CIAT Home
The contents of this gridded population database can be displayed as maps using any standard geographic information system (GIS) computer program. The data were derived from more than 16,000 administrative units in the region. Census data, combined with historical population growth rates, were used to project population values backwards for 1990, 1980, 1970, and 1960. This allows users to visualize changes in population distribution over the past four decades. Included with the data are an explanatory report and metadata (data about the data). The database was produced by CIAT and partners as part of an international effort to map population distribution for the developing regions of the world.
Keywords: Censuses; Databases; Population censuses; Geographical information systems
ISBN:0
This on-line tool is for buyers or potential buyers of digital radar images produced by Canada?s RadarSat. DSS (available in Spanish only on the Web site) is used in combination with another tool, called Stereo Adviser (Spanish and English), on the Web site of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS). Together, these hyperlinked tools guide the radar image user step by step through the sometimes difficult process of selecting and purchasing the right images and then processing them into topographical maps. Stereo Adviser is an expert system for image selection and purchasing, while DSS covers image processing techniques. DSS explains not only the basics of remote sensing, radar technology, and stereo imaging but also the production of orthoimages (images corrected to eliminate distortions) and the generation of digital elevation models (DEMs).
Keywords: Remote sensing; Natural resources; Resource management; Land use; Planning
Methods of Payment
[Agroecology and Biodiversity in the Savannas of the Eastern Plains of Colombia] The Neotropical savanna ecosystem encompasses the plains of Colombia and Venezuela, the Brazilian Cerrados, and the savannas of Bolivia and Guyana. The 250 million hectares involved have been subjected to human intervention since the 1970s, including the introduction of improved grasses, development of 50% of the Brazilian cattle herd, and extension of soybean cultivation (converting Brazil into an important world exporter). The expansion of the agricultural and livestock frontier brings with it the development of road infrastructure and petroleum exploitation. The impact on the ecosystem deserves attention. For example, the Orinoquian Plains belong to the basin and delta of South America's third largest river by volume (the Orinoco) and the sixth by contribution of sediments. The development of this basin (900,000 km2) would have, without doubt, a scarcely imagined, effect of international dimensions. The intensification of production systems will affect native vegetation whose conservation implies integration with introduced species, especially forages. This collaborative work provides, over 12 chapters, an inventory of native species and their characterization, a description of experiments that measured the effects of fire and grazing in the savannas, a study of soil macrofauna, and recommendations for the intensive and rational use of native savanna. One of several appendices contains two illustrated synoptic keys (original and unique) identifying grass species in a representative section of higher lying savannas known as altillanuras. 302 p. 16.5 ? 23.5 cm.
Keywords: Savannas; Ecology; Plant communities; Biodiversity; Controlled burning; Ecological succession; Remote sensing; Soil fauna; Grassland management; Biomass; Eastern plains
ISBN:958-694-03300
[Atlas of Honduras (with Data on Hurricane Mitch)] This electronic Atlas is a valuable analytical tool for facilitating decision making. It contains ample biophysical information on Honduras, generated by satellite imaging, and, together with census information, allows relating social and environmental variables in a simple and interactive manner through maps. To help support reconstruction and planning, the Atlas includes information on the impact of Hurricane Mitch, which brought destruction to the country in late 1998. The Atlas presents more than 100 themes related to administrative divisions (departments, municipalities, village districts, and hamlets); land use since 1986; soils, geology, rivers, watersheds, and biodiversity (rain forests, mangroves, wetlands, and protected areas); routes and social data (population, education, and poverty); and climate (minimum and maximum temperatures and annual rainfall) and altitudes. The CD includes the program ArcView 2.1 Data Publisher, together with installation instructions. The information needed to develop this Atlas was compiled with the assistance of different governmental institutions, whose collaboration we gratefully acknowledge.
Keywords: Geographical information systems; Site factors; Socioeconomic environment; Poverty; Cyclones; Disasters; Land use; Biodiversidad; Honduras
[Indicators of Rural Sustainability: A Vision for Central America] Users of this CD-ROM, a geographical information tool, can select, visualize, and analyze the sustainability indices and indicators developed for Central America. CIAT designed this unique product, using ArcView Data Publisher, a program that was adapted to enable users intuitively find the 11 indices, 68 major indicators, and 114 complementary indicators that the CD details. The tool's functional nature enables users to convert data into information, thus helping to improve decision making in the region. This tool also offers decision makers the opportunity of delineating the region's probable future in terms of different scenarios based on the results of simulation models of land use developed by the team who prepared the CD. All indices and indicators come with technical notes. The CD, available in Spanish, forms part of a packet of bilingual (English/Spanish) products that includes case study reports and the document Lessons Learned. Both are required reading for those who wish to develop and use the indicators. This packet of tools for indicators is free for Central American users (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama). For other countries, we charge a small fee of US$20 to cover packing and shipping costs.
Keywords: Rural development; Sustainability; Central America
Copyright © Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical 2001. All rights reserved.
