Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System for Developing Countries

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Introduction

The greatest challenge faced by Engineers, decision-makers, managers and planners is the assurance of land sustainability management, (for rural and urban lands). This is concerned with the provision of food, education, social services, health, transportation (rail network and roads), exploitation of natural resources, development of infrastructure, industrial development, telecommunication, population control, and environmental protection for accelerated development of a country and its effort to recover its economy without the destruction of the environment for future generations. The surfacing and modern technology use of Geo-information has been discovered to be useful in Environmental information development, and Database for land management as a tool for sustainable land and information development for the environment. These include the rural and urban lands. If the infrastructure of a town is old , or not developed adequately, or under pressure increasingly, and can not be measured up to technologies that are advanced at present (Abiodun, p. 22). The capacity of such a town for global interaction is reduced. The sustainability of an urban area is correlated highly with the capacity of natural resources of the environmental system. Development that is sustainable over the long term can not be feasible where the environmental circumstance is deteriorating. At the same time unmanaged and unplanned urban growth, can lead to the destruction of natural resources. The pressure of population on environmental productive capacities, have in past cases lead to the creation of environmental refugees through displacement. In recognition of the above development, The United Nations Center for Human Settlement (UNCHS), Environmental relationship. These bodies launched a global concern. And their principal goal was to handle the challenges of urban development sustainability. Thus the need for digital maps of various selected towns or cities of the world. The importance of remote sensing and geographical information systems in enhancing the development of these towns, cities and their respective countries cannot be overemphasized.

One of the basic reasons for the rapid expansion of Remote sensing(RS) and Geographical information system (GIS) in the world include, the need for special data knowledge to enhance decision making. This is also a result of English use as a global Language, and the internet expanding capabilities. Knowledge of the impact and use of GIS is vital, and the most important in the application and understanding of GIS in traditional disciplines. Though the local needs of institutions differ around the world, courses on GIS, to an extent are becoming global. For example, various universities around the world are using the core curriculum on GIS that has been developed by the University of California. International universities additionally are specializing in GIS. UNIGIS has overcome, political, cultural and other boundaries, and has developed an internet as a communication and global assessment tool, with learning at distance as one of its roles, more institutions are offering degrees and courses in GIS. The internet also has played a role in up-to-date information flow; for example, students in developing countries in the past, were dependent on sources that were outdated to obtain GIS/RS information. Today, information that is current can be obtained within minutes. With information at fingertips state department can assess information at ease to enhance decision making and this will in turn propel the development of a country.

GIS and RS Penetration in the UAE Market

The United Arab Emirate (UAE) was established in 1971, it is a seven emirates federation, with an area of 83,600 square kilometers, its population is approximately three million and a 6.5 % growth rate annually. To meet population growth, and attain sustainable development, for better management of its resources UAE is moving towards the use of GIS and RS. The first step in resource management is data availability. And there are numerous advantages of data in digital form, one of which is easy manipulation and management that is efficient leading to time reduction and hence minimization of cost required to generate a product. The UAE lack land use data and RS seem to be these data source. The availability of satellite data from ENVISAT, ERS-1-2, and SPOT, as well as satellite from commercial imagery, such as QuikBird, have played important roles in the development of data. Based on use and developing needs, special GIS and RS labs have been built throughout UAE by various agencies. These are used for land mapping, water and electricity management, oil exploration, sand dunes delineation, and the management of telecommunication. This has enhanced the decision-making in the various sectors, and thus the growth of the UAE. An important factor militating against the penetration of GIS and RS in the UAE is the economy. The oil revenue, places the UAE in a position better than other developing countries in providing GIS and RS infrastructure. However, GIS and RS diffusion are not equal in the UAE (Crystal, p.24).

GIS and RS in Education in the UAE

More colleges and universities each day, seek information on how to start GIS and RS programs, this is as a result of their interest in enhancing the development of the UAE. And other reason developmental reasons are; the upgrading of education technologically, the need to identify new funding sources, the demand for more professional

Emirate Telecommunication Cooperation

Since Emirates Telecommunication Corporation was established, it has succeeded in UAE transformation as one of the advanced countries existing in today’s world, in terms of telecom services (Baker, p43). The launching of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Etisalat work majorly is of geographic nature. For example, the location of telephone lines needs to be known, fiber optics lines, switches, radio/ television stations, and importantly, for the head-office coordination and other branches. GIS history in Etisalat has been in existence since 1989, at the introduction of graphic data systems (GDS). There was an adoption of these systems in all the branches, almost all the engineers are used to this. The system function is to display Etisalat network graphically. The jobs potential for the graduates for GIS in companies such as Etisalat is very high (Crystal, p.23).

