SPC Geoscience Division

Friday 11 July 2014, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia – The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing team has received two awards from the world’s leading supplier of satellite imagery, DigitalGlobe Inc., based in Colorado, USA.

They received a Partner Excellence Award 2014 for increased sales volume and meeting business growth expectations. SPC is the only authorised reseller of DigitalGlobe products in the Pacific Island region.

SPC members currently receive the highest-resolution satellite image data commercially available at some of the lowest prices on the planet.

Speaking at the awards ceremony held at SPC’s Suva Regional Office on Thursday 10 July, 2014 Wolf Forstreuter, GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist, explained emerging fields in the application of satellite imagery data.

‘Emily Artack, our Maritime Boundaries Technical Officer, used satellite image data for determination of maritime boundaries between Kiribati and Marshall Islands. This is a new application for satellite image data. And it is the first time that the International Seabed Authority has recognised satellite imagery as a legal tool to determine boundaries.’