Introduction to the special issue: Satellite Remote Sensing in the Service of Regional and Local Authorities

Success stories of effective applications that use operational satellite products for the purpose of regional and sub-regional governance have been collected and summarized in the brochure "25 Uses of GMES in the NEREUS Regions", published by the EO/GMES Working Group of the NEREUS European Network. It focuses on active demonstrations and operational uses of the space capabilities of GMES across a widening spectrum of regional uses. This special issue of the European Journal of Remote Sensing is addressing similar concerns but much more from an in-depth scientific perspective with a selection of extended scientific papers, which describe current best practice of operational and near operational use of Remote Sensing in civil applications at regional and local scale. This special issue of the European Journal of Remote Sensing aims to provide a contemporary review of the feasibility, reliability and limitations of using satellite images and data sources in applications that support the work of regional and local authorities and decision makers.