Les inventaires des ressources naturelles par la télédétection satellite

The rational management of natural resources which daily becomes of greater urgency supposes a better knowlegde and, fi possible accurate measurements of the natural resources that have been used, are available, have been spoilt or are already disappearing. Multispectral télédétection by satelite enables numerical, regular and relatively detailed information to be obtained concerning all phenomena connected with the occupation and use of land. For this reason it is increasingly used as a means of inventory for natural resources — water, woodland, farm-land, quarries and gravel pits and human pressure inflicted on the environment are regularly and accurately observed. By means of the interpretation of the images and of multispectral satelite data woodland can be observed and protected, harvests can be forecast, water resources can be managed, and the potential of a natural region can be estimated. The rapid development of the material used and of applied technology means that considerable progress can be foreseen in this field which in the future will enable more accurate and more regular forecasts to be made at increasingly smaller expense.