The Role of Remote Sensing

Although key relief efforts will be conducted on the ground, remote sensing contributes to these activities in several ways:

In providing an input for regional, high resolution land cover change mapping
In identifying areas most heavily damaged
In characterizing regions that are currently too dangerous or otherwise inaccessible
As a mission planning tool
By providing a long-term, low-cost solution for monitoring the regenerative process of effected ecosystems

The DigitalGlobe and GeoEye-OrbImage donation will facilitate these efforts and will substantively increase the effectiveness of the IUCN response.