the activities of ISPRS; aerial from the point of view of digital data acquisition of high resolution images; and space images from the point of view of a whole range of systems that will enable us to monitor the environment more effectively. The major issue for the future of our field will be acquiring a better understanding of the planet and the impact of humans on it, resulting in global warming, global change etc. That is, the tasks for ISPRS will be to pursue the mission of ISPRS‘ the sustainability of the planet’.
Developments in computing and communications technologies will continue to have a major impact on the activities of ISPRS enabling researchers to undertake much more detailed and intensively computational and analysis tasks on Earth observation data.
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