Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Remote Sensing of Environment

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rse

Integrated assessment of the environmental impact of an IDP camp in Sudan based on

very high resolution multi-temporal satellite imagery
Michael Hagenlocher , Stefan Lang, Dirk Tiede
Department of Geoinformatics (Z_GIS), Salzburg University, Schillerstr. 30, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Population displacement due to armed conicts, regional crises, or natural disasters often leads to large-scale
Received 27 March 2012 settlements that impact the local environment. The specic dynamics of such semi-permanent settlements,
Received in revised form 16 July 2012 comprising both the structural changes (to the extent of the camp, and the population density), and their
Accepted 11 August 2012
wider impacts on the surroundings, require adaptive monitoring capacities. In areas where livelihoods and
Available online 1 September 2012
food security are highly dependent on natural resources, environmental deterioration can result in violent
Keywords:
conicts over access to, or control of, scarce natural resources, or in renewed migration of the population.
Retrospective time series analysis Remote sensing, and in particular very high spatial resolution satellite imagery, can help determine the actual
Environmental impact population dynamics, together with environmental changes in the surrounding areas. In an ex-post assess-
Land use/land cover ment using three time slices (2002, 2004, 2008) we assessed the changing environmental conditions and
Object-based image analysis (OBIA) the resulting implications for human security and ecosystem integrity in the vicinity of a large internally
Integrated spatial indicators displaced persons (IDP) camp in northern Darfur, Sudan. We used a Weighted Natural Resource Depletion
Weighted Natural Resource Depletion index index that integrates selected land use/land cover target classes and their relative importance for human
(NRDw)
security and/or ecosystem integrity by incorporating weightings assigned by experts to each of these classes.
Displaced population
The results showed that the dramatic increase in the camp's population between June 2002 and May 2008
(from approximately 1200 to about 50,000 inhabitants) and areal extent (a growth of ~ 436%) was accompanied
by a noticeable decrease in the area covered by single shrubs and small trees (~ 68%), in the area covered by
patches of shrubs and trees (~ 34%), and in the area covered by grassland (~ 3%). Moreover, a marked expansion
in small-scale farming was observed, especially into fertile wadi soils. Almost 45% of all grid cells (60 m60 m) had
experienced at least some degree of depletion of natural resources (i.e. woody vegetation, grassland, etc.) between
2002 and 2008. Major depletion was observed in the north-eastern and eastern parts of the camp in particular, while
minor depletion occurred over almost all of the study area.
2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction include shifting patterns of climate-related hazards (e.g., droughts,

1.1. Population displacement global gures and trends
As a result of armed conicts, generalised violence, natural or
man-made disasters, and the direct or indirect impacts of climate
change, population displacement has grown continuously in both
size and complexity over recent decades. At the end of 2010 the Inter-
nal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported more than 42.5
million displaced people, distributed over 54 countries (IDMC, 2011).
This gure is made up of approximately 27.5 million internally dis-
placed persons (IDPs) and 15 million transnational refugees (ibid).
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change (IPCC) suggests that these numbers are very likely to
increase further due to the projected impacts of climate change, which
Corresponding author. Tel.: +43 662 8044 7584; fax: +43 662 8044 7560.
E-mail addresses: michael.hagenlocher@sbg.ac.at (M. Hagenlocher),
stefan.lang@sbg.ac.at (S. Lang), dirk.tiede@sbg.ac.at (D. Tiede).
oods, etc.) and the disastrous impact that this is likely to have on the
lives of some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable population
groups (Solomon et al., 2007). Moreover, the impacts of changing climat-
ic conditions on the availability of natural resources, coupled with ad-
verse socio-economic and political conditions (i.e. population growth,
weak governance, land tenure disputes, etc.), are expected to intensify
the existing competition for natural resources, particularly for water, fer-
tile land and forests (Solomon et al., 2007; UNEP, 2011a). In response to
the growing pressures on landscapes and rural livelihoods, and the
resulting tensions between communities or livelihood groups, millions
of people could be forced to ee their homes over coming decades
(Maxwell & Reuveny, 2000; Myers, 2005; Raleigh & Urdal, 2007; UNEP,
2011a).
1.2. Population displacement and the environment
The majority of today's 42.5 million displaced people in the world
live in camps, or on the fringes of urban settlements in developing

