European Centre for Earth Observation - 21 proposals selected The European Commission has made a preliminary selection of projects to be funded under Area 3.3 (Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research) of the Environment and Climate specific RTD programme, following the call for proposals launched on 15 March 199... The European Commission has made a preliminary selection of projects to be funded under Area 3.3 (Space techniques applied to environmental monitoring and research) of the Environment and Climate specific RTD programme, following the call for proposals launched on 15 March 1996 (OJ No C 75 of 15.3.1996 p. 9). The Environment and Climate call launched in March 1996 related specifically to actions to be conducted within the framework of the Centre for Earth Observation (CEO) programme which aims to promote the use of earth observation information collected by satellites. This programme has two closely coordinated parts: one part managed by the Space Applications Institute of the Joint Research Centre, and the second part, consisting of shared-cost RTD projects, integrated into the Environment and Climate programme. A total of 72 proposals were submitted in response to the March 1996 call. Of these, the Commission has made a preliminary selection of 21 projects likely to receive funding. Contract negotiations are presently underway and, depending on the outcome of these negotiations, approximately ECU 16 million is expected to be committed. The projects selected cover a wide range of applications of earth observation techniques ranging from the assessment of fire and flood risk through remote sensing to the development of a system for estimating cereal yield at regional scales. The CEO is an important EC initiative to promote the use of earth observation information collected by satellites. Europe has made major investments in earth observation instruments currently in orbit and planned for launch in the next five years. The CEO is designed to ensure that this investment is properly exploited. It will do this partly by introducing potential users to the possibilities offered by information extracted from satellite images and the ways in which this information can help them in their professional lives. The projects to be financed under Area 3.3 of the Environment and Climate programme are strongly oriented towards the user. Indeed, many organizations participating in the consortia are potential users who will be exposed to the opportunities of earth observation for the first time. In this context, the strong partcipation of SMEs (21.5% of all partners) reflects the interest of "value-adding" companies in this technological development.
