NEW technologies will change the way people live in Pacific
Island Countries, according to the Secretariat of the Pacific
Community (SPC). "Recent work to detect and analyse changes in
vegetation on the Kiribati Islands of Aranuka and Maiana has
important implications for all Pacific Islands," said Dr Wolf
Forstreuter, GIS and Remote Sensing Unit Specialist at SOPAC,
the Applied Geoscience and Technology Division of the SPC. "By
overlaying recent satellite imagery on maps drawn from aerial
photographs taken in 1969 of the Kiribati islands of Aranuka and
Maiana, it is possible to detect any changes that have
occurred," Dr Forstreuter said in a statement. "Not only can we
assess the impact of people on the environment, we can assess
whether this has been positive or negative. "One of the
surprises of this study was to discover that new mangrove areas
are visible on the coast of both islands." Dr Forstreuter said
this could be due to the 1969 photography-taking place during
high tide, followed by misinterpretati