GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Natural Resources Management

INTRODUCTION

Nature contains a plethora of resources right from the soil, water and land to various other forms and structures like forest, animals, minerals etc. With the ever increasing demand and exploitation of resources it is mandatory to use it sustainably. The topic ―natural resource management‖ is selected due to the importance of natural resources in every sphere of life in both direct and indirect way right from the use of water to use of soil for food production for very basic need of survival. Remote sensing data is applied for mapping and monitoring of various natural resources related with Earth‘s surface. Remote sensing has proved to be very effective means of developing and integrated GIS, which could meet the challengesof evaluating and managing natural resources. The extent and the amount of resources present , changes in resources, potential, strategy for resource protection and conservation; eco system studies, sustainable use and development practice of natural resources all can be effectively studied by integratedapproach with Remote Sensing and GIS. Studies on natural resource management have brought out the basic concept that methods of recovery and use of natural resource management are closely interrelated with human dimensions. Remote Sensing data can be digitized and analysed by GIS tools to give precise outputs in different formats. The principal areas for application of GIS and RS are land-use planning and management, management of natural resources (land, water, agriculture and fishery); forestry and wildlife management, soil degradation studies and enumeration area mapping, environmental impact studies, natural hazard mapping, disaster forecasting and management, mineral exploration, etc. The application of GIS and RS is rapidly expanding worldwide for planning and management of natural as well as man-made resources. The present study was undertaken to explore the applications of GIS and RS in natural resource management in India.

This study is based on secondary data and information mostly downloaded from the internet. The information materials from the internet include research papers, reports, workshop outputs, and information published in the websites of the related organizations. The information on the applications of GIS and RS in natural resource management were collected, sorted, compiled, and presented in this study. GIS/RS applications in meteorology, climate

The National Remote Sensing Agency(NRSA), of the Dept. of Space (DOS), Govt. of India (GOI), is the focal point for distribution of Remote Sensing satellite data products in India. The Centre is responsible for remote sensing satellite data acquisition and processing, data dissemination, aerial remote sensing and decision support for disaster management and natural resources management. NRSC has set up data reception station at Shadnagar near Hyderabad for acquiring data from Indian remote sensing satellites as well as others. The Centre is also engaged in executing remote sensing application projects in collaboration with the users. Currently NRSC is supplying data from CartoSat - 1, 2, 2A & 2B, ResourceSat - 1 & 2, OceanSat, TES, IRS - 1D and IMS –1.

 Space Applications Centre (SAC) - Ahmedabad  National Centre for Human Settlements and Environment (NCHSE) - Bhopal  M.P.Council of Science&Technology - Bhopal  Survey of India - Dehradun  U-SAC - Dehradun  Indian Institute of

Remote Sensing (IIRS)

- Dehradun  Bhaskaracharya Institute For Space Applications and Geo-

Informatics

- Gandhinagar  Haryana Space

and Applications Centre

- Hissar  The National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) - Hyderabad  National Remote Sensing Centre - Hyderabad  Telangana State Remote sensing Applications Centre - Hyderabad  Safety Research Institute - Kalpakkam  Institute of Environmental Studies & Wetland Management (IESWM) - Kolkata  National Atlas And Thematic Mapping Organisation: - Kolkata  Remote Sensing Application Centre - UP - Lucknow  Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) - Ludhiana  Remote Sensing &Geoinformatics Division (MERI, Nasik) - Nasik  Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) - Pune  Science and Technology Park - Pune  Jharkhand Space Application Centre - Ranchi  North Eastern Space Applications Center (NESAC) - Shillong  AryabhattaGeoinformatics& Space Applicaion Centre - Shimla  Soil Survey, Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) at Hyderabad is the nodal agency for reception, archival, processing and dissemination of remote IRS-1D, Oceansat-1 and Technology Experiment Satellite as well as foreign satellites like Terra, NOAA and ERS. This data from IRS are available to its users through NRSC Data Centre and also through Bhuvan Geoportal of ISRO. NRSC data centre provide data through its purchase process while Bhuvan Geoportal provides data in free and open domain. National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) is a national level inter-agency system for integrated natural resources management in the country. NNRMS supports the optimal utilization of country's natural resources by providing for a proper and systematic inventory of natural resources available using remote sensing data in conjunction with conventional data/techniques. In doing so, NNRMS adopts various advanced technologies of satellite and aerial remote sensing; Geographical Information Systems (GIS); precise Positioning Systems; database and networking infrastructure and advanced ground-based survey techniques. NNRMS was established in 1983 and was supported by the Planning Commission, Government of India. Department of Space (DOS) is the nodal agency for implementing NNRMS in the country and the Secretariat of NNRMS is housed in the ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore. The Planning Committee of NNRMS (PC-NNRMS) is the apex-body that provides guidelines for implementation of the NNRMS and also oversees the progress of remote sensing applications for natural resources management in the country. The PC-NNRMS is chaired by Member (Science), Planning Commission and has Secretaries of various departments of Government of India as Members. The NNRMS activities are steered through nine NNRMS Standing Committees viz. (i) Agriculture & Soils, (ii) Bio-Resources, (iii) Geology and Mineral resources, (iv) Water Resources (v) Ocean Resources and Meteorology (vi) Cartography & Mapping, (vii) Urban Management (viii) Rural Development and (ix) Training & Technology. Each Standing Committee is chaired by Secretaries of the respective departments of the Government of India and consisting of experts from major user departments.

Land Resources Land use planning, land inventories, land survey, land use and land cover mapping soil resources database, soil survey, soil data analysis, characterization of soil, soil erosion assessment and prediction, climate change impact on agriculture Forest Resources Planning and management, forest inventory, afforestation, climate change impact on forests Water Resources Water resources management, watershed analysis, fisheries resources development planning, river bank erosion and accretion, monitoring morphological changes and hydrology of rivers, navigation and dredging, construction and maintenance of embankments, flood forecasting and management, water pollution Coastal zone resources

India faces many problems in management of natural and man-made resources. So the applications of GIS and Remote Sensing tools have become inevitable. Even International Development partners are encouraging the application of GIS and Remote Sensing in the applications in all spheres of natural resource management. Most of the organizations (government and private) are using GIS and Remote Sensing in the management of the resources from the past few years, and with the advancement of technology the application in the other fields is also going to increase with time.

1. IDRC (2009). ―ICT, natural resource management and local development‖, Background paper for the IDRC regional ICT and local development workshop, Working draft, Dakar, May 2009. Available at [http://web.idrc.ca/ritc/ev-139502-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html] 2. Anji Reddy, M. (2000) Remote Sensing and GIS- An Introduction, J.N.T. University, Hyderabad, India 3. Chawla, A. And Thukral, K.A. (2000) Digital Image Processing of IRS-1B data for Landuse classification of Amritsar, Dept. Of

4. Lillesand, T.M. and Kifer, R.W. (1987) Remote Sensing and Image Interpretation, Second Edition, Jhon Wiley and sons, New York 5. Colwel, R.N.(1978) Remote Sensing as an aid to the Inventory and Management of Natural Resources, Can Surveyor, 32: pp. n183-203. 6. Green, K, Kempka, D and Lackey, L (1994). Using Remote Sensing to detect and monitor land cover and land use changes, Photogrametric Engineering and Remote Sensing, Vol.60, pp. 331-337. 7. http://www.iirs.gov.in/ 8. http://www.nnrms.gov.in/ 9. http://isro.gov.in/

M.A. Department of Geography, Panjab University, Chandigarh