Abstract. Remote sensing image analysis Systems and geographie in formation Systems (GIS) show great promise for the Integra tion of a wide variety of spatial information as a support to en vironmental monitoring and managementtasks. Current and future remote sensing programs are based on a variety of sensors that will provide timely and repetitive multisensor earth Observation data on a global scale. GIS offer efficient tools for handling, manipulating, analyzing and presenting spatial data that are required for environmental ly sound deci sion making. To combine the power of both spatial techno logies, however, efficient synergistic processing techniques have to be developed to cope with large multisensor image datasets and to automatically extract information for environ mental GIS applications. These efforts have to be put in a broader perspective of an evolving discipline Geoinformatics as one component of a new and innovative interdisciplinary approach for academic education. One example of this approach is the new academic program Environmental Sciences at the University of Vechta.