Global resource management: a systems approach to environmental problems

Abstract

The end ofthe Cold War offers an unprecedented opportunity to move defense technology into the arena of the commercial information age. One example of this conversion is Raytheon's Wide Area Surveillance (WAS) initiative, designed to provide information products to the public and governmental agencies of developing nations. Specifically, the WAS system integrates sensors, storage technology, data fusion techniques, and rule-based reasoning tools into a system capable of converting raw data from disparate sources into the products needed to support: environmental monitoring and protection; national resource development; economic development; and national sovereignty. A real-world application of this process is the WAS program designed to assist the Brazilian government with the sustainable development of the Amazon rain forest. The goal of this presentation is to address the objectives and methods of Wide Area Surveillance programs. The size and complexity of Brazil's System for the Vigilance of the Amazon (SIVAM) will offer an excellent forum for discussing the challenges of data acquisition, sensor fusion, system integration, and program financing in developing nations. The SIVAM program addresses issues such as illegal mining, deforestation, air and water pollution, protection of indigenous peoples, land use, smuggling, and narcotics trafficking.