Overview | Earthquake | Drought | Fire | Flood & Cyclones | Landslide& Soil Erosion | Volcano
The Role of Spatial Information Technology (SIT) & Conventional Techniques in Participatory Natural Resource Management in drought prone areas of Warangal district in Andhra Pradesh Gopal Krishna. P Scientist(Ecology, RS & GIS) Beema Rao. P Scientist( Hydrology) Rajendra Prasad . J Consultant (Hydro Geologist) Dr. K. S. K. Sai Senior Director Department of Electronics, Government of India, New Delhi.
The demand for natural resources is growing with the
increasing population. Management of land with sustainable agricultural
practices and methods admixed with modern techniques would help in increasing
productivity and to combat the land degradation. Successful planning of
developmental activities at micro-level depend on the quality and quantity of
information available on both natural and socio-economic resources. So a need
arises for establishing a proper methodology which would tackle the problem of
planning at a micro-level which can be effectively implemented at the cadestral
level. As a result it’s essential to utilise the spatial information technology
admixed with conventional techniques which would help in planning as well as
storing a large amount of data.
The capability of remote sensing data has already been demonstrated by several people and also to delineate the features like landuse, soil, geology, etc., on regular basis. Similarly Geographical Information System (GIS) tool is available to store, retrieve and analyze different types of data for the management of natural resources with a capability to superimpose socio- economic data. It plays an important role in evolving alternate scenario for the natural resources management ( Rao. D. P, 1993). So utilising the latest computer technology admixed with conventional techniques would help in proper planning, implementation and management of natural resources at a micro-level. In order to demonstrate the role & potential of Spatial Information Technology (SIT) and conventional techniques like Surveys and Participatory Rural Appraisal(PRA) for deriving an action plan and implementation of watersheds is demonstrated in the paper. Objectives:
Location Map of The Study Area  The study area lies between 17o 37’.30’’ and 17o.42’.30’’ N latitude and 79o. 8’.00’’ to 79o. 14’.30’’ E longitude covering a geographical area of 67.99Sq.Km ( 6799 ha) of Which 51.24 Sq.Km (5124 ha) treatable is considered. The area falls in Survey of India toposheet bearing No. 560/2 ( 1: 50,000 scale). It falls under Agro-ecological region 7 of India and Agro-climatic zone V of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of musi river basin, a tributary to river Krishna falling under 4D1E3g of the national watershed atlas. Climate: The area is characterized by hot semi-arid with a annual rainfall of 575 mm and LGP between 90 - 150 days the minimum and maximum temperature ranges from 160 to 37oc. Topography: General topography of the area is undulating with slope ranging from 1 to 4 % in relative flat areas and from 15 to 35 % in hilly ridges. Physiography: The area is dominant with Red soil tract having Red earths with loamy subsoil i.e., chalkas and red sandy soils. The area is low in N, P and Zinc with poor waterholding capacity. Methodology: The allotment of watershed is done by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) to the project implementing agency (PIA) while the DRDA’s consider the Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) maps for prioritizing the allotment of watersheds. The delineation of watersheds is based on 1:50,000 scale using Survey of India toposheet and IRS data. Once the area is allotted the PIA has to ensure implementation through local people. The paper describes the methodology followed in implementation of watersheds basing on the available resources and the incorporation of conventional techniques like PRA and conventional surveying techniques at a cadestral level and a modified action plan is suggested based on the people’s opinion. And use of GIS in integrating all the thematic maps and cadestral maps is focussed. The use of cadestral level database covering survey number wise / activity wise details of implementation for monitoring is discussed along with the problemof integration. The gestation period for any developmental project will take nearly 2 to 3 years even some time more, the changes during this period which effect the micro-level planning is also focussed. The conventional mapping through a cadestral map through traverse surveys is utilised for detecting the micro level changes and the utilisation of GIS for monitoring is also discussed with reference to a micro watershed from the macro watershed.  |