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production of ten kilometre resolution maps showing the
distribution, over time, of the different livestock species
world-wide.
In the framework of its EMPRES Programmes the Recon-
naissance and Management System of the Environment of
Schistocerca (RAMSES) system has been implemented.
RAMSES improves the use of Meteosat and NOAA-
AVHRR data for the early detection of locust breeding
areas in Africa, in association with locally collected, geo-
referenced field data and the historical desert locust data-
base. The database, which resides at FAO in a dedicated
GIS called SWARMS, covers a span from the late 1920s to
the present.
2. Land Cover Mapping
To assist in addressing land cover information required for
land dynamics study and sustainable natural resources
management, FAO is implementing an AFRICOVER project,
which was initiated in 1995. The project aims to establish a
multi-purpose digital land-cover database for selected sub-
regions in Africa. It produces land-cover maps on the scale
1:250,000 (1:1,000,000 and 1:100,000 in certain cases),
using the same geographic references and projection sys-
tem in Africa, as well as a common harmonised legend; with
updated information on drainage, topography, roads and
land-cover features, etc. The project has been implemented
by FAO through close co-operation between regional and
national remote sensing centres and mapping agencies in
Africa. Through involving major stakeholders in the coun-
tries in technical workshops, a harmonised land-cover clas-
sification system and geometrical parameters were defined
for the project. The east African component of AFRICOVER
is anticipated to be completed by 2000. In addition,
preparatory and methodological work has resulted in a
number of publications on mapping guidelines and stan-
dards, including a publication on the land cover classifica-
tion system which contains four modules on classification,
legend, field data and translation.
Since 1996, the World Bank, together with FAO, has been
implementing a Regional Environmental Information Man-
agement Project (REIMP) in Central Africa. This project aims
at improving and strengthening of planning and manage-
ment of natural resources in the countries of the Congo
Basin by providing the various stakeholders with appropriate
environmental information. The project involves some one
hundred organisations from the public, private and NGO
sector, which all work in a national and regional network
structure. As the lead agency, FAO is responsible for the nor-
mative as well as technical control activities of the project.
3. Coastal Zone Management
In support of coastal area ecosystems management, an
Integrated Coastal Assessment and Monitoring System
(ICAMS) was developed to monitor water quality and
coastal resources distribution and usage parameters by
using multiple Earth observation data, such as satellite
data from SeaWIFS and future ENVISAT sensors and in
situ measurements. Such a system will provide data of
appropriate spatial and temporal scale to address infor-
mation needs in coastal management, such as the origins,
the causes and implications of changes in coastal water
quality on associated resources. End-to-end operational
International Archives of Photogrammerty and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part A. Amsterdam 2000.
viability of the ICAMS approach is currently being demon-
strated through pilot applications at three European sites
that address a range of coastal issues: monitoring
eutrophication in Po Estuary (Adriatic, Italy, a study of
fisheries oceanography in the North Aegean (Greece) and
risk assessment of "red tides" in Bantry Bay (Ireland).
Efforts are also underway to apply the ICAMS concept to
address Nile Delta coastal area management issues in
Egypt, with an emphasis on further consolidation of the
Nile River Monitoring and Forecasting System by incorper-
ating a related control/decision support system.
4. Forest Resource Assessment
The 1990 Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) project of
FAO demonstrated that with the help of remote sensing,
information on changes in forest and land use could be
obtained on a global basis in a cost-effective, timely and
statistically sound manner. To address information needs
of the international community for studies on global
changes, FAO has decided to continue to implement FRA
on a regular basis in order to build consistent and reliable
time-series observations of forest and land use. FAO is
currently executing the global forest resource assessment
for the year 2000 (FRA 2000) which relies on the use of
remote sensing for many of its components, ranging from
coarse resolution global coverage for land cover mapping
to high and very high resolution multi-date satellite
imagery for surveying global and regional forest/land cover
changes. The FRA 2000 includes an active country capac-
ity building activity, allowing countries to participate
actively in the assessment process.
FAO considers forest fire management and related activi-
ties an integral part of the conservation and sustainable
management of forests, which is at the core of the forestry
programme of the Organisation. Activities related to the
use of fire as a tool, as well as those related to fire predic-
tion, prevention and control, have received long-standing
attention in FAO programmes. FAO has consistently pro-
vided information and technical assistance to its member
countries and to the international community in the area of
forest fire prevention, control and management, within the
framework of the regular and field programmes. The draft
Strategy for Forestry in FAO, prepared within the proposed
FAO Strategic Framework, includes provision for a data-
base on forest fires and technical assistance in forest fire
management and the focusing of attention on policy, legal
and institutional issues related to forest fire management.
With the Government of the Netherlands, FAO has also
developed a Forest Assessment and Monitoring Environ-
ment (FAME) concept. This programme aims at defining,
developing and implementing a dedicated operational
end-to-end satellite remote sensing capacity for providing
real-time access to appropriate remote sensing data for
supporting sustainable forest management at the sub-
national level, complementary to the FRA programme.
During 1998, FAO contributed to a comprehensive FAME
User Requirements Study (URS), co-ordinated by the
International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sci-
ences (ITC). The Final FAME-URS Report was issued in
June 1999 and a number of follow-up activities under the
FAO/Netherlands co-operation framework have benefited
from the study.
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