Open AccessAnalysing Slavery through Satellite Technology: How Remote Sensing Could Revolutionise Data Collection to Help End Modern Slavery
Author(s) -
Bethany Jackson,
Kevin Bales,
Sarah Owen,
Jessica Wardlaw,
Doreen S. Boyd
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of modern slavery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2574-9897
DOI - 10.22150/jms/urdj6988
Subject(s) - remote sensing , fishing , scale (ratio) , satellite , data collection , earth observation , environmental resource management , business , geography , computer science , environmental science , engineering , political science , cartography , sociology , law , aerospace engineering , social science
An estimated 40.3 million people are enslaved globally across a range of industries. Whilst these industries are known, their scale can hinder the fight against slavery. Some industries using slave labour are visible in satellite imagery, including mining, brick kilns, fishing and shrimp farming. Satellite data can provide supplementary details for large scales which cannot be easily gathered on the ground. This paper reviews previous uses of remote sensing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors and demonstrates how Earth Observation as a methodology can be applied to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7.