| dc.description.abstract | Remote Sensing has been used to document resources systematically since the turn of the century using tools such as air-borre cameras.
The techniques when used provide a synoptic vjow of a region and also can be used to guide and facilitate fieldwork. Remote sensing technology has advanced and hence enabled the documentation process to proceed.
It is imperative to show how land-use changes that have occurred in the study area can be monitored using remotely sensed data sources such as aerial photographs; also that planning of resources such as fuelwood (vegetation cover) and the resultant decision-making can be effectively carried out using the same data.
Aerial photography has been in use for a long time in cartographic and engineering works but has been used less by planners, land-use analysts and geographers due to the technology involved. Like planning, the analysis and application of remotely sensed data involves the joint efforts of resource technologists, planners and decision-makers at all levels of policy-making and project implementation.
The study sets out to test the efficacy of the aerial photography technique in providing information on land-use changes due to primarily fuelwood demands, in the study area. It also proposes a method of resource planning and decision-making with emphasis on vegetation cover (fuelwood) using aerial photography as a source of remotely sensed data. It is assumed that remote sensing technology will be used increasingly as an efficient data gathering tool in the country.
Vegetation cover in rural areas such as Tetu Division will also be depleted in terms of woody biomass while population will increase and result in land-use changes and greater demands on the land for fuelwood and also food.
The study found out that aerial photographs can
enable the planner to plan land-use for a resource
such as fuelwood by depicting clearly, large areas suitable and available for such a land-use. The areas that have been cleared of vegetation over the y- ars can also be shown using such photographs and the land- use that has replaced them thus enabling a planner to know whether any replacement of trees or other vegetation or agricultural land-use has occurred.Also, the physical characteristics of the land such as the steepness and ruggedness can be picked out from the stereo-plot maps. These maps are plotted using the aerial photographs.
The study concludes that aerial photography can be used effectively for monitoring purposes which is a management aspect of planning. They also provide a reliable data base which is essential for planning and decision-making although the use of these photographs is constrained due to their high costs and also need for skilled man-power in data analysis. Recommendations are made for the drawing up of policies that cater for the demand of fuel wood, protect the" environment while remaining cost ef f f,c t i ve. Also, that other types of remotely sensed data be adapted to the planning process due to their added advantage of being quick data producers, reliable and accurate. Application of remote-sensing shoud go beyond data collection and analysis, to the actual use in planning and decision-making processes which result in policy formulation and implementation. | |
