Symposium
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GEOFORESTY
The extent of forest land being diverted across the country on an average stands at 135 hectares (around 333 acres) per day. Interestingly, the Indian government has approved the National Mission for a Green India (NMGI), which will expand forests by five million hectares (over 12 million acres), while improving forests quality on another five million hectares for $10.14 billion (460 billion rupees). The Ministry for Environment and Forests has indicated that they will soon launch a 'Green India Mission' to improve the quality and quantity of forest cover in the country. The effort to restore degraded forest lands is one of eight missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change that the country has plans to undertake in response to international talks.While there should be a conscious effort at the State levels to stop diversion of forest lands and support the Central Government in its mandate to expanding the forest belt, the bigger challenge lies in effective monitoring and safeguarding forest resources.
Remote Sensing and GIS have revolutionized the forest resources assessment, monitoring and management, proving to be a solution that is cost effective, time saving and importantly, effective. The India Geospatial Forum 2014 will feature a session titled “Geospatial Driven Monitoring and Management of Forests in India” that will showcase some of the key initiatives of the MoEF such as CAMPA, NGT, etc., and importantly highlight the role of geospatial at various levels of forest monitoring and management.
The session will trace the various types of geospatial tools available that impacts multiple aspects of forest management, such as....
- Satellite Remote Sensing – Role in forest cover mapping;
- Microwave Remote Sensing – Role in gathering data by penetrating atmosphere in all conditions, both day and night;
- LiDAR Remote Sensing – Describing bio-diversity and monitoring changes in it;
- Forest Type and Canopy Density Mapping
- Wildlife Habitat Evaluation – For wildlife habitat inventory, evaluation and wildlife census; Timber Volume Stock Inventory Management;
- Plant Richness Assessment;
- Forest Fire Risk Assessment;
- Forest Litigation;
- Other Important Areas and Future Scope
- Highlight current scenario of forest management in India, highlighting challenges and developmental initiatives at the national level;
- Provide an insight in to applications of geospatial technology in various aspects of forest monitoring and management;
- Providing a forum for exchange of dialogue between the authorities and technology providers to identify solutions for present and future;
- Discuss steps required towards capacity building from the geospatial adoption and usage perspective.
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M L Srivastava
Deputy Director General - Forests, Ministry of Environment & Forests Presentation |
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Dr. H C Mishra
APCCF- IT, Andhra Pradesh Forest Department Presentation |
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Srinibas Patnaik
Senior Director, SAARC DigitalGlobe India Presentation |
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R.Raghu Prasad
IFS,Conservator of Forests Odisha Forestry Sector Development Project Presentation |