Use Of Satellite Imagery In Interpreting Environmental Change: The Case Of Chivi Communal Lands

Abstract

This article describes how a Spot Satellite imagery was used to describe and interpret the state of the environment in Chivi Communal Lands (Please note that the satellite imagery used by the author was in full color, but the one which appears in this publication is in black and white due to financial constraints). Various map types and aerial photographs were used as complementary sources of data as well as the alternative for "ground truthing". It was established that the Spot I Satellite imagery clearly picked out various aspects of the environment in Chivi Communal Lands such as silted rivers, over exposed soils, settlements, different terrain types, vegetation, and infrastructure like roads. The imagery can therefore serve as a predictor of the state of the environment at the time it was taken. It can thus serve as a tool for promoting environmental education at school. Through environmental education, we can promote positive and responsible attitudes towards the environment. Environmental education in Zimbabwe is formalized through incorporating environmental concepts and issues in curriculum at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. Because satellite remote sensing is increasingly becoming an important tool for environmental surveillance, change detection, and planning in Zimbabwe, teachers at high school and those responsible for teacher training are encouraged to incorporate this technique of describing the environment into their environmental education courses.