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Table 1 Remote Sensing Application
Papers by Region.
App|SA SEA |A&OI|NA |WA
1 9% 6% 134% |25% 0%
2 21 31 22 6 50
3 13 3 0 0 0
4 11 14 13 0
5 T1 0 0
6 9 0 12
7 2 22 0
8 0 6
9 0 13
10 11 25
Key to Table:
APPLICATIONS
Apps} Lake, Near Coastal, Ocean
2 Land Cover/Use,
Management
3 Ground Water, Watershed
4 Agriculture, Productivity
5 Wasteland, Erosion, Desert
6 Urban, Land Use, Planning
7 Forest, Mangroves
8 Topography, Terrain
9 Climate, Atmosphere
10 Theory, Image Analysis
REGIONS
SA South Asia
SEA South East Asia
A&O Australasia and Oceania
NA North Asia
WA West Asia
Tot Total Region %
A further major difference relates to the
percentage of papers in watershed and ground
water management which are significantly
higher in the South Asia sub-region, and the
higher percentage of forest related studies in
the South East Asia and Australasian and
Oceania sub-regions. These results reflect the
particular needs of these sub-regions, that is in
the case of South Asia the need to provide water
for village communities, and the large tropical
forests of the other sub-regions which are
currently being exploited. Here the desire of
sub-regional governments to balance the needs
53
of the economy: with «the: needs 5of . the
environment, have led to a greater use of remote
sensing tools.
Examining the percentage of total papers it is
clearly seen that land cover, land use and land
management comprise the greatest application
area of the region. It can be suggested that the
high percentage of papers in this application
area reflects the intense pressure on land due to
the very high population and population
densities found in the region.
While it is obviously not possible to describe
all of the operational applications of remote
sensing in the region, a number of examples of
different applications in different parts of the
region will be highlighted. In India a major
project has been the preparation of forest change
detection maps for the entire country using
satellite data of the period from 1972 to 1975
and from. 1982 „to. 1985. ‚Since. .ihen. the. forest
cover of the whole country has been monitored
biennially. Studies have also been carried out
over selected areas for mapping forest types, for
biomass assessment and for monitoring forest
plantations. Satellite remote sensing has also
been operational used in India for identifying
prospective ground water zones to enable ground
water exploitation. More than 200,000
boreholes have been drilled using this data,
with a success rate of over 90% compared to 45%
using conventional methods (Remote Sensing
Newsletter, 10, 3), .
The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June of 1991
showed the operational utility of using remote
sensing and GIS for damage assessment,
rehabilitation and development planning
activities. Oblique and vertical photography as
well as video images were initially used to
delineate and map the various areas affected by
ashfall and mudflow. Shortly after the eruption
MOS-MESSR imagery was acquired and was used
to determine the amount and extent of vegetation
loss and land cover change in the affected area.
A mudflow and siltation risk map for a worse-
case scenario was also generated using a
combination of aerial photographs, satellite
imagery and ground truth data. A physical,
socioeconomic and environmental database has
been established for the Mt. Pinatubo area, as
well as the establishment of a system for
updating information in the region. Both optical
and radar image data is currently being used to
provide update information as mudflows are,
even; now, still . active. (Remote .; Sensing
Newsletter, 10, 3).
In Vietnam satellite remotely sensed images
have been used for land form mapping. One
project used visual interpretation of Landsat
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B6. Vienna 1996
