Satellite Image Classes Categorization Schemes for United Nations Framework Convention on Climatic Change (UNFCCC): Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory for National Representation – The Botswana Case

Introduction

International Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), such as the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Greenpeace played a major role in sensitizing communities in the preservation of endangered animal species and their habitats; the conservation of their environments; and the conservation of natural resources. “Save the Whales” slogan was echoed all over the globe by the newly formed Greenpeace in early 1970’s. Scientists through their research had long ascertained that the indiscriminate use of Earth resources is the root course of depletion of natural resources; global ecological crises; global warming; ozone layer depletion; land degradation; desertification; and pollution. Also, to combat that the land cover mapping is made as a UNFCCC protocol on issues relating to reducing emissions of Green House Gas (GHG) from deforestation in developing countries. All these are precursors of climate change.

Figure 1.

Botswana rainfall decrease for 33 years’ time period

Figure 2.

Botswana temperature increase for 33 years’ time period

The United Nations (UN) answered these concerns by the creation of International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) outlined in the UN General Assembly Resolution 43/53 of 6th December 1988.

Figure 3.

Kyoto Protocol Accounting

(Source: Claire Breidenich, UNFCCC, Presentation at REC workshop, October 2006)

IPCC’s mandate is to review and make a collective setup of all scientific skills and knowledge on climate change; its social-economic impact on communities’ livelihoods and to come up with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. IPCC culminated into the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a freestanding UN entity which was signed in 1992, and came into force in 1994 (Carter, 1996). UNFCCC membership is divided into three groups. First, is Annex I, which are those members that had committed themselves to return their greenhouse-gas emissions amounts to the 1990 levels. Second, are the Annex II countries, which are those that have an additional special obligation to provide financial resources and facilitate technology transfer to the developing countries.

Figure 4.

Botswana population growth – 1964 to 2001

And third is Non-Annex I members, which are those that are without historical responsibility for carbon pollution. UNFCCC has three subsidiary bodies and agenda. The first is the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) - Land use, Land Cover Change (LULCC), the main topic of this chapter falls into this subsidiary; the second is Subsidiary Body for Implementation, and the third is the UNFCCC on-going process. UNFCCC through its supreme body of the Conference of Parties (COP) came-up with various agreements which members had to pledge and adhere to in order to curb climate change (1997 - COP 3: Kyoto Protocol; 2001 – COP 7: Marrakesh Accords; 2007 – COP 13: Bali Action Plan; 2009 – COP 15: Copenhagen Accord).