ABSTRACT
Geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial modelling are crucial for designing, implementing, and optimizing area-wide programmes of insect and/or disease control. This chapter provides a basic introduction to the science of GIS, Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite remote sensing (RS), and spatial modelling, and reviews the principal ways in which these technologies can be used to assist various stages of development of the sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes — from the selection of project sites, and feasibility assessments and planning of pre-intervention surveys, to the monitoring and analysis of insect suppression programmes, and the release of sterile insects. Potential barriers to the successful deployment of GIS tools are also discussed.
