The ESA Kyoto-Inv project

Abstract

Switzerland participates to the Kyoto-Inv project, initiated in November 2002 in the framework of the Data User Programme of the ESA. The aim is to learn more about the potential of remote sensing techniques for greenhouse gas reporting under the Kyoto Protocol (KP) on land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) activities. Three regions were chosen for which data were made available to serve as ground truth. The Prototype phase of the project has yielded promising results that may help for reporting under the KP on LULUCF activities. The reasons of the limitations of the project have been identified along with the necessary steps for improvements. We consider that, in the future, Switzerland may greatly benefit from operational services in this field. Our next request to the project is a full coverage of Switzerland using remote sensing.