0034-4257/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2012.08.010
28 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
countries. In many cases this results in grave consequences for the
local environment, leading to further deterioration in the socio-
economic, sanitary, and political conditions within the host commu-
nities (Hugo, 2008; Jacobsen, 1997; Vanasselt, 2003). The sudden in-
ux of large numbers of IDPs or refugees into a spatially limited area
can place severe pressure on the local environment and on existing
natural resources. The United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) has highlighted that environmental degradation is occurring
right across the planet, but it is particularly intense and widespread
in areas where large numbers of people are forced to live in close
proximity (UNEP, 2006). The environmental impact of refugee or
IDP camps varies not only according to their location, but also
according to their type (refugee or IDP camp). IDP camps generally
tend to have fewer relief resources available, making camp residents
more dependent on locally available natural resources (UNEP,
2007). The root cause for this relief assistance gap is that IDPs are
not covered by the 1951 Refugee Convention (UNHCR, 2007) as
they do not cross any international borders and are therefore not
the responsibility of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu-
gees (UNHCR).
The impact of refugee/IDP camps on the environment is well doc-
umented in published literature (e.g. Gorsevski et al., 2012), indicat-
ing that emigration tends to reduce pressure at the place of origin
and increase pressure at the destination (Hugo, 1996). Severe defor-
estation due to re-wood shortages in dry-land camp areas, deserti-
cation, land degradation, unsustainable groundwater extraction, and
groundwater pollution are all impacts that can be observed in the sur-
roundings of many of such camps, i.e. within a radius of up to 15 km
(Allan, 1987; Biswas & Tortajada-Quiroz, 1996; Ghimire, 1994; Hugo,
1996; Sato et al., 2000; TEARFUND, 2007). Environmental degrada-
tion, particularly in semi-arid and arid areas where human security
(i.e. livelihoods, food security, etc.) is highly dependent on the avail-
ability of natural resources, can result in (i) renewed migration pres-
sure producing new waves of environmental refugees or (ii) tensions
and conicts over access to, or control of, scarce natural resources
(UNEP, 2011a; UNHCR, 1998).
Because of these impacts, environmental concerns related to IDP
and refugee streams have become increasingly important in political
agendas during recent years. The increasing interest of the United Na-
tions (i.e. UNEP, UNHCR) in the relationship between refugee and/or
IPD settlements and the state of the environment indicates a new and
urgent need for geo-spatial analyses and conditioned (policy-oriented)
information that can be used to reduce the loss of natural resources
caused by such camps and the substantial funding required to reverse
the damage (UNHCR, 2009). In order to tackle this need the UNEP has
recently started to address the environmental impacts of IDP and refu-
gee camps through their post-conict environmental assessment
(PCEA) activities. Primary assessments have been conducted in Liberia
(UNEP, 2006), Sudan (UNEP, 2007), the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (UNEP, 2011b) and Rwanda (UNEP, 2011c). However, despite
the fact that such PCEAs are often carried out in areas that are remote
and unsafe, they are mostly based on eld surveys that are both time
and cost intensive, and make little or no use of state-of-the-art remote
sensing technology.
1.3. Remote sensing for refugee and IDP camp monitoring
Remote sensing is a valuable source of geo-spatial information for
crisis and disaster management (Ehrlich et al., 2009; Joyce et al., 2009;
Pesaresi et al., 2007; Tiede et al., 2011; Voigt et al., 2007). In this context
satellite imagery offers an objective (unbiased), cost-effective, and ver-
iable source of information (Aschbacher, 2002). Moreover, remote
sensing technology can provide a window into the past as it allows a
unique retrospective (ex-post assessment) examination of the spatio-
temporal changes in the specic phenomenon under investigation
(Aschbacher, 2002; Lang et al., 2010; Lohdi et al., 1998). This is
particularly true for low to medium spatial resolution imagery (for
which a large database of archived imagery is available, with global cov-
erage), but also now for high and very high spatial resolution (VHR)
imagery, as more and more commercial satellites become available
leading to improved coverage. Such continuous acquisitions can be
used to assess changes in camp evolution and population dynamics
(e.g. population numbers and densities), as well as associated pressures
exerted on the environment by human activities such as wood gather-
ing, overgrazing, etc. (Hagenlocher, 2011; Lang et al., 2010). Another
crucial benet of remote sensing is that it can deliver valuable informa-
tion on areas that are either difcult (i.e. remote or with restricted
areas) or dangerous to access on the ground (Aschbacher, 2002; Kelly,
1998), both of which apply to the majority of refugee settlements and
especially to IDP settlements.
Although satellite imagery has been available for more than four
decades, the use of remote sensing for IDP or refugee camp monitor-
ing is a relatively new eld. Remote sensing applications in the con-
text of refugee camp mapping or monitoring have, to date, primarily
concentrated on the production of:
Maps displaying the general situation in the form of information on
infrastructure, road networks, water resources, land use and cover,
elevation, and terrain (Bjorgo, 2000a, 2000b; Lohdi et al., 1998);
Maps and statistical presentations showing information on popula-
tion characteristics, such as population dynamics, population distri-
butions, and population densities (Gayer et al., 2009; Giada et al.,
2003; Kemper et al., 2011; Laneve et al., 2006; Lang et al., 2010,
2006b; Schwethelm et al., 2009; Tiede & Lang, 2008, 2009);
Geo-visualisation approaches (e.g., in virtual globe browsers), show-
ing the historical evolution of a camp, with a focus on the size of the
camp, or population dynamics over time (Lang et al., 2006b; Tiede &
Lang, 2008, 2009, 2010).
Very few studies to date have used remote sensing data to investi-
gate the environmental impacts of refugee or IDP camps (Bjorgo,
2000b; Hagenlocher, 2011; Kranz et al., 2010a, 2010b; Lohdi et al.,
1998; Sprhnle et al., 2010).
1.4. Aim of this study
Against the background outlined above, our study aims to demon-
strate the specic benets, efciency, and cost effectiveness of using
state-of-the-art remote sensing technology to provide conditioned
(Lang et al., 2008) geo-spatial environmental information that can
be used to support crisis and IDP or refugee camp management in
conict situations. More specically, this paper presents an integra-
tive and transferable approach for the (i) quantication, (ii) system-
atic monitoring, and (iii) evaluation of the environmental impacts of
such camps, based on time series of VHR remote sensing data incor-
porating additional input from experts in this particular eld. In this
context, we developed and applied an index called the Weighted Natural
Resource Depletion (NRDw) index. This integrated spatial index was in-
troduced to evaluate the implications of environmental changes ob-
served in the vicinity of refugee or IDP settlements for human security
(i.e. food and livelihood security in the region) and ecosystem integrity
(i.e. the state and intactness of ecosystems), based on weightings decid-
ed by experts.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Study site and data
The area investigated in this study was the Zam Zam IDP camp in
northern Darfur, Sudan, and its surroundings (Fig. 1). The camp is lo-
cated to the south-west of two major wadis, approximately 15 km to
the south of Al-Fashir, the capital of northern Darfur. It lies between
longitudes of 2517 and 2519 east and latitudes of 1328 and 13
 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738 29

Fig. 1. The study area in northern Darfur, Sudan. The map from 2002 (left) shows the existing settlement before the rst IDPs arrived in Zam Zam, while the maps from 2004
(centre) and 2008 (right) show the extent of the camp one year and ve years after the outbreak of the violent conict in Darfur.

30 north, at an elevation of about 680 to 730 m a.s.l. The entire area
of investigation is located within the semi-arid Sahel zone, which is a
particularly vulnerable environment (UNEP, 2007, 2011a) with a
highly variable climate, i.e. low annual rainfall with a high seasonal
variability and inter-annual uctuations (Kevane & Gray, 2008;
UNEP, 2007, 2011a). Violent conict in Darfur, between the Sudanese
Government and two loosely allied rebel movements (the Justice and
Equality Movement, and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army),
resulted in approximately 200,000 to 400,000 people being killed
and an estimated 2.7 million IDPs in the years from 2003 to 2009
(IDMC, 2011). The rst IDPs came to Zam Zam in mid-2003, and
began to settle around the existing village. The number of people liv-
ing in Zam Zam grew steadily from approximately 1200 inhabitants
in 2002 (Lang et al., 2010) to more than 19,000 in 2004 (OCHA,
2007) and more than 50,000 in 2008 (UNAMID, 2008), making Zam
Zam one of the largest IDP camps in Darfur today.
The satellite data used for this study are existing time series (ac-
quisition dates: t0 = 2008/05/08, t1 = 2004/12/20 and t2 = 2002/
06/18) from commercial VHR optical satellite imagery (i.e. QuickBird,
DigitalGlobe). Additional geo-spatial datasets were used to enhance
the results of the object-based land use/land cover (LULC) classica-
tion (Table 1).
2.2. Methodology
2.2.1. Cognition network
In recent decades the concepts of land use and land cover have be-
come intertwined, often due to the demands of different users in-
volved in the procurement process. Land classications often mix up
concepts of land cover, land use, and other environmental attributes
such as soil type, etc. (Wyatt & Gerard, 2001), resulting in ambiguity
and confusion (Comber et al., 2008). To avoid any such confusion this
study uses a exible and transparent cognition network (Lang et al.,
2006a), which is integrated into the FAO-UNEP Land Cover Classica-
tion System (LCCS).
The cognition network, which displays the actual class descrip-
tions according to the LCCS scheme (Fig. 2), serves as a conceptual
framework for both (i) the subsequent LULC classication, and
(ii) the indicator-based evaluation of the impacts of observed environ-
mental changes in the vicinity of the Zam Zam IDP camp. It contains

Table 1
Datasets and their characteristics.

