A Partnered Response

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to the promotion of sound environmental governance, science and management. It is working extensively in protected areas in the tsunami-effected region . The Global Land Cover Facility is supporting the efforts of IUCN to address all of the protected areas in and around the Indian Ocean.

Digital Globe, Inc. has made a donation of high resolution imagery covering a range of impacted protected areas. DigitalGlobe facilitates the collection and archive of high-quality geospatial information data and ensures the most easy-to-use and flexible distribution possible. Its QuickBird satellite provides high resolution imagery and is ideal for local community level impact assessment.

GeoEye, Inc. has also made a donation of high resolution imagery covering a range of impacted protected areas. This donation of OrbView imagery provides high resolution imagery that will assist with local level impact assessment.

The Global Land Cover Facility is working with the conservation community in order to better understand the impact of the tsunami on natural protected areas in the region. GLCF is specifically concerned with several questions relating to the tsunami event:

  1. How were protected areas affected in the period immediately following the tsunami event?
  2. Did land cover have a role in mitigating damage to certain protected areas and, if so, what lessons might be learned for future mitigation efforts?
  3. The livelihoods of many communities are tied to protected areas - as a result for example of revenue derived from tourism. As such, how are the protected areas recovering? What is the link between protected area recovery and the recovery of communities in the immediate region?

Active partnership between the conservation community, through IUCN, the remote sensing community, through DigitalGlobe, and the research community, through GLCF, will result in tangible outcomes, especially those needed to support these tsunami assessment efforts. We welcome any further collaboration in this venture; please contact us for additional information.