The Use of Motor-Powered Paraglider as a Useful Monitoring Tool for Coastal Environment on the Macro Level

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Monitoring coastal environment, particularly landscape and vegetation on coasts and beaches, is considered to be important because they change rapidly and drastically due to the natural cycle and artificial pressures. Several monitoring tools for the coastal zone environment have been developed to date. However, most of them require heavy instrument and are often lacks cost effectiveness. In order to achieve cheaper and handy spatial monitoring, we developed video and camera recoding devices attached to a motor-powered paraglider. It can provide clear and sharp photographic data from very low to relatively high altitude. The resolution of the data is down to 5cm depending on its altitude and recording device. The experiment and development of monitoring equipment were carried out in 1999 and 2000 to test its efficiency and effectiveness. The results showed that the photographic data could be utilized for image analysis, for example measuring changes in coastal vegetation, monitoring artificial alternation on foreshore and counting litters on beaches. It also demonstrates cost effectiveness because motor-powered paraglider flights do not cost very much in comparison to ordinary aerial photograph by helicopters and airplanes. This monitoring method can be used for NPO and NGO to track changes in coastal environment regularly with relatively lower cost. Furthermore, the photos taken by this device can be amalgamated and attached to the map by using Arc view GIS software based on the positioning data obtained from a camera or VTR that is equipped with DGPS (differential global positioning system).