Dataset Spatial Acquisition Data source Attributes Parameter of

resolution date interest

Satellite imagery
QuickBird 0.6 m 2008/05/08 Digital Globe Pan-sharpened, orthorectied, three optical Land use/
(resampled) (t0) (RGB) and one near-infrared (NIR) band land cover
QuickBird 0.6 m 2004/12/20 Digital Globe Pan-sharpened, orthorectied, three optical Land use/
(resampled) (t1) (RGB) and one near-infrared (NIR) band land cover
QuickBird 0.6 m 2002/06/18 Digital Globe Pan-sharpened, orthorectied, three optical Land use/
(resampled) (t2) (RGB) and one near-infrared (NIR) band land cover

Additional geo-spatial datasets

Camp/ settlement outline at N/A N/A Derived from kernel density N/A Camp extent
t0, t1, t2 calculations based on extracted and evolution
dwelling units (Lang et al., 2010)
Roads and tracks 1:100,000 2003/05/30 FAO Africover (http://africover.org) N/A Roads and
(scale) (reference date) tracks
30 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
Fig. 2. Cognition network embedded into the FAO-UNEP LCCS (modied from Hagenlocher, 2011).
eight target classes (NRDw target classes), which are utilised for subse-
quent monitoring of natural resource depletion (NRD), as well as seven
silent land cover classes, which do not include any direct statement on
the amount of NRD in the vicinity of the Zam Zam camp.
The cognition network not only controls the classication process
as such, but also facilitates communication and interaction with po-
tential users, stakeholders, or experts.
2.2.2. Object-based image analysis (OBIA) and class modelling for LULC
classication
During the last decade object-based image analysis (OBIA) has
been widely acknowledged as a standard approach for analysing re-
mote sensing data, and in particular VHR optical data (Blaschke,
2010). OBIA is based on two interrelated methodological components
that aim to characterise and classify spatially relevant real-world en-
tities (Lang, 2008) by (i) using multi-scale segmentation techniques
(Blaschke et al., 2004) to represent a complex scene in a set of scaled
and nested representations, and (ii) addressing this complexity
of spectral, geometrical, and topological relationships in rule-based
classiers that are based on expert-knowledge. The OBIA workow
is cyclic rather than strictly sequential, being characterised by an iter-
ative sequence of segmentation (or regionalisation) processes and
classication-constrained regionalisation, which is known as class
modelling (Tiede et al., 2010, 2008). Class modelling is highly adap-
tive and able to accommodate different categories of target classes
from a variety of domains (Lang et al., 2010).
In order to classify LULC properties and their spatiotemporal
changes, a class modelling approach was applied to each of the VHR
satellite images (t0, t1, t2), making use of the modular eCognition
Network Language (CNL) within the eCognition (Trimble Geospatial)
software environment. This modular (image-) object analysis pro-
gramming language not only supports tasks such as branching,
looping, and the denition of variables, but also enables the analyst
to generate scaled objects in a region-specic manner, that can be
addressed individually (Tiede et al., 2010). Thus CNL enables the cou-
pling of steps involved in segmentation and classication in the cyclic
and iterative manner required for advanced class modelling. A master
rule-set was developed on the basis of the QuickBird image from 2002
(t2), and then transferred to the other two images (t1, t0). Initial
objects were delineated following a multi-scale bottom-up, region-
merging, local mutual best tting segmentation approach that merges
segments according to the gradient of the degree of tting (Baatz &
Schpe, 2000; Benz et al., 2004), resulting in a strict image object hier-
archy. The decision whether or not to merge two neighbouring objects
on the same level of the image object hierarchy is based on local homo-
geneity criteria that describe the similarity of adjacent objects (Benz et
al., 2004).
Within this context suitable scale parameter values were derived
using the Estimation of Scale Parameter (ESP) tool (Dragut et al.,
2010), which is based on the idea put forward by Woodcock and
Strahler (1987) concerning local variance of object heterogeneity
within a particular scene. The ESP tool was used in order to reduce
processing time required, compared to traditional trial-and-error op-
timisation approaches, and to increase the degree of objectivity and
the level of automation during the rule-set development process.
The ESP-tool thereby iteratively generates image objects in a
bottom-up approach, calculating the local variance for each scale.
The variation in heterogeneity is then explored by evaluating the
local variance plotted against the corresponding scale (Dragut et al.,
2010). The thresholds for rates of change in the local variance indicate
the most appropriate scales to use for segmenting an image. More-
over, to better distinguish (i) between vegetated and non-vegetated
areas, and (ii) variations within vegetated areas, the Normalised Dif-
ference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated using the following
equation (Rouse et al., 1973), and integrated into the class modelling
process as an additional layer:
NIRRed
NDVI 1
NIR Red
To further enhance the results of the class modelling approach,
two additional geo-spatial datasets (i.e. camp/settlement outline
 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
and roads and tracks; see Table 1) were integrated into the segmen-
tation and classication process as thematic layers.
In accordance with the cognition network (Fig. 2), the allocation of
image objects to the dened LULC categories was carried out by com-
bining multi-spectral information (mean layer values, brightnesses,
standard deviations, and layer ratios) with geometric (area, length,
length/width, compactness), contextual (distance to, border to, rela-
tive border to), and hierarchical (existence of sub-/super objects) ob-
ject properties. Thus most of the LULC categories were dened using a
mixture of both crisp (i.e. Boolean) and fuzzy (Benz et al., 2004)
membership functions.
2.2.3. Accuracy assessment
Any meaningful quantication of spatiotemporal environmental
changes based on multi-temporal LULC classications clearly depends
on the correctness of the individual classications, i.e. the congru-
ence between classication and reality (Foody, 2002). A site-specic
thematic accuracy assessment was therefore conducted for each of
the LULC classication results (t0, t1, t2), in order to provide infor-
mation on the accuracy of the derived LULC products. However, as
Foody (2002) points out, the results of an accuracy assessment can
only be meaningful if accurate ground or reference data is available.
Unfortunately, ground data could not be collected for our study due
to the life-threatening conditions in the conict-shaken Darfur region
(WCRWC, 2006). Visual interpretation of the available satellite imagery
time series was therefore performed as the best available alternative.
More than 200 points were distributed within each image (t0, t1, t2)
using stratied random sampling (Congalton & Green, 2009) to ensure
an adequate number of samples per LULC category. The inherent basic
measurements of classication accuracy (i.e. producer's accuracy, user's
accuracy, and overall accuracy; ibid.) were determined for each classi-
cation result, using a traditional error matrix approach (Congalton &
Green, 2009; Foody, 2002).
2.2.4. Integrated spatial indicators
In Darfur, as in large parts of the Sahel, the environment is central
to people's lives as it provides food, shelter, energy, and strategies for
coping in times of hardship. Most traditional rural livelihoods in the
region are a direct function of the environment, in which the natural
resources are livelihood assets for both pastoralists and sedentary
communities (Tearfund, 2007). However, this relationship has been
disrupted by the on-going conict, and most residents in the majority
of IDP camps no longer have access to their pre-conict livelihoods
(Buchanan-Smith & Jaspers, 2007). Their food and livelihood security,
as two major components of human security, are thus highly depen-
dent on the provision of external aid (i.e. food, shelter, etc.) and the
availability of natural resources in the area surrounding the camp.
With this in mind, an integrated spatial Weighted Natural Resource
Depletion (NRDw) index was developed and applied to the Zam
Zam IDP camp (as an example) in order to evaluate the impacts of ob-
served environmental changes on ecosystem integrity (i.e. the state
and intactness of ecosystems) and on human security (i.e. food and
livelihood security in the region), in the vicinity of refugee or IDP
camps.
The approach integrates (i) selected LULC target classes (NRDw
target classes) that were derived from the available time series of op-
tical VHR satellite imagery (Fig. 2) and their variation over time, with
(ii) the outcomes of an expert-based survey into the relative impor-
tance (RI) of these target classes to ecosystem integrity and/or
human security (Table 4). For communication and visualisation pur-
poses the methodological approach that we developed uses a contin-
uous grid level of 60 m 60 m (i.e. one hundred times the spatial
resolution of the QuickBird sensor) as the nal reporting unit. This ap-
plies an aggregation mode that reects continuous and, depending on
formulated policy-requirements, spatially adjustable reporting units,
enabling the provision of conditioned information (Lang et al.,
31
2008) independent of administrative boundaries (which are often
unable to reect subtle changes or temporal developments in contin-
uously varying spatial phenomena). This overcomes the modiable
area unit problem (MAUP; Openshaw, 1984), and at the same time
provides a standardised, and scalable reporting scheme.
The implementation applied a post-classication change detection
approach introduced by Tiede et al. (2012), based on a topologically
enabled object-by-object comparison in which changes were aggre-
gated to a change detection layer (here a 60 m 60 m grid). This ap-
proach is able to integrate additional constraints (such as, in this case,
a focus on the relative areas of the eight NRDw target classes per grid
cell see Fig. 2), as well as the standardised weighting factors, which
were calculated for each time step. Fig. 3 provides an overview of the
post-classication change detection framework.
An expert-based weighting exercise was conducted within a
workshop on Global Monitoring at the 2009 Geoinformatics Forum
(http://www.gi-forum.org/) in Salzburg, Austria, in order to deter-
mine the overall ecological and societal (relative) importance (RI)
of the LULC categories, thus indicating where natural resource deple-
tion had the highest impact on human security (HUM), ecosystem in-
tegrity (ECO), or a combination of both (HUM & ECO), within the
study area (cf. Table 4). In this context regional key experts (n = 2)
of two different domains (n1: GIS and natural resource management;
n2: GIS and environmental remote sensing) were asked to assess the
RI of selected LULC categories (i.e. the NRDw target classes) to HUM
and ECO on a scale from zero to ve [0 | 5], where zero means that
the LULC category is not relevant and ve reects a very high RI. As
mentioned above, only the identied NRDw target classes were
weighted, while the remaining silent land cover categories (Fig. 2)
were ascribed a zero weighting. In order to be able to calculate an in-
tegrated weighting showing the RI of the LULC categories to both
HUM and ECO, the experts were then asked to distribute a total of
100 points to derive the weightings for HUM and ECO combined
(Table 4).
Using the results from the workshop, the relative proportions for
each of the NRDw target classes were multiplied by standardised
weighting factors (Wstand) and ultimately summed up according to
the following equation:
0 1
HUM Xn
RI@ ECO A Pi  W i 2
HUM&ECO i1
Where
RI Relative importance of the grid cell (60 m 60 m) to HUM,
ECO or HUM and ECO
i-n LULC categories
P Relative area of the LULC categories per grid cell
W Expert-based standardised weighting factors (Wstand)
Following this approach, the RI of the grid cells to human security
(HUM), ecosystem integrity (ECO) or a combination of both (HUM &
ECO) was calculated (Fig. 3).
In order to facilitate the interpretation of the results, the
weightings were standardised within a new range from zero to one
[0 | 1], where zero reects a very low RI and one a very high RI of
the target class to HUM, ECO, or HUM & ECO. After taking these
standardised weightings (Table 4) into account, a detailed picture of
the NRD and its implications for the population and ecosystems
in the vicinity of the camp emerges. A grid cell can, for example, be
32 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738

