IMPACT OF CLIMATE AND LAND COVER/USE VARIABILITY ON VECTOR BORNE DISEASES: AN ANALYSIS OF EPIDEMIC OUTBREAKS OF MALARIA AND DENGUE INCIDENCE Sumith Pathirana 1 , Masato Kawabata 2 and Serwan Baban 1 1 The Centre for Geoinformatics Research and Environmental Assessment Technology (GREAT), School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2477, Australia (spathira@scu.edu.au and serwan.baban@scu.edu.au) 2 International Centre for Medical Research (ICMR), Kobe University of Medical School, Kobe, Japan (mkawabat@med.kobe-u.ac.jp) Corresponding Author and Presenter: Sumith Pathirana KEYWORDS: Malaria, dengue, climate, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, GIS, Remote Sensing ABSTRACT It has become increasingly clear that global climate is changing, resulting in variations in surface temperature, precipitations and storm activities. Although the patterns of change in specific geographic regions remain uncertain, there are some concerns about the impact of climate variability on the human environment, particularly, the transmission of mosquito borne diseases. Malaria and Dengue Fever incidence have specific geographic regions with climate, land cover and land use being the major determinant factors. Previous studies show that climatic factors have close association with the spatial distribution of vector borne diseases. Accordingly, changes in climate may have a profound impact on the future outbreaks of vector borne diseases. However, our current understandings do not show empirical evidence that indicate the association between climate and disease transmission which will be required in future predictions of disease outbreaks. The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of climate variability on two predominant vector borne diseases; namely Malaria and Dengue Fever. The research will examine epidemiology and environmental data for Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands. The data analysis will be conducted using Geographic Information System techniques, remote sensing and spatial statistics. It is anticipated that the frequency and geographic patterns of disease outbreaks will vary with the changes of climate, land cover and land use. The research will contribute to the current understanding of the association between climate, land cover and diseases and will help in the estimation of future impacts. 1. INTRODUCTION Climate affects the life cycle of many pathogens and vectors (CDC, 2001; McMichael and Haines, 1997). Environmental and geographical factors, particularly temperature, rainfall, humidity, land use and land cover, each play a role in determining the habitat as well as the distribution of anopheles and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Contribution of these factors as well as the role of climate change in malaria and dengue outbreaks and their spatial distribution have been poorly understood. Current evidence suggests that climate variability has a direct influence on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases (Githeko et al., 2000; Haines et al., 2000). Lack of quality data and research tools have limited the understanding of the causes for disease spread and its spatial dimension. This research focuses on the examination of environmental and geographical linkages on mosquito borne diseases using spatial information management techniques. In this research, the preliminary findings will be examined using two study areas from Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands. GIS and remote sensing techniques will be used to create spatial databases and map the spatial distribution of diseases.