| Land degradation due to soil erosion is a serious problem in the central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and one that is of interest to environment-conflict researchers. It is one of many environmental scarcities which may have contributed to violent insurgency in the area in 1994. A soil erosion model, SEMMED, which incorporates satellite images and geographic information systems (GIS) is used to model erosion hazard at a regional scale. Satellite images are used to derive vegetative inputs to the model for the 900 km2 study area. Soils, precipitation and other model inputs are entered into the GIS. Erosion predictions are made by calculating soil loss due to splash detachment and transport capacity and the lesser of the two values taken as the limiting factor in the erosion process. Data inputs and model limitations are discussed. Finally, the utility of remote sensing and geographic information systems to environment-conflict research is reviewed. |
