Applications of geographic information systems, spatial analysis, and remote sensing in environmental impact assessment
Mathieu Bourbonnais
Abstract
Geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic data have an important role in the planning, analysis, and communication of environmental impact assessments. However, opportunities exist to expand the use of fundamental and emerging approaches in spatial analysis and remote sensing to better understand baseline conditions and to support environmental monitoring. This chapter explores the use of spatial analysis, including spatial multi-criteria decision analysis, spatial interpolation, and geovisualization, as well as different types of remote sensing imagery, in environmental impact assessment. Despite challenges associated with managing and deriving information from geographic data with varying spatial and temporal resolutions, the use of spatial analysis and remote sensing holds considerable promise to support local decision-making and participatory processes in project planning and for understanding relationships between spatial and temporal patterns and processes across varying scales.