Using remote sensing to monitor agricultural and environmental sector

At the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s regular press briefing for March, held on April 1, a representative of the National Remote Sensing Department shared information on the application of remote sensing to monitor and manage several sectors. This highlights the increasingly important role of this technology in governing resources, the environment and agricultural production.

Proactive periodic and ad hoc monitoring across multiple sectors

According to the report, the Department of National Remote Sensing has proactively implemented various tasks applying remote sensing technology to serve state management under the Ministry’s direction. The focus is the project “Application of remote sensing for regular monitoring serving sectors under the Ministry,” aiming to provide continuous and timely information on the exploitation and use of natural resources and the environment.

In the field of seas and islands, remote sensing is used to periodically monitor parameters such as temperature, chlorophyll concentration and sea surface salinity on a quarterly basis, while also issuing warnings for abnormal phenomena. This technology also helps monitor changes in key offshore islands.

For water resources and minerals, remote sensing data provides information on cross-border water exploitation and use in major river basins such as the Red River and the Mekong River; monitors wetland areas and nature reserves, supporting biodiversity conservation. At the same time, land cover data is used to calculate greenhouse gas emissions, serving national reporting and international climate commitments.

In mineral management, remote sensing supports monitoring of exploration and exploitation planning, notably for bauxite ore.

Enhancing capacity for disaster and environmental monitoring

A notable highlight is the operation of the Sentinel Asia system for disaster monitoring. In 2025, the system was activated nine times to provide emergency satellite data, supporting the monitoring of heavy rains and storms that caused flooding in many localities such as Thai Nguyen, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

Flood monitoring maps were rapidly developed and promptly delivered to authorities, contributing to improved forecasting, response and disaster recovery.

In the environmental sector, remote sensing is also applied to address urgent issues such as air pollution in Hanoi. The Department has combined remote sensing imagery with drone flights to identify and provide early warnings of major emission sources such as agricultural residue burning, construction sites and craft villages generating dust, thereby supporting management agencies in taking appropriate measures.

In addition, this technology is used to monitor riverbank and coastal erosion. In 18 coastal areas in central Vietnam, remote sensing has provided detailed information on erosion developments, trends and the effectiveness of anti-erosion structures, contributing to the proposal of climate adaptation solutions.

Completing data infrastructure and promoting information sharing

Alongside monitoring activities, the Department of National Remote Sensing is managing and operating three data receiving stations from VNREDSat-1, SPOT6 and KOMPSAT-3A satellites, providing high-resolution imagery for various purposes.

Notably, the national remote sensing database system has been officially operational since 2025, serving as a central platform for state management in this field. Data is collected, stored, standardized and shared through a unified process, ensuring legality and reliability.

Through this system, agencies from central to local levels can quickly access verified data sources, effectively serving planning, monitoring, inspection, auditing and dispute resolution.

At the same time, the Department has deployed online public services to provide remote sensing imagery data to organizations and individuals. This data has been widely applied in many areas such as forest resource surveys, determining rice cultivation areas, supporting the development of key agricultural products, forest fire warning, disaster prevention, search and rescue, as well as serving national defense, security and scientific research.

The application of remote sensing not only improves the efficiency of natural resource and environmental management but also creates an important data foundation for the digital transformation of the agriculture and environment sectors. Remote sensing is becoming an indispensable tool in the context of increasingly complex management requirements, especially in the face of challenges related to climate change, natural disasters and sustainable development. In the future, continued investment in satellite systems, data analytics and human resources training will be essential to fully unlock the potential of remote sensing in Viet Nam’s development strategy.