Agro-climatic/environmental monitoring

The project will provide the BDG"s Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) with the facilities and training necessary to more comprehensively utilize environmental data obtained from satellites and other remote sensing technologies. The project will finish equipping SPARRSO"s Advanced Meteorological Groundstation, which will receive satellite data on a 24-hour basis, including high resolution picture transmissions from U.S., Japanese, and Indian satellites, as well as back-up low resolution pictures from these satellites and the Russian Meteor series satellite. In addition, an array of 30 data collection platforms will be placed in relatively inaccessible locations throughout the country and will monitor a number of environmental measures (e.g., temperature, barometric pressure, rainfall, river stage and flow, and wind speeds and direction). Project-funded equipment will enable SPARRSO to upgrade the analysis of high-resolution meteorological satellite and LANDSAT imagery from the existing visual and manual techniques to more precise digital techniques. The project will also provide factory and on-the-job training to groundstation operators, and short-term overseas training in remote sensing applications to SPARRSO staff. SPARRSO will prepare a variety of products (inter alia, land use maps, resource management information systems, forest inventories, cloud and storm studies) for BDG agencies, especially the Ministries of Agriculture and of Forestry, the Meteorological Department, and the Water Development Board. Of particular concern are: early identification of seasonal floods and drought and storm damage; changes in water and land resources caused by shifts in the size and direction of rivers; patterns of siltation and the emergence of new lands, particularly in the Bay of Bengal; and assessment of the development potential of forested areas and fish habitats. PP Supplement and Amendment of 3/29/89 provides additional funding for TA, U.S. and in-country training, and equipment. During the remainder of the project, SPARRSO will move from its current resource orientation to a stress on applications. Emphasis will be on improving: SPARRSO"s organizational structure and implementing mechanisms; its interface with user agencies, scientific information networks, and international and regional organizations; and its knowledge of new developments in remote sensing. (PD-AAZ-074)