Remote sensing against ground-based systems in monitoring natural forest resources in the West Africa sub-region
1997
Agyepong, G. T. | Agurgo, F. B.
Although remote sensing is globally accepted as a cost-effective means of collecting data over large areas for purposes of policy and decision making, the technology does not seem to have caught on well yet with most West African countries. This lack of patronage by governments, except under special projects with funds from outside, may be attributed more to the novelty of the science to this part of the world, than to the lack of political will. Traditional ground survey procedures continue to be adopted for data gathering in spite of the fact that these methods are slow and expensive in terms of both human and material resources. The principles of remote sensing are visited to give an insight of the technology to the not-too-technical reader, without sacrificing clarity for brevity. This paper examines the potential of remote sensing applications against the background of its limitations within the sub-region, highlight the fact that under the present technological circumstances certain aspects of data collection cannot be taken up completely by remote sensing techniques.
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