Remote Sensing and Fishing in Chile

Along the coastline of Chile, swordfish is one valuable species that is the source of revenue for artisan fishers. Climatic conditions affect many of these fish, and are seasonally found in areas where the surface temperature of the sea, varies by just a few degrees alongside thermal fronts. In order to locate the fish, thermometers are used by fishers as well as watercolor checks, for phytoplankton the food on which the fish feed (ADWEA, p.23). Two or more days are used by fishers prospecting the sea, spending time and fuel in trying to find the fish. 40% of the operating cost is spent on prospecting. A simple method has been developed by Researchers to produce maps that are timely to assist in fish location. The project, tagged SATAL, makes use of data in map preparation of the likely location of the fish. The use of maps has enhanced the number of fish caught, and the season for fishing has also increased. Revenue of the fishers has changed as a result of the use of maps, aside from the advantages of using the maps they are expensive to come by. Fishers are thought how to use these maps (Burrough, p.78).

Maps impact

Better opportunities have been created as a result of Allowed assess to the technology, for communities, without good initiatives as this, the technology would have been made available only to large companies. Over the last few years, the use of remote sensing has spread in Chile. In addition to the recently acquired satellite tracking station by SATAL project. Notice has been made of the community’s increased interest in discussing fishing topics as a result of the SATAL bulletin. The involvement of fishers in project work, for example, the gathering of data, has helped in the building of the capacity of the fishers and as an extension that of the nation (Hastings, p.56).

Enhanced Catch and Increase in the Fishing Area

The fishing area previously covered by the fishers has been increased totally as a result of use of the SST maps. The

The use of GIS and RS for the support system of district administration –the experience in Maharashtra state

The technology of information based on GIS or RS, has an important role to play for, interdepartmental preparedness, information sharing, optimized response, post-event recovery, mitigation, and planning. Accurate, reliable, and information that is meaningful remains one of the most important components when it comes to management efforts. The data collected from satellites is suitable for the implementation of development schemes, and monitoring temporal variables at varying scales. Before now, spatial analyses were carried out using satellite images of different resolutions. With the present satellite images that are of high resolution, more detailed features can now be observed on the ground. Monitoring and managing possibilities resources at farm level, is now a reality. Frequently data are integrated with other source data to meet the requirements of application (Baker, p.45).

Considerable effort has been made by Maharashtra state in developmental activities undertaking. And modern technology uses to enhance management efficiency of natural resources, and for administrative support in the state. In the last decade, the Maharashtra Remote Sensing Application Center (MRSAC), has pioneered the utilization and promotion of GIS and RS for the mapping of natural resources. Besides district administration support provision. For proper drawing of the appropriate action plan and on-ground implementation, basic information from remote sensing generation is required. There is along with side land resource collateral sources, administrative resources, water resources, and the critical evaluation of infrastructure, in order to comprehend the condition that is existing, in terms of the status of natural resources and their distribution spatially. This is about conditions that are socio-economic in nature (Longley, p67).

Today, database has been generated on natural resources by MRSAC on 1:250,000 and 1:50,000 scale for the Maharashtra state entirely. Themes on land use, are comprised in database, soil, land cover, watersheds, drainage, hydro geomorphology, network of transport, and administrative boundaries that are different. Currently, MRSA has completed a map database on geo-referenced villages. Since the databases are in the environment of GIS (Baker, 12). It is feasible and easy to transfer the proposal of planning on village maps. This database is important for water and soil conservation, watershed treatment, targeting of groundwater and impact assessment monitoring, besides the use for supporting the administrative system. The database of the resources are been archived at the MRSAC data warehouse. The warehouse to which the asses to is made possible through the Internet by the state department (Longley, p. 67).

Maharashtra state-Civic Information System

Satellite images of high resolution are used for planning and monitoring of urban areas in the state of Maharashtra state, with reference made especially to slum area monitoring, database generation on various facilities, and civic information development.

