Toward Europe

Additional budgetary support of the Ministry of Agriculture devoted to European harmonization, was provided by FÖMI.The activities selected for support in 1994/95 are:

a) Agricultural monitoring by remote sensing taking into account the practice of EUROSTAT, DG VI and Joint Research Centre also was started with parts of the EU,s MARS (Monitoring Agriculture by Remote Sensing) project in Hungary at the FÖMI RSC. The main goal is to provide the EU with information on crop yields and to make forecasts on a continental scale in harmony with the relevant EU systems already in operation.

b) The European Union's CORINE Land Cover project is executed in Central and Eastern Europe as part of the PHARE Regional Environmental Programme. The project consists in mapping the land cover at scale 1:100.000 in accordance with a standard European nomenclature (44 categories). The methodology relies on interpretation of satellite images and storing the results in Geographic Information System. The database represents a basic tool for studies on the environment, impact assessment and regional planning. FÖMI Remote Sensing Centre is responsible for the implementation of the CORINE Land Cover project in Hungary, along with the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Regional Policy. Expected deadline of the project is end of 1995. As a by-product of the project, 1:100.000 satellite image maps are available for the users in digital as well as in colour hard copy format, for the entire country.

c) In the frame of regional PHARE programme the FÖMI RSC also participates in MERA (MARS and Environmental related application of GIS+RS) for monitoring and evaluation of natural and cultivated landscape vegetation.

d) Science and Technology with Central and Eastern European Countries
In the framework of this programme a network subprogram was launched (with participation of UN- FAO/Telespazio Italy, ESA, CEC JRC (Joint Research Centre, Ispra), FÖMI RSC, Czeh and Slovak Republics, Poland and Bulgaria) for the application of RS and GIS in natural resources management, agriculture and environments.

e) Establish the Agency's Digital Topographic Database (based on 1:100 000 scale sheets) according to the needs of EUROSTAT, EUROCONTROL, EUROGI and other European Institutions.

MEGRIN

The description directory of the Hungarian geodetic references, the Hungarian administrative boundaries database (1:500 000) as well as GDDD for different databases of the Hungarian NMA (DTT-100, Gazetteer, Administrative Boundaires, Survey coordinates) have been elaborated and submitted to MEGRIN. These and other activities are integrated parts of the multiyear R+TD programme executed by FÖMI under contract with the National Committee for Technological Development (OMFB) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).

Data-level harmonisation: NUTS-based Governmental GIS system

According to the late initiative and Project Proposal of the OMFB, 14 central governmental agencies (including the National Statistical Office) would be equipped by basic datasets, hardware and software tools compatible with those, which are used by the European Institutions. The project launch is still a subject of decision of the Office for European Affairs at the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Used for NUTS-based data collection and analysis, a more detailed Administrative Boundary Database is under establishment and maintenancing by FÖMI in cooperation with the countrywide land office network based on coordinates using land registration documents and large scale cadastral maps and surveying measurements/coordinates. Contracted by MoA, FÖMI will complete the task for more than 3200 settlements by end of 1995. The prototype platform with GISCO dataset has been already installed at OMFB. It is anticipated, MoA would require 4 sets, one of them for use by FÖMI. This project has been parallelly proposed also among the sectorial EU-harmonisation initiatives of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Land use monitoring supported by Earth Observation

Possible cooperation with EUROSTAT is in pre-definition phase (project draft proposal, selection of the area of interest and determine primary objectives and specifications, revisit nomenclatures etc). Contracted by EUROSTAT, the Luxembourg based organisation CESD-Communautaire is making an in-depth survay in GIS and remote sensing training needs in statistics to facilitate future join of governmental institutions to the ongoing European programmes using questionnaires and based on personal interviews.

Project proposal awarded by the European Space Agency (ESA)

A general agreement between ESA and Hungary was signed in 1991. High resolution all-weather radar images of the first European remote/sensing satellite (ERS-1) are processed here at the Institute by the sophisticated workstation which was donated to FÖMI RSC by ESA three years ago.
A MoA and FÖMI project proposal entitled 'Assessment of the potential of optical and microwave satellite remote sensing techniques for land surface monitoring of the impact of land reform' was accepted by the European Space Agency (ESA). A comparative analysis of the ERS-1 and Landsat data covering the area was undertaken.
A proposal by the FÖMI RSC to the ERS Announcement of Opportunity "Assessment of ERS SAR capabilities for crop area estimation in Hungary" was accepted by ESA in 1995. The R&D project will be started at the end of this year.
Participation in the CEN TC 287 activities

According to the recommendations of the CERCO Advisory Board meeting held in Bad Godesberg, the Hungarian Office of Standards established the expert group devoted to digital mapping and GIS (a Hungarian GIS TC of Standardisation). As part of the activities orchestrated by OMFB in frame of the National GIS Project,- as advised by CERCO -the professional surveying and mapping branch via FÖMI staff members are authorized to delegate to the meetings of the relevant European Technical Commission.

Application for membership in EUROGI

Seven Hungarian non-profit professional organisations have formally agreed to establish the Hungarian Umbrella Organisation for Geographical Information and applied for full membership in the respective European Umbrella Organisation (EUROGI).
The first EUROGI-HUNAGI-DDGI talks on presidential level will be hosted by OMFB on 25 September 1995.
As site for the 3rd Joint European GIS Conference (after Den Haag and Barcelona) Budapest was officially offered. Decision will be made in 1996.
Active participation in CERCO

The Hungarian surveying and mapping community is represented in the CERCO since the 1991 Plenary Assembly held in Southampton, playing active role also in the working group in geodesy, updating large mapping database, copyright and marketing as well as in task forces such as Dialog with the European Institutions.

EARSeL

Since 1984, FÖMI RSC has been an observer member of the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL). In 1990 FÖMI RSC became the full member of EARSeL, the first organization from Eastern Europe. In 1992 FÖMI organized the annual EARSeL Conference and General Assembly, as a first such event in Central and Eastern-Europe. The head of FÖMI RSC is a coopted-member of the EARSeL Bureau, responsible for the east-west relations.

IUGG

20 experts of the Hungarian community in geodesy and geophisics have participate the IUGG Congress held in Boulder CO. The Hungarian National IUGG Report (see references) gives a good overview on the Hungarian activities.

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