THE USE OF REMOTE SENSING AND

GIS IN SITING AND ESTIMATION OF

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
(IDPS) CAMP: ISSUES, CHALLENGES
AND CONSIDERATIONS
BY
1Okegbola,

M.O. 2Oyebanji, S.T. 3Isaac, K.O.

4Olaosegba, S.O.
1,2,3,4 Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics,
Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, Oyo State.

Abstract
In an occurrence through any course whatsoever of an
internal displacement of person(s), estimating the size
of forcibly displaced population is highly needed,
documenting their records is a great key to highlighting
their plight and allocating sufficient resources and
spaces to their assistance as e.g (individuals, from
individuals to family, from families to community, from
communities to village, from villages to town etc.)
obtaining and keeping the records of the displaced
persons will help in the preparation and siting of the
IDPS camp, in terms of the size and resources expected,
but this is not often done especially during the most

Abstract (contd.)
difficult phase of displacement in this country and some
others around the world specifically in African
countries, due to critical issues and methodological
challenges of inaccessibility and unavailability of
materials and resources including funding and
sponsorships for the establishments of IDPS camp
among others. In this study we explored the potential
use of very high resolution imagery (IKONOS 1m
resolution) to remotely estimate the population of
internally displaced persons and as well to aid the
preparation for the choice of the best site for the IDPS

Abstract (contd.)
camp in terms of the requirements. A terrestrial
surveying approach was also used to compliment the
choice of the site while GIS was used to store further
database records of the displaced persons, among other
things which were looked into in this paper are the
issues and challenges faced while trying to choose a
good IDPS camp and finally a geomatic engineers (A
Surveyors) considerations and recommendations are
proffered for better and quick choices.

Keywords

Remote Sensing, GIS, Siting, Estimation, Internally

Displaced Person, Challenges

Introduction
According to (International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 1994).
In a world of complex conflict situations, manmade and natural disasters affect continuously an
increasing number of people. It is observed that
this resulted in having refugee and internally
displaced person (IDP). The main difference
between a refugee and an internally displaced
person is that an internally displaced person takes
refuge within his or her country of nationality and
has not crossed an internationally recognized
border.

Introduction (contd.)
In the context of this presentation, emphasis will be laid
on IDP which is literarily synonymous with
Refugee as well. The relief agency often has very
limited knowledge of the causes of displacement, area
affected, the number of people involved, their location,
condition etc. It thus calls for a need to receive up-todate and objective geographic information system on
the area of interest (Bouchardy 1995), find out the best
methods on how such situations will be managed.

Introduction (contd.)
Most relief operations can be divided into three
phases, each with varying needs for geographic
information system. These phases include:
Emergency relief,
Monitoring phase and
Rehabilitation phase
During an emergency phase, maps are used to
disseminate baseline information on the area of
interest.

Introduction (contd.)
In the monitoring phase, relief agencies need
updated information on the number of IDP needing
assistance, and the IDPs population density.
During the rehabilitation phase, relief agencies
need information on the environmental conditions
on the IDPs area of origin as well as other
background information.

Introduction (contd.)
This paper describes a concept study to assess the
potential capabilities of the use of high spatial
resolution (HSR) satellite imageries to map IDPs
camps on an operational basis. This paper thus
describes the use of remote sensing and GIS in
siting and estimating the population of internally
displaced persons (IDPS) camp; other issues
relating to its management, challenges in siting
IDPs camp and considerations.

IDPS STATISTICS IN NIGERIA

According to statistics from related presentation from
January 2013 to February 2014 the National
Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDP
(NCRMID) recorded no fewer than 613,729 displaced
Nigerians living in various IDP camps across the nation,
Their displacement was induced by various conflicts
and natural disasters witnessed in recent times. But with
the increase in violent attacks, abductions and killings in
the Northern part of Nigeria (Borno, Yobe, Gombe,
Plateu, Kano, Kaduna and Niger) this figure is assumed
to have risen by at least 100%.

DIKWA IDP CAMP, BORNO STATE

CHALLENGES OF IDPS IN NIGERIA

The Nigerian government has been rather reactive rather
than proactive in addressing the factors that lead to IDPs.
In some occasions the Nigerian government both at the
federal and state level have increased IDPs through
developmental policies that do not put the rights of
Nigerians into considerations. This can be seen in several
demolition exercises which have seen houses, villages,
settlements, water fronts destroyed without proper
compensation, re-instatement and settlements of the
displaced by the government. Some states affected by
government demolition are; Abuja, Lagos (Ijora, Makoko,
Oshodi), and Rivers etc.

THE CAUSES OF IDPS

Natural

Disasters including floods, erosion, oil

spillage, drought amongst others
clashes between Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers
Conflicts between government security agents and
armed militias.
Development Projects and resource sharing e.g (Jabi
inhabitants relocation to Kuchiko village during FCC
implementation)
Handing over of Nigerias Territory to other
countries e.g (the Bakassi returnees due to the ruling
of the International Court of Justice on the case) etc.

