ABSTRACT
Remote sensing can provide a prompt and relatively accurate assessment of agricultural
water use and productivity in conflict zones, providing insights on the food security status
of the affected communities. Considerable efforts have been spent in developing
agricultural and crop yield change methods using remotely sensed data (see e.g. Basso,
Cammarano, & Carfagna, 2013). While remote sensing and satellite imagery uses for civil
and agricultural applications have recently increased, there are fewer instances in which
satellite imagery has been used to study the effects of war on changing human and natural
landscapes and food security. Examples include imagery-based crisis identification used
by various agencies, including the UN and non-governmental agencies (Marx & Goward,
2013; Marx & Loboda, 2013), for assessment of violation of human rights. Other examples
include observation of villages in Sudan destroyed by war (HIU, 2004) and conflict-led
rural abandonment of agricultural lands in the two-year war in Kosovo (Terres, Biard, &
Darras, 1999), and Bosnia (Witmer, 2008) and Darfur using MODIS (Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer) imagery and SPOT (Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre)
imagery.
