Publication

21.10.2013

Activity Brief: 6th International Workshop on Remote Sensing and Environmental Innovations in Mongolia

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Mongolia is struggling with radical changes to both its cities and its rural areas as climate change and economic transformation reshapes the entire nation. Dealing with the scale and nature of that change is daunting, but it can be grasped in part from intelligent use of new technology. The challenge is to first of all understand which technology to use and how to fit it to a country still coming to terms with the opportunities a high-tech world has to offer.

Satellite data is becoming increasingly available and widely used in the natural, social and human sciences. Advances in Remote Sensing and Geospatial Information System (GIS) in particular offer a novel way of obtaining accurate data on land use and land cover change, both of which are essential if environmental problems are to be addressed effectively and in a timely way.

Mongolia’s changing economic and social lifestyle patterns are intensifying environmental pressures, including overgrazing, pollution from industrial and urban growth, desertification, and forest and steppe fires. Mongolia is also prone to natural disasters driven by climate change, including both droughts and floods.

The 6th International Workshop on Remote Sensing and Environmental Innovations in Mongolia was co-organised by The Research Center for Climate Change Adaptation (RCCCA) of Keio University – the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network’s (APAN) sub-regional node for Northeast Asia, along with the National University of Mongolia, Oxford University, and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science.

The workshop drew 98 participants from 13 countries (Belgium, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and United States) and eight Mongolian provinces. They included leaders from NGOs, governmental agency representatives, as well as academics and local community leaders.