Dealing with desertification and understanding the dynamics of drought involve a high degree of uncertainty with complex technical, socio-economic and political variables. For this reason the role of science and technology cannot be over emphasized. Agenda 21 recognized the important contribution of science and technology to environmental monitoring, particularly in the optimum use of satellites for communications, navigation and positioning and meteorology.

The overall objective of this thematic programme area is to enhance the desertification monitoring and assessment capacities of countries in the region through the establishment of a network and the harmonization of approaches for its conduct in the region.
Click here for more background information...

Task Manager: Prof. Hongbo Ju General Director Institute of Forest Resource Information Technologies Chinese Academy of Forestry Wan Shou Shan Hou, Haidian District Beijing 100091, China Tel: +86-10 62889160 Fax: +86-10 62888315 E-mail: ju@info.forestry.ac.cn

Desertification map produced by ground truth data. The map shows that a large part of the land suffers from a moderate or high degree of degradation (click to enlarge)

Other information on TPN1:

»  TPN1 website
»  Relevant meetings