Environmental Land Management and Assessment, in the Context of Resource and Climate-Related Conflict

Abstract

This paper reviews the growing importance of satellite imagery to provide Normalized Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) maps, relevant to environmental land management assessment, in the context of resource and climate-related conflict based upon our own humanitarian project-related support. Near real-time space-based monitoring benefits land assessment, human rights observers, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), in the presence of unstable regimes or socio-economic upheaval. Access to areas to validate claims or allegations with remote sensing tools and digital signal processing techniques is now important. Imagery-based assessment can quantify radiometrically calibrated NDVI, with temporal change indices, may evaluate displacement, to land clearances, and provide metrics on land use change. High-resolution satellite imagery can assess the extent of activities such as open cast mining, and dam construction in inaccessible regions, using semi-automatic orientated methods, generating indices at sub-metric levels derived from satellite data in: Red, Green, Blue, and NIR bands. We discuss the background of space-based applications, and the experimental methodology used. Results and discussion arising from a number of recent cases studies, with specific factors used to help with documentation and formulation of land management risk assessment in the context of climate change threats, e.g. wildfire, are considered. Satellite imagery combined with verified ground data sets of geospatial information and map making, allows external verification of ongoing and planned mining, or construction activities, which impact indigenous communities in such remote geographical regions, for example the controversial Ethiopian Gibe III dam. Seasonal and area change dynamics are observed and discussed.