Reliable multi-purpose land cover data is the key basis for a multitude of applications in environmental management and spatial planning. It results in multiple land cover datasets serving these domains at various levels. Based on the experiences with activities both on European and NIS level, the Technology of Land Cover Classification (TLCC) project aims to create the standardized, well-documented and formalized model and technology for automated land cover classification ensuring classification robustness and guarantee compatibility and quality of production. In order to achieve these objectives, the TLCC project has to investigate the number of fundamental research issues present both at the level of multi-purpose land cover nomenclature specification, class model classification definition as well as practical implementation of such models.

By bridging the long term experiences of the EU partners (GISAT, DIAS) from realization of European land cover related projects and the NIS partners (DSC, CASRE, IBA, UIIP) from their wide-ranging automated land cover classification activities, the TLCC project aims to contribute to the current European actions linked to the GMES Fast Track/CLC2006 update process and towards ongoing specification and development for operational EU land cover service from 2008 on. Technology of the Land Cover Classification (TLCC) creation is carried out according to the National Space Program of Ukraine as part of Ukrainian GMES segment. More, the Ukraine national technical committee of standardization is aiming to introduce TLCC as the Ukrainian land cover mapping standard. The project outputs can contribute also into the European GMES land monitoring projects.

TLCC project is supported by INTAS – The International Association for the Promotion of Co-operation with Scientists from the New Independent States (NIS) of the Former Soviet Union is an independent International Association formed by the European Community, European Union Member States and like-minded countries to promote East-West scientific co-operation between INTAS members and INTAS-NIS partner countries.