Fig. 3. Object-based change detection framework as a basis for the weighted natural resource depletion (NRDw) index analysis, based on the three LULC classications (modied
from Tiede et al, 2012).

100% susceptible to NRD while at the same time its relative impor- 3. Results and discussion
tance to the local population or the environment is relatively low.
Finally, the actual degree of NRD was monitored by assessing the 3.1. LULC classication and accuracy assessment
changes in RI values over the years, based on the following equation:
Fig. 5 shows the results of the knowledge-based LULC classica-
0 1 0 1 0 1 tions for the available time-series of multispectral satellite imagery.
HUM HUM HUM Fig. 5a displays the LULC conditions based on the image recorded
NRDW @ ECO A RIt @
0
ECO ARIt @
2
ECO A 3
on June 18, 2002 (t2), approximately one year before the outbreak
HUM&ECO HUM&ECO HUM&ECO
of the violent conict in Darfur. As the image was recorded at the be-
ginning of the rainy season, planting and cropping activities had not
Fig. 4 summarises the overall workow for calculating the NRDw yet begun. The upper right image (Fig. 5b) presents the LULC condi-
index. tions based on the image recorded on December 20, 2004 (t1),

Fig. 4. Workow for calculating the NRDw index, based on multi-temporal LULC information.
 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738 33

Fig. 5. Results of the knowledge-driven LULC classications: a) t2 (2002/06/18), b) t1 (2004/12/20) and c) t0 (2008/05/08).

more or less one year after rst IDPs had arrived in Zam Zam (due to
the outbreak of the violent conict in mid-2003 see Section 2.1),
showing a marked increase in the size of the settlement. The lower
right image (Fig. 5c) displays the LULC properties based on the
image acquired on May 08, 2008 (t0), approximately ve years after
rst IDPs began to settle in Zam Zam. As was the case for the image
recorded in 2002 (t2), this image (t0) was recorded at an early
stage of the rainy season, resulting in comparable LULC conditions.
The accuracy assessment is shown in Table 2. Making use of a tra-
ditional error matrix approach, the overall accuracies were 83% (t0),
87% (t1) and 81% (t2). The producer's accuracy for the grassland
category in the 2002 image is clearly relatively low compared to

Table 2
Results of the accuracy assessment.

