ASITA, the Italian Federation of the Scientific Associations for Territory and Environment Information held the 14th edition of the ASITA Conference in Brixia, Lombardy region, one of the NEREUS member regions from 9-12 November 2010.
The ASITA Conference is the biggest Italian technical and commercial exhibition of Geomatics organized with towards linking together researchers, teachers, organizations and companies operating in the fields of acquisition and management of territorial and environmental data. The scientific objective is to encourage comparative, in-depth study of specific themes, while promoting a multi-disciplinary vision, integrated in the Geomatic field.
The NEREUS network participated at the four-day conference by providing an information stand, kindly organized by Lombardy region. Prof. Alan Wells, University of Leicester, co-chair of the NEREUS EO/GMES WG was among the invited speakers. He presented the NEREUS network and its engagement in GMES and Earth Observation at the plenary session “L’osservazione della terra per il governo del territorio: un unico palcoscenico per molti attori”.
Prof. Wells emphasized the activity of the EO/GMES working group and presented the “25 Uses of GMES in the NEREUS Regions” publication. The brochure, a collection of 25 examples of the GMES applications in the NEREUS regions, received very positive feedback among the participants.
In the plenary session, Ms Paola Carrara, IREA-CNR Milano, illustrated the FP7 DORIS_Net project, which is coordinated by CEON, and NEREUS’ participation in it. Ms Carrara underlined the benefits of the NEREUS platform in building strong partnerships and to facilitate the involvement of its members in EU projects and activities.
After the ‘special session’, Prof. Wells and Ms Carrara were interviewed by Mr Giovanni Caprara, journalist of the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera”. Extracts of the interviews appeared in an article entitled “Il giallo dei troppi alberi tagliati”. In the article Mr Caprara cited the example of deforestation in the Molise region to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of satellite applications. The “25 uses of GMES” brochure was extensively referenced throughout the article by Prof Wells and Ms Carrara, including the employment of GMES applications in the detection of forest fire in the Basilicata region.
Prof Wells and Ms Carrara also gave video interviews for the GEOforUS Geography & Technology Network website. Click here for Prof Wells interview and here for Ms Carrara’s (in Italian).
