Google Earth satellite imagery helps FAO with natural resource management.

The Rome-based United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has joined forces with multinational technology giant Google in using satellite imagery to manage the world's natural resources.

The three-year partnership's effective use of digital technology on “global impact projects” will be presented at a joint FAO-Google Earth event at the FAO headquarters beside Rome's Circus Maximus on 15 April.

Satellite imagery will be used to survey the health of remote forests and monitor outbreaks of agricultural pests such as locusts, as well as track crop producivity, deforestation and desertification.