Abstrcat This paper focuses on how remote sensing technology was employed in investigating the variation of vegetation coverage after an emergent water transportation project was implemented. A comparison of two Thematic Mapper(TM) images of 2000 and 2001 in the lower reaches of Tarim River was used to determine the changes in vegetation coverage before and after implementation of the project. The results show that the vegetation coverage in an affected green belt had clearly recovered. The method has potential for broad application due to its flexibility, accuracy and convenience