SciDev.Net

Applicability of near-real-time satellite data acquisition and analysis and distribution of geoinformation in support of African development

This report, prepared for the UN Economic Commission for Africa, reviews the status and prospects for remote sensing in Africa. The authors argue that a real and immediate need exists for real-time remote sensing data to improve early warning, vulnerability assessment, mitigation, response and...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: April 2005 | EN

An autonomous earth observing Sensorweb

This article describes how a network of sensors, linked by software and the Internet, can provide an automatic satellite-based surveillance system for disasters such as volcanoes, wildfires and flooding. The system, or 'Sensorweb', uses data from low resolution, high frequency sensors to trigger...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: October 2005 | EN

Satellite solutions

This feature article, written by members of the UN Operational Satellite Applications (UNOSAT) programme, outlines how satellite technology can improve emergency relief after a natural disaster. UNOSAT uses satellite data to produce maps and damage reports for nongovernment organisations,...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: June 2008 | EN

Disaster management

Written by former director of India's National Remote Sensing Agency, D. P. Rao, this article reviews the role of space technology in disaster mitigation. Rao offers examples of how remote sensing can feed into prevention, preparedness and relief strategies for a number of disasters. He...

KEY DOCUMENT | EN

Global Earthquake Satellite System (GESS)

This report, written by solid-Earth scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sets out the requirements for delivering high-accuracy, high-resolution surface deformation data for earthquake studies. The authors build on recommendations made by NASA's Solid Earth Science Working Group. They...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: March 2003 | EN

New satellite observations and rainfall forecasts help provide earlier warning of African drought

This article, written by Chris Funk of the US GS, outlines how the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) uses satellite data and statistical forecasts to provide early warnings of potential droughts in sub-Saharan Africa. Funk outlines the role of satellite data in FEWS NET at all...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: January 2009 | EN

The Earth Observation Handbook

This report, prepared by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), presents the main capabilities of satellite systems and their applications to detect, monitor and adapt to climate change, alongside plans for future relevant satellite missions. The report is divided into three parts....

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2008 | EN

A review of the status of satellite remote sensing and image processing techniques for mapping natural hazards and disasters

This review article describes how remote sensing data can and are being used to map and monitor disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, flooding and wildfire. The authors summarise the main satellites and sensors used in disaster monitoring and their characteristics. They...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: April 2009 | EN

Agrofuels and the use of genetic modification

This report from GeneWatch UK describes the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as agrofuels and makes policy recommendations on their use. Civil society groups have raised concerns over the sustainability of using food supplies to produce biofuel. Industry and government have responded by...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: July 2009 | EN

Making the economic case

This report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offers advice to policymakers on present evidence to make the case for environmental investment. Environmental sustainability is often seen as a luxury that governments cannot afford. Environmental managers...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2008 | EN

Simply REDD: CIFOR's Guide to forests, climate change and REDD

This factsheet from The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) aims to answer common questions about the role of reducing forest emissions in tackling climate change. This includes explaining why reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is important and...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: June 2009 | EN

Climate change 2001: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability

The third IPCC assessment report, Climate Change 2001, includes this section on the links between climate change and health. It offers a detailed look at how variations in climate, such as temperature or rainfall, could affect vector-borne disease. In particular, it evaluates computer models that...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2003 | EN

The road to REDD

This feature article, published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal, uses the Cordillera Azul national park in Peru as an example to introduce mechanisms for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) that are under global discussion. The author discusses...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: January 2009 | EN

Moving ahead with REDD: Issues, options and implications

This book, written by researchers at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), poses several critical questions that must be addressed in designing a global framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) to be implemented after 2012, when the first...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: November 2008 | EN

Measuring and monitoring forest degradation for REDD

This information briefing, published by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), focuses on the implications of different country circumstances for measuring and monitoring forest degradation within activities for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). ...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: November 2008 | EN

From REDD to PINC

This policy brief, published by the Global Canopy Programme, proposes a system called Proactive Investment in Natural Capital (PINC), to reward countries for conserving large areas of tropical forest that act as 'global utilities' providing ecosystem services essential for preserving global food...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: December 2008 | EN

Little REDD Book

This guide to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), published by the Global Canopy Programme, reviews many of the REDD proposals under discussion in global climate change negotiations. The authors highlight why strategies for REDD are needed, then outline and...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: June 2009 | EN

The REDD road to Copenhagen: Readiness for what?

This opinion article, published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), argues that the real challenges to effective preparation for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) are creating robust governance and funding structures, not just capacity building. The...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: December 2008 | EN

Guide on climate change and indigenous peoples

This guide, published by Tebtebba (Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education), outlines the expected impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples around the world, and showcases traditional methods of climate change mitigation and adaption. Following a basic...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: September 2008 | EN

Beyond carbon financing

This policy paper, published by the World Resources Institute (WRI), suggests a range of sustainable development policies within frameworks for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). The authors argue that there can be significant barriers to countries providing...

KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: March 2009 | EN