Advances in satellite remote sensing of the wetland ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Wetlands are highly productive systems that act as habitats for avariety of fauna andflora. Despite their ecohydrological signifi-cance, wetland ecosystems are severely under threat from globalenvironmental changes as well as pressure from anthropogenicactivities. Such changes results in severe disturbances of plantspecies composition, spatial distribution, productivity, diversity,and their ability to offer critical ecosystem goods and services .However, wetland degradation varies considerably from place toplace with severe degradation in developing countries, especiallyin sub-Saharan Africa due to poor management practices thatleads to underutilization and over reliance on them for liveli-hoods. The lack of monitoring and assessment in this region hastherefore led to the lack of consolidated detailed understandingon the rate of wetland loss.