Description

Satellite-based Earth observations provide a transparent, repeatable, and cost-effective method for global monitoring of natural resources. These observations are critical to inform conservation management and provide valuable input to policy tools such as the Convention on Biological Diversity Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, and other climate change and sustainable development conventions. This conservation campus provided an overview of satellite remote sensing for conservation decision-makers and provided specific applications and hands-on demonstrations of how to use Earth observations to inform conservation policy and management.

Objectives

The workshop, led by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training program (ARSET), introduced participants to the application of remote sensing to a variety of IUCN supported conservation initiatives and international climate change agreements. Participants worked through a series of self-paced, hands-on, step-by-step exercises based on readily available web tools. The objective of this workshop was to build capacity for decision and policy makers in order to:

• Understand the basics of satellite remote sensing and its application to the conservation of biodiversity, natural resource management, and ecosystem services
• Become familiar with open and freely available web tools used for Earth observations that can contribute to conservation objectives

Target Audience

This course was designed for a broad audience, including resource managers and policy makers that are interested in learning the basic concepts of remote sensing and apply them directly to conservation goals.

Course Format

• One day

Sessions

Part 1: Who We Are and Why Remote Sensing?

An introduction to the campus, trainers, and participants, the objectives of the campus, and brief examples of how practitioners use remote sensing for conservation. 

Materials

• Part 1 Presentation Slides (PDF, 10.3 MB)

Part 2: Introduction to Remote Sensing

Key concepts and fundamentals of remote sensing and how remote sensing data products can be applied to aid IUCN-supported conservation initiatives.

Materials

• Part 2 Presentation Slides (PDF, 16.0 MB)

Part 3: Remote Sensing for Conservation and Biodiversity

Materials

• Part 3a Presentation Slides: Animal Movement (PDF, 1.2 MB)
• Part 3b Presentation Slides: Dynamic Habitat Index for Biodiversity (PDF, 506 KB)
• Part 3 Presentation Slides: Citizen Science Approach to Chimpanzee Monitoring (Jane Goodall Foundation) (PDF, 9.2 MB)

In support of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem (IPBES), Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) Key Biodiversity Areas, Convention on Biological Diversity, and Aichi Targets.

• Part 3d Presentation Slides: Vegetation Carbon Stock Corridors (PDF, 858 KB)
• Part 3e Presentation Slides: New and Emerging Uses of Remote Sensing for Land Change Detection (PDF, 5.2 MB)
• Part 3f Presentation Slides: Firecast Success Stories – Near Real-Time Monitoring for Improved Landscape Management (PDF, 1.3 MB)
• Part 3g Presentation Slides: Introduction to Google Earth Engine (PDF, 4.4 MB)

In support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Protected Planet (World Database on Protected Areas) with UNEP-WCMC, IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, REDD+, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Part 4: Remote Sensing Tools and Data Exploration Exercises

Materials

• Land Management and Ecosystem Based Tools
  • Part 4a Presentation Slides: Coral Reef Watch (PDF, 225 KB)
  • Part 4b Presentation Slides: Firecast (Near Real-Time Monitoring) (PDF, 542 KB)
• Species, Biodiversity, and Habitat Based Tools
  • Part 4c Presentation Slides: Google Earth Engine Explorer (PDF, 22 KB)
  • Part 4d Presentation Slides: MODIS NDVI Anomalies and Time Series (PDF, 642 KB)

Part 5: Feedback and Wrap-up

Linkages between tools covered in training and broader IUCN initiatives, and closing up the training. 

Materials

• Part 5a Presentation Slides: Remote Sensing, the IUCN Programme, and Supported Conservation Initiatives (PDF, 88 KB)
• Part 5b Presentation Slides: Wrap-up (PDF, 1.0 MB)