MSS and Spot data to map the Nam Bo delta at 
1:250,000 and 1:1,000,000 scales. 
Supplementary materials used in the study 
included existing soil, topographic and 
vegetation maps. Twenty four landscape types 
were defined and mapped (Remote Sensing 
Newsletter, 9, 2) 
China, as earlier stated, is subjected to major 
floods each year. One such event in 1991 
seriously damaged 21 million hectares of 
cropland, destroyed 9 million rural homes and 
injured or killed more than 50,000 people. 
During the emergency agencies were kept up-to- 
date through remotely sensed data. SAR data 
acquisition was conducted over 1,600,000 km? 
of the six most severely flooded areas, with 
images “at” 1:50,000 ‘and  1;100,000 *beins 
available six hours later and transmitted to 
flood control headquarters for use in critical 
decision making. Using the digital image data 
displayed on monitors, the flood situation could 
be’ ‘clearly seen and in particular the effects of 
severe flooding on flood storage areas could be 
evaluated quickly (Remote Sensing Newsletter, 
992). 
Scientists in Japan have been particularly 
involved in research and development of global 
models for forests, land cover and estimates of 
supportable population by crop production 
(Murai, Ed., 1991). In the latter study a model 
was developed by first assessing the total area 
of existing and potential arable land, using the 
assumptions that forests should be conserved 
and grasslands can be converted to arable land. 
Estimates of these areas where based on remote 
sensing! measures "and "auxiliary “ data: 
Supportable population was estimated by 
dividing crop production by crop consumption 
per capita. 
Weather forecasting is also a major concern and 
user of satellite remotely sensed data, in the 
region. The National Weather forecasting Centre 
at Nadi in Fiji uses the Japanese GMS imagery 
for determining the position, movement and 
intensity of weather systems. Data from this 
satellite is widely used throughout East Asia, 
Australasia and the Pacific countries for 
weather forecasting. Significant collaboration 
occurs between the countries of the region in 
this important operational application. 
A further major use of remote sensing has been 
in the monitoring and management of coral reefs. 
Australia has been very active in this area and 
the whole of the Great Barrier Reef, the largest 
coral reef in the world, stretching thousands of 
kilometres down the  north-east coast of 
Australia, has been mapped, both for reefs and 
54 
water depth, using satellite remote sensing 
techniques. 
A good reference text for applications is 
"Applications of Remote Sensing in Asia and 
Oceania - Environmental Change Monitoring", 
published by the Asian Association on Remote 
Sensing. 
4. REGIONAL REMOTE SENSING 
RESOURCES 
The Asia-Pacific region is very well placed with 
regard to resources directed towards remote 
sensing applications. The reception footprint of 
receiving stations virtually cover the whole 
region apart from New Zealand and the island 
nations of the Pacific. In some areas a large 
overlap occurs. This is particularly so in the 
South Fast Asian sub-region, where stations in 
Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and a soon to be 
established reception facility in Malaysia have 
considerable overlap. There are at “least 10 
reception facilities covering the region, 
although not all receive data from all available 
remote sensing satellite systems. 
Three countries of the region have launched 
remote sensing satellites, these being India, 
China and Japan, which are supported by 
sophisticated ground support facilities and 
application programmes.. These range from high 
spatial resolution optical systems, some with 
stereoscopic capacity, to NOAA-like and 
meteorological satellite systems and synthetic 
aperture radar systems. Australia, Japan, India 
and China have also been very active in the 
development of airborne optical and micro 
wavelength systems. Other countries have 
developed specialised application industries, in 
particular Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, 
Australia and New Zealand. 
Countries of the region have also developed a 
range of remote sensing image analysis, 
photogrammetric and GIS software. For example 
the Australian developed ER Mapper is one of 
the world's largest selling image analysis 
software.  Virtuozo, a softcopy photogrammetric 
system, which is now making inroads on the 
world's markets, was developed in China and 
commercialised in Australia. In-house country 
developed GIS and remote sensing software are 
widely used in India, China and Japan in 
preference to systems developed and marketed 
from countries outside the region. 
The region is also very well supported by 
education and training institutions and 
programmes. Major institutions for university 
based training and research, include the Wuhan 
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B6. Vienna 1996 
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