The Use of Remotely Sensed Data in Rapid Rural Assessment

Abstract

This article discusses how analysis of remotely sensed data can be applied in rapid rural assessment and how its application can expand the spatial analysis of land-use/land-cover (LULC) change. It describes the methodological steps to carry out an LULC analysis based on Landsat Thematic Mapper image analysis under time and budget constraints. The article presents intra-and intercommunity comparisons of different LULC patterns. The discussion focuses on the trade-off between the desirable degree of land-cover class complexity, the level of class detail, and the required ground-truthing associated with each of these choices. The authors conclude that remotely sensed analysis can enhance short-term, low-budget fieldwork. Analysis of remotely sensed data can reduce costs before fieldwork by helping to inform where to concentrate data collection efforts, during fieldwork by extending spatial analysis to areas where accessibility is poor and that otherwise would not be included, and after fieldwork by improving the spatial and temporal scope of the analysis.