Environmental challenges have been on the rise in the last two decades in countries worldwide. India has been no exception, having faced environmental woes in the form of air pollution, waste management, global warming, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and exploitation of natural resources. If these environmental issues are not tackled at the moment, they are likely to flare up and become irreversible.

However, the problem in India is that people are aware of these issues but do not wish to act unless and until they are individually affected. Moreover, the section, which decides to act, does not know how to proceed in the matter.

To simplify these concerns, it has become essential to introduce a tool that can act as a blueprint of sorts to guide the course of action with respect to environmental problems. This tool is better known as GIS Technology. So today, we, at Tribhuvan College, one of the best colleges for environmental science, will elaborate more about what GIS technology is and how it is emerging as a powerful aid for environmental management. Read on.

What is GIS Technology?

GIS stands for Geographic Information System, which is basically a computerized program that deals with data specific to a particular geographic region. The idea is to display, store, and analyze data on a centralized platform.

GIS technology has been relevant to multiple areas, some of the pivotal ones being biology, resource management, earth sciences, and the environment as a whole.

Even though this technology has been around for a while now, it is only in recent times that it has picked up momentum, especially with respect to environmental management.

The working of this technology is such that it connects relevant data to a map, which further integrates locational data with different kinds of descriptive information.

We, at Tribhuvan College, ranked among the best environmental science colleges in Neemrana, are determined to introduce our students to this game changing technology, which will definitely work wonders in shielding our environment from the many difficulties that our surroundings face rather frequently. Once the youth becomes aware of the existence of this technology, getting the same into practice will very well become a cakewalk.

Preliminary advantages associated with the GIS Technology towards the environment:

GIS technology brings multiple benefits to the table that too in different sectors. However, here we will be focussing specifically on the advantages that this technology offers to the field of environmental management in particular.

• Cost-effective technology:

Let us say a natural disaster strikes. As such, the measures, which need to be adopted to avert further loss to life and property, will work out very expensive. However, with the GIS technology in place, it will become easier to predict a natural disaster beforehand.

No doubt, preventive measures will work out less expensive as compared to the curative ones. Thus, it can be confidently concluded that GIS technology is a competitively priced program that can assist our nation in more than just one way.

• Aids informed decision-making:

If you go back and look, some of the environmental hazards that India faces today is a result of poor decision-making on the part of the authorities. Can you really blame them for their decisions? Maybe not, primarily because their decisions were not really backed with data and statistics.

This is a major hurdle, which can now be put to rest, all thanks to the GIS Technology. This technology offers real time data with regards to specific geographical areas, thus aiding the process of decision-making. After all, the chances of data-backed decisions going wrong are negligible.

• Streamlines communication channels:

Most of the environmental issues that India is trapped in are a result of a lack of consensus. Due to the absence of a centralized platform, it had become difficult for authorities operating at different levels to have free flowing communication between them. It would not be wrong to claim that communication lacked both clarity and transparency.

Communication flow across vertical and horizontal channels faced blockages. This meant either communication wasn’t being passed at all, or whatever information was passed was incomplete. This, in turn, used to lead to delays in decision-making. At times, even when the decisions were made, they lacked substance. What followed is India’s environmental condition facing a never-ending blow.

• Contributes to recordkeeping:

If you dig deeper, you will come to realize that India has been performing poorly as far as environment-related recordkeeping is concerned. If certain environment-based decisions were to be questioned today, finding the point of origin would be next to impossible. Right from facts and figures related to the environmental condition to reasons that have led to the deterioration of the environment, going back only to seek data is going to attract failure.

In order to prevent the already unstable environment that the citizens of India are residing in from degrading further, the need of the hour is to focus on recordkeeping. This is one of the main areas wherein the GIS technology has a pivotal role to play. With the GIS technology in place, every little information about the environment, that too for specific locations, will be available on fingertips.

• Adds a touch of personalization:

It has been seen many times that the environmental decisions that are made in India are highly generic in nature. For instance, laws and regulations that have been laid down are common to the country as a whole, with no specific segregation of individual states, cities, or regions.

This only means that an environmental problem that Region A is facing may be completely overlooked. Contrary to this, an environmental safeguard that is made applicable to Region B may not be of any relevance to it. To counter these limitations, the GIS technology has been unveiled to play its magic in the environmental management sector. With this technology in place, region-specific solutions can be derived and implemented, which will further benefit the bigger picture.