Class name Producer's accuracy User's accuracy Overall accuracy

2002 2004 2008 2002 2004 2008

Agriculture (cultivated) 94.12% 72.73% 100.00% 80.00%
Agriculture (fallow) 93.75% 100.00% 93.33% 77.27% 87.50% 70.00%
Agriculture (harvested) 80.00% 75.00%
Grassland 53.13% 63.64% 66.67% 77.27% 82.35% 90.00%
Shrubs and trees (single) 100.00% 88.24% 88.89% 55.00% 93.75% 80.00% 2008: 83.00%
Trees (single) 87.50% 100.00% 93.33% 70.00% 93.75% 70.00% 2004: 87.00%
Shrubs and trees (patches) 73.68% 91.67% 73.91% 70.00% 68.75% 85.00% 2002: 81.00%
Water (reservoir) 100.00% 100.00%
Settlement 100.00% 100.00% 93.75% 75.00% 68.75% 75.00%
Bare sand 93.75% 79.17% 95.24% 75.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Wadi (dry) 80.65% 93.33% 86.96% 100.00% 82.35% 100.00%
Wadi (wet) 77.42% 77.27% 80.00% 92.31% 89.47% 80.00%
34 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738

Table 3 increasing population pressure in the area, or (ii) at least partly trace-
Area statistics and LULC changes from 2002 (t2) to 2008 (t0). able back to climate variability (i.e. a change in the start/end of the
Class name Area Area Area LULC change rainy season), a station-based time series of monthly precipitation and
[in ha] [in ha] [in ha] (t2 t0) mean monthly temperature was acquired from the National Oceanic
t2 t1 t0 and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center
[in ha] [in %] (NCDC), for the station at Al-Fashir (approximately 15 km to the north
Agriculture (cultivated) 6.98 175.79 +175.79 of Zam Zam). An analysis of the climate data for the years 2002, 2004,
Agriculture (fallow) 101.31 170.57 159.40 +58.09 +57.34
and 2008 showed clearly that there were only minor differences in
Agriculture (harvested) 100.29 No change
Grassland 593.44 494.46 573.02 20.42 3.44 the start and end of the rainy season between those years and that
Shrubs & trees (single) 40.80 30.92 12.76 28.04 68.73 the observed changes can therefore be traced back to the massive
Trees (single) 9.38 16.72 16.41 +7.03 +74.95 increase in the camp's population over the years. Furthermore, the
Shrubs and trees (patches) 37.87 53.34 24.73 13.14 34.70 study revealed an enormous increase in the number of single trees
Water (reservoir) 0.70 No change
from 2002 to 2008, which could be due to a large number of single
Settlement 84.20 226.89 451.59 +367.39 +436.33
Bare sand 2,144.78 2,041.08 1,830.07 314.71 14.67 shrubs growing into trees over the years, or to additional trees being
Wadi (dry) 1505.34 1076.64 1038.24 467.1 31.03 planted by community members or non-governmental organisations.
Wadi (wet) 1670.56 1972.97 1911.45 +240.89 +14.42 Similar effects were also reported by Sprhnle et al. (2010), who ob-
served a marked increase in tree cover and a widespread decrease in
other wooded vegetation in the vicinity of the Zalingei IDP camp in
western Darfur.

that for other categories and other years, which can be traced back to 3.2.2. Expert-based weighting exercise
spectral confusion between the categories for shrubs and trees (patches) Table 4 lists the results of the expert-based weighting exercise that
and shrubs and trees (single), and resulting misclassications. was conducted to evaluate the relative importance (RI) of the LULC cat-
egories to human security and/or ecosystem integrity in the region.
3.2. LULC changes and Weighted Natural Resource Depletion (NRDw) index According to the experts, water is of very high importance for both
ecosystem integrity (0.9) and human security (1.0), resulting in a
3.2.1. LULC changes very high overall importance (0.965) when the weightings are com-
Because the 2004 image (t1) was taken at an early stage of the bined (HUM & ECO). A high overall importance was also attributed
dry season (in contrast to the 2008 (t0) and 2002 (t2) images), to both cultivated and harvested agricultural areas (0.7125) as a re-
only the changes between 2002 and 2008 were analysed, thus sult of the very high importance of these categories to human security
avoiding the considerable natural variations in both (i) plant phenol- (food and livelihood security) in the region. Comparatively low
ogy and (ii) land use and land cover. The calculated area statistics weightings were assigned to the grassland (0.35) and single shrubs
(Table 3) show that the camp increased dramatically in size as a con- and trees (0.405) categories, as a result of their relatively low impor-
sequence of the violent conict in Darfur that started in mid-2003 tance to both ecosystem integrity and human security.
and resulted in an estimated 2.7 million IDPs in the years from 2003
to 2009 (IDMC, 2011). Moreover, a marked expansion of farming 3.2.3. Weighted Natural Resource Depletion (NRDw) index
areas, especially into fertile wadi soils, took place between 2002 and Fig. 6 shows the RI of the grid cells to (i) human security and ecosys-
2008. As most of the agricultural plots in 2008 were smaller than tem integrity (HUM & ECO), (ii) human security (HUM), and (iii) eco-
one hectare, it can be assumed that the observed expansion in farmland system integrity (ECO) for the time period under consideration (t0, t1,
is likely to have been a result of widespread traditional subsistence t2), based on results from the LULC classications (Fig. 5) and the
farming by many IDPs, as a coping measure to provide a livelihood interview-based weighting exercise (Table 4). Dark red colours reect
and a degree of food security (UNHCR, 2006). At the same time a notice- cells with a very high RI, while bright yellow colours indicate generally
able decrease in shrubs and small trees (both single and patches), as low RI.
well as in grassland, was observed from t2 to t0. As indicated in The impact that the degree of natural resource depletion (NRD) has
Section 1.2, such a degradation of natural resources can lead to tensions on HUM, ECO, or HUM & ECO in the vicinity of Zam Zam IDP camp is
or the outbreak of violent conicts over access to, or control of, scarce displayed in Fig. 7 using a scale from zero to minus one [1 | 0], in
natural resources or, as a nal consequence, it can force people to mi- which 1 reects areas of major impact. Areas in which environmental
grate to other regions when they are no longer able to sustain their live- changes have resulted in improved conditions with respect to human
lihoods. In order to evaluate whether these changes were (i) a result of security (e.g., improved food security through an extension of agricul-
tural land) and/or ecosystem integrity are displayed using a positive
scale from zero to one [>0 | 1].
Although Fig. 7 shows slightly variable results it is clear that, based
Table 4 on the expert weightings, the results can be interpreted as follows:
Results of the expert-based weighting exercise. (i) minor depletion of natural resources (indicated by yellow to light or-
Class name HUM ECO HUM ange colours) occurred over almost all the study area, which could be a
(human (ecosystem & result of the overall decrease in the area of grassland (3.44%) and the
sec.) int.) ECOa number of single shrubs and trees (68.73%); (ii) major depletion (in-
Wstand Wstand Wstand dicated by orange to dark red colours) was observed in smaller areas to
NRDw target classes Agriculture (cultivated) 0.9 0.4 0.7125 the north-east and east of the camp, which can be explained by the large
Agriculture (fallow) 0.7 0.5 0.63 reduction in the numbers of single shrubs and small trees (68.73%),
Agriculture (harvested) 0.9 0.4 0.7125
the area covered by patches of shrubs and trees (34.7%) and the
Grassland 0.3 0.45 0.35
Shrubs and trees (single) 0.4 0.4 0.405 area of grassland (3.44%). At the same time a minor improvement,
Trees (single) 0.65 0.4 0.555 particularly concerning human security, was observed over large
Shrubs and trees (patches) 0.5 0.95 0.665 areas in the wetter parts of the wadi and a major improvement oc-
Water (reservoir) 1 0.9 0.965 curred a few hundred meters to the east of the camp as a result of
a
HUM & ECO = 0.625 HUM + 0.375 ECO (weights dened by experts). the marked increase in the area under cultivation, together with
 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738 35