Remote sensing and Geographic information system: Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity System. (ADWEA)

The department of water and electricity was established in 1966 by the Abu Dhabi Government. Its function was to provide reliable and safe water and electricity for its citizens. These were done to promote economic and social development of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. The electricity and water Department as of 1996 grew to a capacity of 3000MW and desalinated water of about 200 million gallons. The electricity and water department in addition has employed a support and technical staff of about 20,000 employees. The Abu Dhabi Water and electricity authority in 1998 was established. The principal objective and goal,of the ADWEA is the electricity and water industry privatization. The benefit of GIS has been recognized by ADWEA, and by 2002 the recognition was converted into GIS real project.160 processes of business are addressed by the GIS project( Abiodun,p40). 25 offices involved in the initiation, operation, design, maintenance and activities of the administration of the electricity and water transmission in the whole of the emirate. The Redlands Institute (2002) asserts that, This US $14 million, 180 contractors, 240,000 person hour, fourteen-month fast track project is one of the most comprehensive and aggressive utility enterprise implementation efforts ever undertaken anywhere in the world (Hastings, P32). These are the examples of the software used, ArcInfo(18), ArcSDE(1), ArcEditor(60), ArcIMS(1), and ArcView(105)( Hastings, p23). Presently, a special database used for the water system and electricity network and users GIS application is made available at other authorities in water management.

Dubai Municipality

Virtually every UAE municipality, is starting to implement GIS. AN example is the Dubai municipality, it was chosen as a result of GIS licenses number and GIS development that is noticeable. Dubai municipality currently has Micro Station, Geomedia, MGE, in addition to other products as (ArcSDE(1), ArcInfo(2), ArcView(8), Arc Editor(2)), running on about eight computers. The basic Municipality use of the GIS is in updating master plans and utilities and mapping (Baker, p45). The latest technology is used by the municipality in mapping, the Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS) systems that help, engineers, surveyors, scientists, and others to make position of points for which data has been collected (Crystal, p34). The Dubai Municipality has been helped by the new technology, in the elimination of the crude or traditional land record-keeping methods in paper files and updated data that is reliable is kept in digital formats.

Dubai Municipality GIS is not limited to hard copy traditional products , but has transformed to GIS that is web-based. The Dubai municipality GIS center has developed GIS system that is online-based (Crystal, p21). With the ability to pan, zoom in and out, hotlinks and info. The ability to search community by community, building and street number is an added ability. The classification of the search, is based on the type of needed service, for example, find a facility (hotel, bank), locate address, or locating a place. Not only the location map of the facility is provided by the system, but also the facility photo, facility address and other nearby facilities. Another major site advantage is the view that is provided ion the X and Y coordinates of the facility under search, and aerial registered photographs with the maps and Arabic language support. With handheld GPS receivers, pinpointing a location using X and Y coordinates, is now becoming commonplace( Hastings, p89).Therefore, if the coordinates of a facility are found by a user, the GPS receiver can be used to identify the facility easily.

Conclusion

The UAE is a very good example of a country that is fast developing, and GIS and RS are enhancing or contributing to the enhancement of this growth. Degrees in GIS and RS are been offered by some universities in the UAE. And there is evidence of more of such degrees to come. This ai as a result of the perceived importance of this area of study to the development of a country. Though challenges are encountered in the expansion attempt of GIS and RS, Local resources, resource sharing, developed nation’s sponsorship, have been employed as measures to comb these hurdles. And also the selling of this ideal to a politician on the benefits or contribution of GIS and RS. It is thus right to state categorically that RS and GIS can contribute effectively to the development of developing nations.

Work cited

Abiodun, A. D. Centres for space science and technology education: a United Nations initiative. International Journal of Remote Sensing 14(9), (1993).

ADWEA, Abu Dhabi Water and Electrical Authority. (2003). Web.

Baker, J. C., Commercial observation satellites: At the leading edge of global transparency. Washington D. C.: Rand. (2001).

Burrough, P. A., Principles of geographical information systems,., New York: Oxford (1998).

Crystal, D. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University. (1997).

Hastings, D. A. GIS in Africa: Problems, challenges, Capetown: AFP (1991).

Longley, P. A., Geographic Information Systems and Science. New York: John Wiley and Sons. (2003).

Loveland, T. R. The International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Data and Information System (IGBP-DIS) global 1 km land cover Data set, DISCover: First results. International Journal of Remote Sensing. (2007).

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