# Remote Sensing for International Peace and Security: Its Role and Implications
## 3 Results
### Remote Sensing in Armed Conflicts  
This technology has also been applied to quantify the causes of armed conflict and how such conflict can impact the environment. An example of this was shown in [PERSON] et al. (2016), where authors examined whether remote sensing could be used to confirm that the conflict in Darfur was a conflict across the resources among communities. Their study illustrated that remote sensing could be useful in testing claims, which are difficult to validate with more traditional information. These studies can be further extended with more granularity in studying the role of individuals and communities in the ignition of ethnic conflicts through local and regional databases ([PERSON] et al., 2017). [PERSON] et al. (2016) also examined how this technology can assist in reducing the devastating impacts on the environment during and after an armed conflict. War can cause extensive water and air pollution as well as the degradation of land and biodiversity. Such long-term environmental impacts might again contribute to future conflict if not addressed. Therefore, understanding environmental impacts exacerbated by conflict is fundamental in both conflict prevention and reconstruction. However, the impacts of the armed disputes and violence across the environmental domain, tending to be multifarious and, hence, extremely difficult to assess, especially during wartime. Nevertheless, remote sensing has augmented environmental impact assessment in conflict scenarios. This has greatly enhanced post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation ([PERSON] et al., 2017). The use of night-time light data to study armed conflicts has increased considerably over the last decade. It helps in identifying and analyzing the impact of different conflicts. For instance, the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor (NPP-VIIRS) has been used to evaluate the crisis in Sana, Yemen by utilizing the time series night-time light images (Figure 6). [PERSON] et al. (2019) observed that between February 2015 and June 2015, the total night-time light of Yemen has decreased by 71.60% because of the severe conflict across the country. [PERSON] et al. (2016) utilized Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) and Flickr photos to monitor the crisis development and refugee flow in Arabian countries. Change in economic and human capital can be observed using time-series VIIRS and Flickr photos. Their study concludes  
Figure 5: PlanetScope data of Kutupalong refugee campsite: **(a,b)** show the destruction of forest area due to the establishment of Rohingya refugee camps as observed from images taken on 25 November 2016 and 15 November 2020, respectively. [Source: prepared by authors]. that the big data with remote sensing has the potential to provide unstructured but timely data on a conflicting situation in case of lacking a conducive approach for changes in environmental and geopolitical variations. Figure 7 shows a false-color composite (FCC) of VIIRS night-time brightness data acquired in October 2012 (in the red band), October 2015 (in the green band), and October 2018 (in the blue band) in Arabian countries. The areas with a decrease in night-time light after 2012 appear to have a red color. Most of the decrease of the night-time light is noticed in the Syrian region, which is related to the intensification of conflicts in the region. The areas with higher intensity of brightness during night-time on the observation dates emerge in a white color. The white color region shows the sites were not affected by the conflicts. VIIRS time-series data can be useful to provide essential information about economic changes in the region. Remote sensing has also been utilized in assessing forest cover change aggravated by conflict. Forests are crucial in conflict situations because they are used as safe havens by both combatants and civilians.