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] 47

GISTDA’s viewpoint towards GEOSS

Dr Thongchai Charuppat, Director, GISTDA

T

he Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development

Agency (GISTDA) was officially established on 3

November 2000 as a public organization under the super-

vision of the Minister of Science and Technology. GISTDA’s

mandates are in the area of the development of space technol-

ogy and geo-informatics activities. The three main areas of

activities are in providing satellite data services, leading opera-

tional research using satellite data, and promoting public

awareness and transferring knowledge and technologies in the

form of training, seminars, workshops, conferences and exhibi-

tions.

In the area of providing satellite data services, data are received from

satellites owned by various countries such as Landsat, RADARSAT,

ALOS and MODIS. However, by the end of 2007, Thailand will

launch its own satellite, named the THailand Earth Observation

System (THEOS), providing assurance of high-resolution data acces-

sibility to the country. The satellite data are also processed in a form

that can be readily used. These value added products are very useful

and less time consuming for end users.

In operational research, GISTDA has carried out various applica-

tion projects using satellite data in the areas of agriculture, forestry,

disaster and urban planning. GISTDA has a leading role in the appli-

cation of satellite data for the country, and assists other

government agencies in developing the use of satellite

data for the interests of their agencies.

As for public awareness and technology transfer,

GISTDA has actively organized many exhibitions on

various occasions all over Thailand, and provides more

than 12 formal training courses a year.

GISTDA realizes the important role that Earth obser-

vation data play across a very wide spectrum of

applications. However, in some societal benefit areas of

the country such as reducing loss of life and property

from natural and human induced disasters, which is

itself a complex cluster of issues with many players, the

end results sometimes may not meet with expectations.

To tackle societal problems such as this there must be

an effective mechanism in which actions across the agen-

cies can be coordinated and integrated to make efficient

use of resources and synergize overall beneficial results to

society.

Apart from coordination and integration at a national

level, it is important to address the wider area of agro-

ecological and natural resources at regional and

international levels. The Earth’s resources are not bound

by national borders, and need to be managed accordingly,

as manifested by several examples in recent years. The

Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 caused extensive damage

to life and property in many countries; the forest fire in

Indonesia created smoke and caused air pollution in some

parts of southern Thailand, and flood problems occurred

where the river passes through different countries (river

basin). These issues required regional/sub-regional coop-

eration. Establishing a cooperative mechanism at these

levels can accelerate collaboration among international

agencies.

The Global Earth Observation System of Systems

(GEOSS) is a cooperative mechanism established by

Group on Earth Observations (GEO) to involve all coun-

tries of the world, and to cover in situ observation as well

as airborne and space-based observations. The focus of

GEOSS is on observations relevant to large parts of the

world, and related issues that require comprehensive infor-

mation to be addressed optimally. The design of GEOSS

builds on existing systems and data to be integrated into

national, regional and global plans in a cost effective, tech-

nically possible and institutionally feasible manner.

GISTDA is the national space agency of Thailand, the

national focal point of GEO, and has been an active

member of the GEO Executive Committee since 2005. It

GISTDA’s role has evolved from that of a satellite data user to a data provider

Photo: GISTDA

N

ATIONAL

& R

EGIONAL

R

EPORTS