St Helena is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic, 4,000 km east of Rio de Janeiro and 1,950 km west of south western Africa. St Helena’s vegetation consists of a lush green interior, surrounded by agricultural land, scrub and dry barren areas near the coast. Since it was first visited in 1502, the island’s sensitive ecosystems have been modified and exploited resulting in the loss of endemic species and fragmentation of habitats. It is increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change, tourism, development pressures and invasive species. The Island aims to become more self- sufficient which will require careful land management, the restoration of habitats and the protection of rare species.

Environment Systems is part of a team that will produce comprehensive environment maps showing the functioning of habitats and soils and creating an accessible digital system which will utilise remote sensing and field based surveying for present and future ecosystem services monitoring. An important part of the project will be focused on the acquisition and analysis of multi-spectral (8-band) satellite imagery to provide the initial land cover, vegetation and soil classifications. Environment Systems will lead the image analysis.

Training workshops also form a significant part of the project to help the Island’s Government with future mapping and modelling. The workshops will also help in the development of management tools for the control of invasive species, water retention in vegetation and soils, soil quality and to identify the potential for habitat restoration and conservation.