Deforestation viewed from space. Slash-and-burn agriculture in tropical countries. / La déforestation vue par les satellites. L’agriculture sur brûlis en région tropicale humide

This multimedia CD-ROM results from a CIRAD-ICRAF (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement/International Centre for Agroforestry) research project and was produced by CIRAD supported by FFEM (Fonds français pour l'environnement mondial). It can be run using Windows 3.1, 95, 98 or NT, carries both French and English text and spoken commentary, and presents many images and graphs. The introduction gives brief details of the coverage, global distribution and threatened rate of disappearance of tropical forests, and of the harmful environmental effects of deforestation. It notes that two-thirds of deforestation results from slash-and-burn (S&B) carried out by the poorest farmers, and that remote sensing information is needed to locate, monitor and collect knowledge on the problems. The main part of the CD-ROM is in 4 parts. The first part, The ASB (Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn) Initiative, gives further details of S&B types (traditional S&B, S&B agriculture in disequilibrium, S&B for land clearance/colonization, S&B for illegal crops), extent (by forest types and region/area) and environmental impact (the greenhouse effect, land degradation/erosion, water balance, loss of biodiversity) of slash-and-burn, the ASB Programme, and ASB benchmark sites. The ASB Programme was initiated in 1992, and is a system-wide initiative of CGIAR; it has a consortium of over 45 corporate, national and private partners. ICRAF is the convening centre for the global programme, which aims to improve S&B farmers' welfare and protect the environment by developing land-use practices that offer the Farmers sustainable and profitable agricultural alternatives. The objectives and research strategy are outlined: objectives include the characterization of processes leading to deforestation, selection and evaluation of alternatives to S&B which improve food security, alleviate poverty and protect the environment, the development of policy options, the facilitation of innovation adoption, and national capacity building. The second part describes the practice of remote sensing - satellite types, techniques, the uses of satellite imagery - and its use for investigating deforestation with specific reference to S&B; examples and details are given of the imagery used at each site. The third part visits the ASB benchmark sites in the Amazon, Central Africa and South East Asia (Peru, Cameroon, Thailand, Brazil, Indonesia), presenting imagery and giving details of the political situation, altitude and population. The last part of the CD-ROM is a model which simulates deforestation according to chosen criteria - country, spatial scale, area/region, rate, time projection, and the presence of roads and protected areas. On exit, balloons show the various types of alternatives identified for each area.