CHALLENGES AND IMPACTS OF

THESE CAUSES OF IDPS
Destruction of houses and property (looted or

burnt).
IDPs take-up refuge on temporary shelters
schools, police stations, military barracks, public
buildings & places of worship.
Camping is done in congested shelters that are
isolated, insecure and inhospitable.
Insecurity, exploitation, unwanted pregnancy,
human trafficking and gender based violence/abuse
including most especially rape crimes.

Challenges (contd.)
IDPs face injustice (discrimination on health

issues, discrimination on the basis of ethnicity and

religion, sexual violence and deprivation of
livelihood).

GIS AND SATELLITE REMOTE

SENSING IN SITING IDPS CAMP
A Geographic information
system (GIS) integrates
hardware, software and data
for
capturing,
storing,
managing, analyzing and
displaying all forms of
geographically/spatially
referenced information. GIS
allows
us
to
view,
understand
question,
interpret and visualize data
as maps, charts, globes and
reports. (www.esri.com).

SITING IDPS CAMP (contd.)

Remote sensing is the method
where the observation of
features is done without having
contacts with them and this
includes the use of aerial
photographs,
satellite
imageries
from
different
sources
which
vary
in
resolutions.
Different
requirements
on
satellite
imagery depend on application,
meanwhile
quality
is
relative.

What can we see on a satellite image?

View the affected area
with abilities to vectorize
View Tents/Buildings
Camp facilities can be
viewed
Huts can be seen
Fences can be located
Trees and buses are seen
and interpreted
Agricultural land use can
be identified etc.

ESTIMATING AND MONITORING

POPULATION OF IDPS
Estimating average population numbers and distributions
at high spatial-resolution is difficult; measuring dynamic
population sizes and densities is an even greater
challenge. Population estimation could be done with the
use of remote sensing and GIS by extracting image
objects and classifying different dwelling types (e.g. tents,
huts etc.) according to spectral, geometrical and attribute
information. This could be modeled in order to have an
up-to-date map which will guide in the planning of the
area or extents of space needed for the IDPs in order to
allocate a confortable space for individuals.

SITING OF A FRESH CAMP

Siting is an act of finding a site for something and in this
context it is finding a camping site for the internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and while siting an IDPs camp, lots of factors
are considered and series of processes are involved among
them is the fact that the terrain must be of a good topography
not a rugged one, security of the location, proximity to
facilities needed at the camp etc. If a land surveyor will want
to use the land surveying approach to get the product of the
terrain configuration which is referred to as Topographic
surveying the immediate need and urgency of the camp
construction will be delayed. But the employment of remote
sensing and GIS makes the siting including the faster planning
of the IDPs camp an easy task. Hence calls for this study.

SITING OF A FRESH CAMP

Satellite imagery of the
entire area

Satellite imagery of the

study area (as extracted
from the entire area

SITING OF A FRESH CAMP

Showing points used for
georefrencing

An overlay of the
vectorized map on the
imagery

SITING OF A FRESH CAMP

Vectorised map of the
study area

A designed geodatabase
table for the IDPs

To calculate Total Area for all buildings

and the mean area

To calculate Total number of IDPs and as

well find the aggregate member in a family

Sample Query where IDPs are hailed

from Kaduna state

CONCLUSION
During an emergency phase the determining factor is
time. In any crisis, where satellite imagery is used,
techniques for fast response are of high interest. Such
circumstances eventuate when no useful information
can be acquired from the ground due to the remoteness
of area or a potential threat, i.e. natural dangers or
armed conflicts. For humanitarian relief organizations
population estimations for refugee and IDP camps are a
key-factor for their general logistics.

CONCLUSION (contd.)
The newest generation of earth observation satellites
(WorldView-1) with a spatial resolution of 0.5 meter
and higher offer new opportunities for more detailed
mapping approaches. More differentiated results are
expected from these data for visual interpretation and
supplementary object-based methods designate a high
potential due to the ability to define shape and size of
diverse settlements in camps with a semi-automatic
approach.

CONCLUSION (contd.)
Thus, it cannot be kicked out that land survey is still
needed to increase and check accuracies and it is also a
good opportunity to carry out a field survey to verify the
assumptions that could be made in the vectorization
processes. Of course it should be taken into account that
travelling into such crisis regions can be very risky
(which highlights the advantages of remote sensing).
One possible solution to solve this problem might be the
close collaboration with relief organizations working in
the area of interest and to receive ground truth
information from their field teams.

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Haack, B.N. and E. Terrance Slonecker (1994): Merged
Spaceborne Radar and Thematic Mapper Digital Data for
Locating Villages in Sudan, Photogrammetric Engineering &
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Thanks for listening