Fig. 6. RI of the grid cells (60 m 60 m) to human security and ecosystem integrity (HUM & ECO), human security (HUM) and ecosystem integrity (ECO) for the period under
consideration (t0, t1, t2) based on expert weightings.

an increase in the number of single trees. A comparison of the num- 4. Conclusions

ber of grid cells in each of the NRDw categories (Fig. 7), however,
clearly reveals that approximately 45% of the 17,292 cells had expe-
rienced some degree of depletion of natural resources between June
2002 and May 2008. Compared to that roughly 26% of all grid cells
are showing an improvement, while around 28% of the cells did
not show any change.
4.1. General achievements
In the process of achieving the objective of this paper, our research
has investigated the relationship between the increasing IDP popula-
tion in the Zam Zam camp (as a result of persistent instability and the
36 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
Fig. 7. Implications of observed environmental changes for human security (HUM), ecosystem integrity (ECO) or a combination of both (HUM & ECO), based on expert weightings
(modied from Hagenlocher, 2011).
violent conict in Darfur) and natural resource depletion in the sur-
rounding area. In this context, time series of VHR optical satellite
imagery was shown to be a valuable data source for such ex-post en-
vironmental assessments, particularly for assessments in remote and/
or conict-torn regions; it was able to reveal a clear link between in-
creasing camp population and natural resource depletion in the vicin-
ity of the camp. Moreover, it was exemplarily shown that integrated
spatial indicators, and in particular the integration of expert knowl-
edge, not only enables the identication of natural resource depletion
and visualisation of the extent of this depletion, but also allows the
resulting consequences for human security (i.e. food and livelihood
security) and/or ecosystem integrity (i.e. intactness of the state of
the ecosystem, etc.) in a given area to be evaluated. Integrating
knowledge and experience of two key regional experts from different
domains is considered sufcient to demonstrate the proof of concept.
For operational applications a larger number of key regional, national
and local experts from different domains and backgrounds (academics,
practitioners, etc.) should be integrated into the weighting exercise in
order to achieve a better overall interpretability of the nal results. Due
to the difcult political situation in Sudan, however, our attempts to con-
sult more national and local domain experts were not successful.
Reporting such integrated indicators on a continuous grid level (here
60 m * 60 m) allows conditioned (i.e. policy-oriented) information to
be provided in a standardised way, in order to support crisis and IDP or
refugee camp management. As the grid cells are exible and their size
can be easily adjusted, if required, the underlying ne-scaled analysis
can be re-aggregated to match any desired reporting unit.
The approach presented in this paper shows considerable poten-
tial as a support tool for decision-making processes across a variety
of scales in targeted crisis management situations that could range
from monitoring and evaluating the environmental impacts of IDP
or refugee camps, urban slums, etc., to observing natural resource
depletion caused by the use of unsustainable agricultural practices,
etc. However, if this approach is transferred to a different region, a
different application eld, or a different scale, both the rule-sets for
object-based class modelling and the expert weightings will need to
be adapted accordingly. The transferability of the approach is currently
being tested on a refugee camp in Goz Beida, Chad with preliminary
results expected to be published later in 2012.
4.2. Remaining challenges
It became clear during this research that images for multi-
temporal analysis should ideally be acquired at more or less the
same time of year, in order to minimise differences in plant phenolo-
gy, farming activities, etc., since such differences not only complicate
the interpretation of observable environmental changes, but also re-
duce the transferability of the rule-base from one image to another.
It is, however, at present difcult to obtain seasonally comparable
VHR images from the archives for use in, for example, ex-post analy-
ses on refugee or IDP camps. The tasking of new imagery is not usual-
ly the problem (although it is still expensive), but the availability of
archived images for remote regions is often limited. This situation is
expected to improve in the future due to the increasing number of
VHR commercial satellites and the resulting improvements (spatial
and temporal) in coverage, including remote areas. Moreover, when
relying solely on optical remote sensing technology, it was not feasi-
ble to assess additional environmental stressors, such as water pollu-
tion or pollution due to the daily operation of a camp, that lead to the
accumulation of toxic residues in soils and water, etc. Although be-
yond the scope of this research, it might be benecial in future to ex-
plore the applicability of available microwave data (e.g. SAR data) for
such environmental impact assessments, since not only is it to some
degree independent of weather and illumination, but it also supple-
ments optical data with physical surface properties such as surface
roughness, soil moisture, etc. Moreover, the high temporal resolution
of currently available SAR sensors (e.g., TerraSAR-X: every 11 days)
enables continuous monitoring of highly dynamic IDP or refugee
camps and associated changes to their surroundings, which can not at
present be achieved with any certainty through optical remote sensing
sensors. An assessment of the viability of using SAR data for these pur-
poses is seen as a worthwhile subject for future investigation.
Acknowledgements
This work has been partly funded by the European Commission (EC)
within the FP-7 G-MOSAIC project (GMES Services for Management of
Operations, Situation Awareness and Intelligence for Regional Crises,
contract no. 218822) and by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through
 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
the Doctoral College GIScience (DK W 1237-N23). The authors would
also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for the constructive and
detailed feedback on a previous version of this paper.
References
Allan, N. J. R. (1987). Impact of Afghan refugees on the vegetation resources of
Pakistan's Hindukush-Himalaya. Mountain Research and Development, 7, 200204.
Aschbacher, J. (2002). Monitoring environmental treaties using earth observation.
VERTIC Verication Yearbook, 2002, 171186.
Baatz, M., & Schpe, A. (2000). Multiresolution Segmentation an optimization
approach for high quality multi-scale image segmentation. In J. Strobl, T. Blaschke, &
G. Griesebner (Eds.), Angewandte Geographische Informationsverarbeitung (pp. 1223).
Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Benz, U., Hofmann, P., Willhauck, G., Lingenfelder, I., & Heynen, M. (2004).
Multi-resolution, object-oriented fuzzy analysis of remote sensing data for
GIS-ready information. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 58,
239258.
Biswas, A. K., & Tortajada-Quiroz, C. (1996). Environmental impacts of the Rwandan
refugees on Zaire. Ambio, 25, 403408.
Bjorgo, E. (2000a). Refugee camp mapping using very high spatial resolution satellite
sensor images. Geocarto International, 15(2), 7988.
Bjorgo, E. (2000b). Using very high spatial resolution multispectral satellite sensor im-
agery to monitor refugee camps. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 21(3),
611616.
Blaschke, T. (2010). Object based image analysis for remote sensing. ISPRS Journal of
Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 65(1), 216.
Blaschke, T., Burnett, C., & Pekkarinen, A. (2004). Image segmentation methods for
object-based analysis and classication. In S. M. de Jong, & F. D. van der Meer
(Eds.), Remote sensing image analysis: Including the spatial domain (pp. 211236).
Dordrecht: Springer.
Buchanan-Smith, M., & Jaspars, S. (2007). Conict, camps and coercion: The ongoing
livelihood crisis in Darfur. Disasters, 31(1), 5776.
Comber, A. J., Wadsworth, R. A., & Fisher, P. F. (2008). Using semantics to clarify the
conceptual confusion between land cover and land use: the example of forest.
Journal of Land Use Science, 3(23), 185198.
Congalton, R. G., & Green, K. (2009). Assessing the accuracy of remotely sensed data.
Principles and practices (2nd edition). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Dragut, L., Tiede, D., & Levick, S. R. (2010). ESP: A tool to estimate scale parameter for
multiresolution image segmentation of remotely sensed data. International Journal
of Geographical Information Science, 24(6), 859871.
Ehrlich, D., Guo, H. D., Molch, K., Ma, J. W., & Pesaresi, M. (2009). Identifying damage
caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake from VHR remote sensing data. International
Journal of Digital Earth, 2(4), 309326.
Foody, G. M. (2002). Status of land cover classication accuracy assessment. Remote
Sensing of Environment, 80, 185201.
Gayer, M., Kranz, O., Schneiderhan, T., & Voigt, S. (2009). Methoden zur Erfassung von
Flchtlingslagern mit rumlich sehr hoch aufgelsten Satellitendaten. In J. Strobl,
T. Blaschke, & G. Griesebner (Eds.), Angewandte Geoinformatik 2009. Beitrge zum
21. AGIT Symposium Salzburg (pp. 700705). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Ghimire, K. (1994). Refugees and deforestation. International Migration, 32, 561570.
Giada, S., de Groeve, T., & Ehrlich, D. (2003). Information extraction from very high res-
olution satellite imagery over Lukole refugee camp, Tanzania. International Journal
of Remote Sensing, 24(22), 42514266.
Gorsevski, V., Kasischke, E., Dempewolf, J., Loboda, T., & Grossmann, F. (2012). Analysis
of the Impacts of armed conict on the Eastern Afromontane forest region on
the South SudanUganda border using multitemporal Landsat imagery. Remote
Sensing of Environment, 118, 1020.
Hagenlocher, M. (2011). Assessing the impact of IDP/refugee camps on the state of the
environment An indicator-based approach utilizing high-resolution satellite image
time series of Zam Zam, northern Darfur. In A. Car, G. Griesebner, & J. Strobl (Eds.),
Geospatial Crossroads @ GI_Forum 11. Proceedings of the Geoinformatics Forum Salzburg
(pp. 2231). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Hugo, G. (1996). Environmental concerns and international migration. International
Migration Review. Special Issue: Ethics, Migration and Global Stewardship, 30,
105131.
Hugo, G. (2008). Migration, development and environment. IOM migration research
series, No. 35. Geneva, Switzerland.
IDMC (2011). Internal displacement. Global overview of trends and developments in
2010 Geneva, Switzerland.
Jacobsen, K. (1997). Refugees' environmental impact: The effect of patterns of settlement.
Journal of Refugee Studies, 10(1), 1936.
Joyce, K. E., Belliss, S. E., Samsonov, S. V., McNeill, S. J., & Glassey, P. J. (2009). A review of
the status of satellite remote sensing and image processing techniques for map-
ping natural hazards and disasters. Progress in Physical Geography, 33(2), 183207.
Kelly, C. (1998). Bridging the gap: remote sensing and needs assessment A eld ex-
perience with displaced populations. Safety Science, 30, 123129.
Kemper, T., Jenerowicz, M., Gueguen, L., Poli, D., & Soille, P. (2011). Monitoring
changes in the Menik Farm IDP camps in Sri Lanka using multi-temporal very
high-resolution satellite data. International Journal of Digital Earth, 4(Suppl.1),
91106.
Kevane, M., & Gray, L. (2008). Darfur: Rainfall and conict. Environmental Research
Letters, 3(3), 034006, http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/3/3/034006 (10 pp.).
37
Kranz, O., Lang, S., Tiede, D., Zeug, G., Kemper, T., Caspard, M., et al. (2010). GMES ser-
vices for conict prevention and mitigation: Support the DG RELEX in mission
planning. Geographic Information and Cartography for Risk and Crisis Management:
Towards Better Solutions (pp. 179196). Berlin: Springer.
Kranz, O., Zeug, G., Tiede, D., Clandillon, S., Bruckert, D., Kemper, T., et al. (2010). Mon-
itoring refugee/IDP camps to support international relief action. In O. Altan, R.
Backhaus, P. Boccardo, & S. Zlatanova (Eds.), Geoinformation for disaster and risk
management Examples and best practices. Joint Board of Geospatial Information So-
cieties (JB GIS), United Nations Ofce for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). (pp. 5156).
Laneve, G., Santilli, G., & Lingenfelder, I. (2006). Development of automatic techniques
for refugee camps monitoring using very high spatial resolution (VHSR) satellite
imagery. IGARSS Conference 31 July4 August 2006, Denver, Colorado (pp. 841845).
Lang, S. (2008). Object-based image analysis for remote sensing applications: Modeling
reality Dealing with complexity. In T. Blaschke, S. Lang, & G. J. Hay (Eds.),
Object-based image analysis Spatial concepts for knowledge-driven remote sensing
applications (pp. 327). Berlin: Springer.
Lang, S., Jekel, T., Hlbling, D., Schpfer, S., Prinz, T., Kloyber, E., et al. (2006). Where the
grass is greener Mapping of urban green structures according to relative impor-
tance in the eyes of the citizens. 1st Workshop of the EARSeL SIG on Urban Remote
Sensing Challenges and Solutions CD-ROM.
Lang, S., Tiede, D., Hlbling, D., Freder, P., & Zeil, P. (2010). Earth observation
(EO)-based ex post assessment of IDP camp evolution and population dynamics
in Zam Zam, Darfur. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 31(21), 57095731.
Lang, S., Tiede, D., & Santilli, G. (2006). Varying sensors and algorithms An informa-
tion delivery approach for population estimation in African refugee camps. 6th
African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment Conference (AARSE), Oct
30 - Nov 2, Cairo, Egypt.
Lang, S., Zeil, P., Kienberger, S., & Tiede, D. (2008). Geons Policy-relevant geo-objects
