Summer research on historical Haiti land use maps

Land use change, especially deforestation, is a global concern that directly impacts biodiversity, climate change, and human livelihoods and communities. Gustavus junior geography major Meg Wika (right, in photo) worked with Prof. Anna Versluis this summer on a study that involved digitizing and georeferencing historic maps of land use change in Haiti. These maps were formerly available only in paper format in a handful of libraries around the world. By digitizing these maps and thus expanding the digital record of land use beyond that available from satellite imagery, it will be possible to study patterns of land use change in Haiti over greater time periods.