A glance through the above advantages helps us understand that the GIS technology comes equipped with multiple benefits. This means, if used to its optimum level, then India’s environmental concerns can be tackled in a more phased manner.

With this in mind, we, at Tribhuvan College, a renowned environmental science college in Neemrana have come up with highly scenario-centric bachelors and diploma programs in Environmental Management. The key aim of the courses is to back our students to get inquisitive about this technology to an extent wherein they work towards gathering complete information about its working. This done right, the said technology can be utilized to its fullest ability that too without compromising on any aspect.

Areas where GIS Technology can play a role in environment management:

• Analysis of environmental impact:

This is particularly true with regards to the exploitation of natural resources. Many manmade activities are dependent on natural resources to an extent, which lead to the scare regarding depletion of such resources.

With the GIS technology in place, it would become easier to track all the available natural resources while looking deeper into their use. Most importantly, it will become possible to cap the use of such resources after studying its environmental impact. Indeed, a much-needed move in today’s times.

• Averting disasters:

Disasters usually occur in two forms namely, natural and manmade disasters. In either case, it is impossible to locate the disaster beforehand. Even when a disaster strikes, recovery takes a lot of time as the exact action that needs to be taken is mostly not known.

This is a vital area where GIS Technology comes in handy. Firstly, this technology highlights every big and small sign that is capable of highlighting an impending disaster. This means preventive action at all times. In case a disaster strikes, the chances of which are on the lower side, such a technology helps to restore the environment and habitat rather quickly. 

• Conservation of wetlands:

There is no denying that wetlands are of pivotal importance to every economy. However, a major environmental concern that India is facing is with respect to the conservation of wetlands.

Wetlands hold particular importance during the dry seasons and more so ever to dry regions. The role of wetlands is to maintain a stable water table. Once this is done, the health of the corresponding environment improves. Likewise, when natural disasters like floods strike, wetlands help in reducing the impact of such disasters. This, in turn, helps to minimize loss to life and property. GIS technology works wonders in wetland mapping. Of late, this technology is used hand-in-hand with remote sensing technology to streamline and fasten the process of wetland mapping.

• Combating volcanic hazards:

Volcanic hazards can influence the environment in the form of flooding and lava flow. The damage caused by such hazards is huge, which means recovery is going to be a time-intensive and expensive affair.

In order to avoid the occurrence of such hazards, it becomes necessary to identify volcanic hazards beforehand. Such hazards can be identified by getting to know the nature of the land and the history associated with the region. Getting to know this information may have seemed hard, but with the introduction of the GIS technology, this has very well become a cakewalk. With this technology in place, assessing past records associated with a particular region has become way too easier.

• Preventing land misuse:

Often, the land is misused because the very purpose for which the land is suitable is not known. Misuse of land is one of the main causes of environmental deterioration. What activity can be conducted on a piece of land depends largely on the soil structure in the region.

Many a time, the soil structure is not known, which is when the land gets used for purposes other than the purpose for which it is intended. This is exactly where the role of GIS technology pops up in the picture. This technology helps in determining the structure of the soil, which in turn helps in understanding the best purpose of the land.

Moreover, the GIS technology also helps with defining soil boundaries. It is safe to state that this technology has a substantial contribution to make in both the identification and classification of soil. GIS technology brings soil mapping to the table, which works as one of the first steps in preventing environmental degradation.

Apart from the above-mentioned areas, the GIS technology also contributes to areas like irrigation management, disaster documentation, and distribution of relief funds.

GIS Technology – The answer to India’s environmental concerns

For the longest time now, India has been coping to deal with the many environmental concerns that are thrown in its direction time and again. In spite of directing a substantial amount of financial resources towards environmental management, India has not been successful in achieving its end goal.

One of the main reasons behind this fate is the many loopholes that are instilled in the system. India has made repeat efforts in correcting these shortcomings but has fallen short every time.

Now, this seems like a thing of the past because GIS technology is here to take care of all such gaps. Looking at the advantages and contribution of this technology in the area of environmental management, it is safe to state that India is finally on the road to recovery.

After all, any further delay would have taken our country to such a level, standing up from where would seem impossible. Thus, we can confidently claim that the GIS technology would work as the saviour for our environment.

We, at Tribhuvan College, one of the leading environmental science colleges in Neemrana, are here to educate our youth about all such developments that we have made in the direction of protecting our environment. This is exactly what we aim to achieve in our 3-year B.Sc. Ecology, Environment, and Water Management program.

After all, only when today’s youth is educated about these inventions can we, as a nation, confidently say that our future is in safe hands.