for monitoring high-level indicators. In A. Car, G. Griesebner, & J. Strobl (Eds.),
Geospatial crossroads @ GI_Forum '08. Proceedings of th Geoinformatic Forum
Salzburg (pp. 180185). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Lohdi, M. A., Echavarria, F. R., & Keithley, C. (1998). Using remote sensing data to mon-
itor land cover changes near Afghan Refugee Camps in Northern Pakistan. Geocarto
International, 13(1), 3339.
Maxwell, J. W., & Reuveny, R. (2000). Resource scarcity and conict in developing
countries. Journal of Peace Research, 37(3), 301322.
Myers, N. (2005). Environmental refugees: An emergent issue. 13th Economic Forum,
May 2005, Prague http://www.osce.org/eea/14851 (last accessed March 20, 2012)
OCHA (2007). Camp data. http://www.unsudanig.org/library/mapcatalogue/darfur/data/
camps/Map%2072%20SU-DAR-CAMP-02_A3_06Dec07_Northern%20Darfur%20
Zamzam%20Camp.pdf (last accessed December 18, 2011)
Openshaw, S. (1984). The modiable areal unit problem. Concepts and Techniques in
Modern Geography, Number 38. Norwich: Geo Books.
Pesaresi, M., Gerhardinger, A., & Haag, F. (2007). Rapid damage assessment of built-up
structures using VHR satellite data in tsunami-affected areas. International Journal
of Remote Sensing, 28(13), 30133036.
Raleigh, C., & Urdal, H. (2007). Climate change, environmental degradation and armed
conict. Political Geography, 26, 674694.
Rouse, J. W., Haas, R. H., Schell, J. A., & Deering, D. W. (1973). Monitoring vegetation
systems in the great plains with ERTS. Third ERTS Symposium, NASA SP-351 I
(pp. 309317).
Sato, H., Yasui, K., & Byamana, K. (2000). Follow-up survey of environmental impacts of
the Rwandan refugees on eastern D. R. Congo. Ambio, 29, 122123.
Schwethelm, F., Kranz, O., & Voigt, S. (2009). Entwicklung eines semi-automatischen
Ansatzes zur objektbasierten Extraktion von Wohneinheiten in IDP Camps und
Drfern in Darfur/Sudan aus multitemporalen VHSR-Daten. In J. Strobl, T.
Blaschke, & G. Griesebner (Eds.), Angewandte Geoinformatik 2009. Beitrge zum
21. AGIT Symposium Salzburg (pp. 747752). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Solomon, S., Qin, D., Manning, M., Chen, Z., Marquis, M., Averyt, K. B., et al. (2007). The
physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report
of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and
New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Sprhnle, K., Kranz, O., & Schpfer, S. (2010). Abschtzung der Umweltauswirkungen
von Flchtlingslagern mithilfe multitemporaler Fernerkundungsdaten am Beispiel
des Camps Zalingei in Westdarfur. In J. Strobl, T. Blaschke, & G. Griesebner (Eds.),
Angewandte Geoinformatik 2010. Beitrge zum 22. AGIT Symposium, Salzburg
(pp. 697702). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
TEARFUND (2007). Darfur: Relief in a vulnerable environment. http://www.tearfund.
org/webdocs/website/Campaigning/Policy%20and%20research/Relief%20in%20a
%20vulnerable%20envirionment%20nal.pdf (last accessed June 27, 2012)
Tiede, D., & Lang, S. (2008). Rapid dwelling extraction from VHSR satellite imagery in
refugee camps and dissemination of conditioned information via virtual globes.
In M. Ehlers, K. Behncke, F. W. Gerstengarbe, F. Hillen, L. Koppers, L. Stroink, & J.
Wchter (Eds.), Digital Earth Summit on Geoinformatics 2008: Tools for global change
research (pp. 100106). Heidelberg: Wichmann.
Tiede, D., & Lang, S. (2009). IDP camp evolvement analysis in Darfur using VHSR optical
satellite image time series and scientic visualization on virtual globes. Proceedings of
the 6th International Symposium on Digital Earth (ISDE6) Beijing, China, September, 2009.
Tiede, D., & Lang, S. (2010). Analytical 3D views and virtual globes Scientic results
in a familiar spatial context. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing,
65(3), 300307.
Tiede, D., Lang, S., Albrecht, F., & Hlbling, D. (2010). Object-based class modeling for
cadastre-constrained delineation of geo-objects. Photogrammetric Engineering and
Remote Sensing, 76(2), 193202.
Tiede, D., Lang, S., Freder, P., Hlbling, D., Hoffmann, C., & Zeil, P. (2011). Automated
damage indication for rapid geospatial reporting. An operational object-based
38 M. Hagenlocher et al. / Remote Sensing of Environment 126 (2012) 2738
approach to damage density mapping following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Photo-
grammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 77(9), 933942.
Tiede, D., Lang, S., & Hoffmann, C. (2008). Type-specic class modelling for one-level
representation of single trees. In T. Blaschke, S. Lang, & G. Hay (Eds.), Object-based
image analysis Spatial concepts for knowledge-driven remote sensing applications
(pp. 133151). Berlin: Springer.
Tiede, D., Wania, A., & Freder, P. (2012). Object-based change detection and classica-
tion improvement of time series analysis. International Conference on Geographic
Object-Based Image Analysis, 4. (GEOBIA), May 79, 2012, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil
(pp. 223227).
UNAMID (2008). Observation of human rights ofce visit at Zam Zam camp. http://
unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=55&ctl=Details&mid=376&ItemID=96
(last accessed November 10, 2011)
UNEP (2006). Environmental considerations of human displacement in Liberia: A guide for
decision-makers and practitioners. Nairobi, Kenya.
UNEP (2007). Sudan Post-conict environmental assessment. Nairobi, Kenya.
UNEP (2011a). Livelihood security: Climate change, migration and conict in the Sahel.
Nairobi, Kenya.
UNEP (2011b). The Democratic Republic Congo Post-conict environmental assessment.
synthesis for policy makers. Nairobi, Kenya.
UNEP (2011c). Rwanda From post-conict to environmentally sustainable development.
Nairobi, Kenya.
UNHCR (1998). Refugee operations and environmental management: Key principles for
decision-making. (reprinted June 2000). Geneva, Switzerland.
UNHCR (2006). Refugee livelihoods A review of evidence. http://www.unhcr.org/
4423fe5d2.html (last accessed March 20, 2012)
UNHCR (2007). Convention and protocol relating to the status of refugees. Geneva,
Switzerland.
UNHCR (2009). FRAME toolkit: Module V Environmental indicator framework. Geneva,
Switzerland.
Vanasselt, W. (2003). Armed conict, refugees and the environment. Earth trends.
(pp. 2527)Washington DC: World Resources Institute.
Voigt, S., Kemper, T., Riedlinger, T., Kie, R., Scholte, K., & Mehl, H. (2007). Satellite
image analysis for disaster and crisis-management support. IEEE Transactions on
Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 45(6), 15201528.
WCRWC (2006). Finding trees in the Desert: Firewood collection and alternatives in
Darfur. New York.
Woodcock, C., & Strahler, A. (1987). The factor of scale in remote sensing. Remote
Sensing of Environment, 21, 311322.
Wyatt, B. K., & Gerard, F. F. (2001). What's in a name? Approaches to the inter-comparison
of land use and land cover classications. In G. Groom (Ed.), Strategic landscape
monitoring for the Nordic countries. Copenhagen: Nordlam.