Need for cutting-edge technology in environment monitoring
The increasing effects of climate change, widespread environmental degradation and atmospheric pollution are evident worldwide. However, there are significant spatial and temporal variations in their crucial aspects among different geographical regions, and Punjab is one among them.
This is the leading Green Revolution state of India and well known for its agricultural products like wheat, rice, cotton and sugarcane etc. These products not only contribute to the domestic demand within the country but also add a significant proportion to the agricultural exports of India. Unfortunately, climatic changes and inappropriate practices like excessive extraction of groundwater for irrigation as well as intensive use of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides, post-harvest straw and stubble burning etc are causing various types of environmental problems. It is very difficult to monitor and control such practices by field visits, as farm cover area is over 50,000 sq km of Punjab.
In-depth understanding of climatic changes and their impacts on natural and socio-economic systems in Punjab and adjacent areas requires sophisticated methodologies and efficient technologies. The Geographical Information Science and remote sensing have developed the methods for capturing, processing and analysing various types of spatial information and have the tools for representing the present, the reconstructing past and projecting future scenarios.
The utilities and applications of the GI science and remote sensing in natural resource management, environmental conservation, and sustainable development planning have been demonstrated effectively during the recent decades. Unfortunately, these capabilities are not sufficiently developed in all parts of the world and require “sharing of knowhow” across countries and institutions.
The Department of Education, GNDU, and Department of Geoinformatics- Z_GIS, University of Salzburg, Austria, are collaborating for conducting a week-long workshop at the GNDU for training relevant students and teachers in understanding cutting-edge geospatial technologies and their application in environmental monitoring and degradation mitigation strategies. Along with that, there will be hands-on sessions on how to collect climatic related data and analysis tools.
The workshop includes lectures, technical demonstrations, hands-on data exploration and interactive sessions, covering various dimensions of climate change, air pollution and environmental conservation. It marks an important step toward strengthening Indo-Austrian academic ties and promoting sustainable solutions for the future.
