(SAR) to Support Agricultural Monitoring 2 - Group on Earth ...

International GEO Workshop on <strong>SAR</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Support</strong> <strong>Agricultural</strong> Moni<strong>to</strong>ring
Executive Summary
The Government of Canada, through the members of the interdepartmental Canadian <strong>Group</strong>
on Earth Observations (CGEO), coordinated with the international GEO Global <strong>Agricultural</strong>
Moni<strong>to</strong>ring Community of Practice and other sponsors and partners, <strong>to</strong> organize and host the
International GEO Workshop on Synthetic Aperture Radar (<strong>SAR</strong>) <strong>to</strong> <strong>Support</strong> <strong>Agricultural</strong>
Moni<strong>to</strong>ring, which was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada from 2-4 November 2009. The
workshop was preceded by a pre-workshop “by invitation” capacity building training session
from 31 Oc<strong>to</strong>ber – 1 November.
This workshop brought <strong>to</strong>gether 115 participants from around the world, with some 75 of the
experts also participating in the pre-workshop capacity building training session. Pre-training
and post-workshop field trips were conducted by the University of Calgary and Parks
Canada, and a planning meeting of the GEO Global <strong>Agricultural</strong> Moni<strong>to</strong>ring Community of
Practice was held on 5 November. The participants included experts and managers who map
agricultural land cover and land use; moni<strong>to</strong>r changes in the agricultural land base; identify
crops and estimate crop area; qualitatively and quantitatively assess crop condition; and
moni<strong>to</strong>r properties related <strong>to</strong> water availability such as soil moisture.
Funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provided travel and
related expenses for 29 participants from developing countries <strong>to</strong> actively participate in the
training course, workshop and field trips. Additional persons were sponsored by GOFC-
GOLD (Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics), Agriculture and Agri-
Food Canada, and Environment Canada.
The objectives of the workshop were <strong>to</strong> increase understanding and capacity <strong>to</strong> use <strong>SAR</strong> data
for agricultural moni<strong>to</strong>ring, and the identify the needs of the agricultural community <strong>to</strong> space
agencies and others involved in the delivery of <strong>SAR</strong> data and services. The workshop
successfully provided a structure and forum <strong>to</strong> state clearly and strongly the Earth
observation requirements of the international agriculture community and the strategies
needed <strong>to</strong> promote the use of <strong>SAR</strong> for agricultural moni<strong>to</strong>ring, in the context of science,
research, operations and capacity. The participants also identified the information and
operational needs of the agricultural user community <strong>to</strong> facilitate coordinated access <strong>to</strong> Earth
observation data.
The breakout groups and the panel discussion identified a number of frequently recurring
priorities and recommendations, including the need <strong>to</strong>:
1. Organize a <strong>SAR</strong> component of the GEO Global <strong>Agricultural</strong> Moni<strong>to</strong>ring
Community of Practice (CoP) and its partners <strong>to</strong> coordinate initiatives related <strong>to</strong>
the development of the <strong>Agricultural</strong> Moni<strong>to</strong>ring System of Systems.
2. Pressure space agencies and data providers for lower cost <strong>SAR</strong> data and <strong>to</strong>
remove restrictions on sharing and copying of data.
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