Environmental impact assessment using remote sensing and GIS techniques : a case study of Phobjikha conservation area in West Bhutan | |
| Author | Wangdi, Thinley Jyamtsho |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.SR-03-14 |
| Subject(s) | Environmental impact analysis--Bhutan--Remote sensing Geographic information systems--Bhutan |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The environment in particular locality comprises of all the biotic and a biotic components. The state of environment will be signified by how good the ecosystem and its relative adaptation to the particular topography. The problem facing today in the modern world is the adoption of the advancement of modernization for the welfare of the society in enhancing the economic goals and protecting and maintaining the environment on the other hand. A proper and balanced policy should strike between the development and the environmental degradation. Sometimes in carrying out the developmental activities, some important environmental factors or the other factors that have direct impact on the ecosystem are forgone, resulting in disastrous impact. Like air pollution, air, water, etc are rarely considered. The main factors that contribute to the disturbances in environments are the activities of human beings. The developmental activities being haphazard and uncontrolled are leading to over use, congestion, incompatible land use and poor living conditions. The problems of environmental pollution are becoming complex and are creating high-risk environment. Further it is a natural phenomenon for the wild animals to protect their living habitat be it short term or the long run. The protection of their own territory can be attributed to many factors such as feeding environment, breeding grounds, climate conditions, their adaptability,etc. Initially, the environmental pollution problems are solved by introducing environmental management techniques such as control of pollution at source, providing of sewage treatment facilities etc. However, environmental risks could not be controlled completely by such solutions resulting the degradation in higher degree. The environmental aspects are to be induced into each of the developmental activities at the planning stage itself and are to be well co-coordinated and balanced. For all developmental activities, a crucial input is land and depending on the activity a specific land use is decided. The environmentally related land use such as agriculture, house construction, logging, entertainment, etc. are likely to have some impact on the environment. These land uses need proper planning and should be integrated cautiously in the process of planning. Remote sensing technique provides some easy way of addressing this aggravated problem through its observations. Further, voluminous data gathered with the help of remote sensing techniques are bettered handled and utilized with the help of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In this case study, GIS functionality will be extensively utilized to analyze the impact on wetland ecosystem. In this research, the identification and the demarcation of the wetland system which habitats the endangered crane species called Black neck crane will be made through the observation of the satellite image that gives the latest state of the ground reality. Using the aerial photos or the satellite images of the past 27 years, the land use change will be detected and mapped. The accuracy assessment will be determined by comparing with the available land use map. The overlay analysis in the GIS part will be done by determining the external pressure factors like demographic data, agriculture system, livestock population, pollution, watershed, elevation, etc. through the statistical modeling and then correlating the influence of the external factor interdependent to each other on wetland ecosystem. The state of environment/wetland will be further indicated by the indicator species inhabiting in that wetland. The change detected will be further analyzed using the Markov model and the quantitative analysis method. Thereby predict the extent of land cover change from one patch to another for the past 27 years. Perhaps the extent is measurable by the determining the pixel counts of the land patch of the land cover. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Advanced Technologies (SAT) |
| Department | Department of Information and Communications Technologies (DICT) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Space Technology Application and Research (SR) |
| Chairperson(s) | Yokoyama, Ryuzo;Samarakoon, Lal |
| Examination Committee(s) | Borne, Frederic;Phonekeo, Vivarad |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Austrian Government |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |