Several developing countries in South/Southeast Asia are undergoing rapid urbanization with accompanying changes in land use and lifestyles both within towns and cities and in the rural areas that supply urban areas with food and other resources.

This population growth and urbanization will increase current pressures to convert land from natural and agricultural areas to residential and urban uses with significant impact on ecosystem services. Increased land cover changes can also impact agricultural production efficiencies and environmental impacts on urban, suburban, rural communities and natural areas. A key issue requiring scientific analysis in the region is the balance of LCLUC while minimizing the negative impacts on other ecosystem services. Most importantly, addressing LCLUC research in South/Southeast Asia requires developing strong partnerships with regional scientists to identify gaps and priorities in the region. To achieve these goals, a new initiative named South/Southeast Asia Regional-Science Initiative (SARI) has been launched with funding from the NASA LCLUC program. SARI will be similar to earlier regional initiative sponsored by NASA LCLUC programs such as Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA), Central African Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE), Northern Eurasian Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) and Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS).

Figure 1. Recently launched SARI website

The goal of SARI is to develop an innovative regional research, education, and capacity building program involving state-of-the-art remote sensing, natural sciences, engineering and social sciences to enrich Land Cover/Land Use Change (LCLUC) science in South/Southeast Asia. Our objectives are twofold. First, we aim to advance LCLUC science in the region. Second, we endeavor to strengthen existing connections and build new collaborations between the U.S. and South/Southeast Asia researchers in the areas of LCLUC research. To strengthen the theoretical underpinnings of LCLUC science in the South/Southeast Asian region, SARI will facilitate: a). New partnerships with space agencies, universities and non-government organizations; b). Development of novel and regionally-appropriate methodologies and algorithms for LCLUC products; c).Data sharing mechanisms; d). Leadership training; e). Organizing international workshops to identify regional priorities, discuss and share scientific findings; f).Capacity building programs; and g). International student/researcher exchanges, including among LCLUC scientists in the region. SARI core-team has been formed and regional scientists are being identified to be part of SARI. The recently held LCLUC meeting in Myanmar (http://lcluc.umd.edu/meetings.php?mid=69) served as a kick-off meeting for SARI where several researchers from South/Southeast Asia regional countries participated. As a part of SARI objectives, LANDSAT-8 data for 2016 covering entire Myanmar has been distributed to locals. More thematic workshops in the SARI region are being planned including capacity building and training activities. All researchers funded through the NASA LCLUC program in the SARI region will be invited to be part of SARI team. In addition, the SARI team will work closely with all U.S. and international programs such as GEOGLAM, NASA SERVIR, GOFC-GOLD, MAIRS, NEESPI, GLP, START, etc., to foster collaborative research, capacity building and training activities in SARI countries.

SARI will serve as a facilitator and catalyst for LCLUC research in South/Southeast Asia. It will serve as a model for interdisciplinary research that links LCLUC science with NASA assets. The outputs will be beneficial to the U.S., SARI and international researchers. More details about the SARI can be found at: www.sari.umd.edu. Contact Krishna Vadrevu (krisvkp@umd.edu), SARI Lead Scientist for more details. Read more about the project