Abstract
Land cover maps are a critical component to make informed policy, development, planning, and resource management decisions. However, technical, capacity, and institutional challenges inhibit the creation of consistent and relevant land cover maps for use in developing regions. Many developing regions lack coordinated capacity, infrastructure, and technologies to produce a robust land cover monitoring system that meets land management needs. Local capacity may be replaced by external consultants or methods which lack long-term sustainability. In this study, we characterize 9 and respond to the key land cover mapping gaps and challenges encountered in the Lower Mekong (LMR) and Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region through a needs assessment exercise and a collaborative system design. Needs were assessed using multiple approaches, including focus groups, user engagement workshops, and online surveys. Efforts to understand existing limitations and stakeholder needs resulted in a co-developed and modular land cover monitoring system which utilizes state-of-the-art cloud computing and machine learning which leverages freely available Earth observations. This approach meets the needs of diverse actors and is a model for transnational cooperation.
Highlights
Accurate and timely land cover maps play a critical role in a variety of sectors in the developing world including food security, land use planning, hydrology modeling, and natural resource management planning
The purpose of this paper is to review the key challenges in land cover mapping and monitoring in the Lower Mekong and Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region and to outline design principles for the co-development of a Regional Land Cover Monitoring System
First is a description of the major land cover mapping challenges facing government and civil society organizations in the Lower Mekong Region (LMR) and HKH regions
Summary
Accurate and timely land cover maps play a critical role in a variety of sectors in the developing world including food security, land use planning, hydrology modeling, and natural resource management planning. Foresters use land cover maps to develop sustainable harvest management plans, integrate biodiversity conservation, and engage in climate finance initiatives such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in Developing countries (REDD+) or Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) (Buchanan et al, 2008; Hall et al, 2011; Potapov et al, 2019). Many developing regions lack the coordinated capacity to produce timely, accurate, and temporally comparable geospatial data products sufficient to meet their management needs (Jha and Chowdary, 2007)
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