The function of remote sensing in support of environmental policy

Limited awareness of environmental remote sensing’s potential ability to support environmental policy development constrains the technology’s utilization. This paper reviews the potential of earth observation from the perspective of environmental policy. A literature review of “remote sensing and policy” revealed that while the number of publications in this field increased almost twice as rapidly as that of remote sensing literature as a whole (15.3 versus 8.8% yr−1), there is apparently little academic interest in the societal contribution of environmental remote sensing. This is because none of the more than 300 peer reviewed papers described actual policy support. This paper describes and discusses the potential, actual support, and limitations of earth observation with respect to supporting the various stages of environmental policy development. Examples are given of the use of remote sensing in problem identification and policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy control and evaluation. While initially, remote sensing contributed primarily to the identification of environmental problems and policy implementation, more recently, interest expanded to applications in policy control and evaluation. The paper concludes that the potential of earth observation to control and evaluate, and thus assess the efficiency and effectiveness of policy, offers the possibility of strengthening governance

A preliminary assessment of NigeriaSat - 1 for sustainable mangrove forest monitoring

Mangroves constitute an area of great ecological importance and regular assessment and monitoring of this ecosystem is an integral part of environmental management plan. The difficulty of access for ground survey has often limited the frequency of assessment of mangroves and remote sensing methods therefore provide a veritable means of assessment. However, accessibility to remotely sensed data as well as the cost have been major constraints for mangrove assessment in the developing countries. The launching of small satellites by some developing countries may therefore provide a solution to this problem. This paper is an attempt to evaluate the capability of NigeriaSat-1 which is one of the Disaster Management Constellation (DMC) small satellites for generation of baseline information on cover types and areal extents within the mangrove zone in Nigeria. This is important since cover information is always the first step for conservation and management. The study shows that the results obtained from NigeriaSat-1 have comparable accuracy with ASTER and Landsat ETM+. The findings documented in this paper could serve as a springboard for organized wetland management in Nigeria in particular and West Africa sub-region in general

Overexpression of arginase I in enterocytes of transgenic mice elicits a selective arginine deficiency and affects skin, muscle, and lymphoid development

BACKGROUND: Arginine is required for the detoxification of ammonia and the synthesis of proteins, nitric oxide, agmatine, creatine, and polyamines, and it may promote lymphocyte function. In suckling mammals, arginine is synthesized in the enterocytes of the small intestine, but this capacity is lost after weaning. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the significance of intestinal arginine production for neonatal development in a murine model of chronic arginine deficiency. DESIGN: Two lines of transgenic mice that express different levels of arginase I in their enterocytes were analyzed. RESULTS: Both lines suffer from a selective but quantitatively different reduction in circulating arginine concentration. The degree of arginine deficiency correlated with the degree of retardation of hair and muscle growth and with the development of the lymphoid tissue, in particular Peyer's patches. Expression of arginase in all enterocytes was necessary to elicit this phenotype. Phenotypic abnormalities were reversed by daily injections of arginine but not of creatine. The expression level of the very arginine-rich skin protein trichohyalin was not affected in transgenic mice. Finally, nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice did not show any of the features of arginine deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Enterocytes are important for maintaining arginine homeostasis in neonatal mice. Graded arginine deficiency causes graded impairment of skin, muscle, and lymphoid development. The effects of arginine deficiency are not mediated by impaired synthesis of creatine or by incomplete charging of arginyl-transfer RN