Satellite remote sensing and the management of protected areas

This chapter explores how satellite-based approaches can be used as a cost-effective method to support monitoring efforts of protected areas, offering a cheap, verifiable way to identify areas of concern at a global scale, and to support managers in their effort to design and apply adaptive management strategies. Because protected areas can differ in terms of management needs and landscape/seascape access, the chapter starts with a quick introduction to categories of protected areas. Where to set new protected areas is one of the key questions faced by decision makers in need of meeting current biodiversity targets, and the second part of this work explores how satellite remote sensing can inform such a choice. Climatic conditions can significantly impact protected areas’ biodiversity, and the third section of this chapter briefly assesses common ways to derive information about local climatic anomalies from satellite data. The last sections of this chapter discuss the use of satellite data to assess effectiveness, and introduce the Digital Observatory of Protected Areas.