PEAT REWETTING PROJECT SAVES 3 MIO. t CO2 PER YEAR
November 21, 2019
CoExist KICK-OFF MEETING AT UN-IOM
November 28, 2019
In collaboration with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Nairobi (Kenya) and an EU funded project on camel milk value chains, RSS has developed a satellite-based method that is able to discern spread, risk and occurrence areas for Prosopis juliflora and Parthenium hysterophorous over wider areas in Somaliland (Africa). Both invasive species are wide-spread in, particularly, African drylands and negatively affect livelihoods of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities. Parthenium is a toxic weed that causes a reduction in cereal crop yields between 40% and 97%, while prosopis reduced fodder availability, impedes the growth of native tree species, reduces water table depths and provides a breeding ground for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. If connected to on the ground interventions, the monitoring method will help to safeguard communities and important conservation areas.
The new monitoring method is published in ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing
PERSPECTIVES
In the short term, the results can be used to raise awareness of the spread of invasive species and their associated impacts. Going forward, the scale out of economically viable interventions to priority and containment areas can be effectively supported by the mapping products. Specifically, the mapping procedure can be operationalized to render near real time information on active and more passive spread areas for more targeted control.
