Introduction

Forests in India are a major environmental resource and a significant rural industry. However the increasing population and economic growth are creating a large demand on forests in respect of industrial raw material, and diversion of forest land for non-forestry purposes like agriculture, river valley projects and mining. A very critical need for the country at this juncture is effective management of forests and forest resources to ensure the health of the environment, to preserve biodiversity, protect the forest economy and meet the resource needs of the nation in a sustainable way.

Fast, reliable and accurate information regarding the status of forests is key to efficient forest resource management. Owing to the vast spatial dimensions of the forest areas, geospatial technology including GIS, remote sensing, and GPS offers tremendous potential in forest resources assessment, monitoring and management, proving to be a solution that is cost effective, time saving and importantly, effective. Geospatial technology has a significant role to play in achieving the nation’s plans for the sustainable development of forests while improving the capabilities of decision makers in planning and monitoring of forests.

A number of significant activities and projects are being taken up in India at national and state levels, such as National Forest Mapping; National Afforestation Programme; Community forest management (involving local communities for regeneration of degraded forest lands); Bio-diversity conservation; CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority); Computerisation of forest departments; Usage of forest land for non-forestry purposes; forest inventory; assessment of tree cover; mitigating climate change impacts. Such projects can only be successful by incorporating geospatial technologies; a number of them are mandating the use of geospatial technologies.

About the Programme

In view of the critical role of geospatial technology in forest management in India, Geospatial Media & Communications proposes to host a day-long symposium “Geospatial enabling efficient forest management.” This session aims to:

• Expose and educate the various forest management personnel across India to the application of geospatial technology in various aspects of forest management
• Present best practices
• Facilitate exchange of ideas and establish dialogue between the various stakeholders on various aspects and issues involved in successful implementation of the technology
• Such technology transfer can facilitate the effective implementation of various government initiatives in the forestry sector in a cost effective and time saving way.

Programme Benefits

The symposium will offer the following benefits to the users attending the seminar:

• Provide an insight into applications of geospatial technology in various areas of forest management
• Improve understanding of the value and analysis of spatial data and geographic methods of spatial analysis in forest management
• Discussion on the requisites for successful implementation of the technology
• Provide a platform for interaction between various stakeholders to create the most collaborative environment for most efficient use of geospatial technology
• To address challenges faced and draw out possible solutions
• Discuss steps required towards capacity building
• Understand the value proposition of geospatial technology
• Deliberate on value-addition and real-time dissemination of data
• Discuss scientific applications of geospatial technology and topics involving data, visualization, standards and interoperability

Agenda

The seminar will feature three sessions:

Securing forests with geospatial

The government is taking a number of initiatives in forest management. This session will look at key central and state programmes and schemes, and the role and relevance of geospatial technologies in these programmes and establishing a framework to maximise uptake of the technology.

The geospatial enablers

Geospatial technologies have demonstrated potential and benefits in various aspects of forest management. This session will explore the numerous geospatial applications for innovations efficient forest management.

Sustenance with geospatial

This session will present case studies from various forestry departments and organisations on successful implementation of geospatial technologies in their processes and the benefits they have accrued.