Remote Sensing Analysis of Land Cover and Land Use, Central Belize

In 1992, the Land Information Centre (LIC) of the Belize Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE) acquired Geographic Information System (GIS) capability (Fairweather, 1997). One of the initial projects undertaken by the LIC was to integrate digitized land use maps of Belize into the GIS. These maps had been previously completed by the MNRE as part of a project initiated in 1987 by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The results of this mapping project were presented in a preliminary report containing eight land use maps (Fairweather and Gray, 1994). The information from these maps has been extensively utilized by both government and private organizations for planning and development decisions (Fairweather, 1997). Recognizing the value of the 1989/1992 land use datasets and the importance of maintaining current land use maps, the MNRE sought to update them. The LIC acquired 1996 imagery through a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), providing the necessary means for updating the land use maps.