The utilisation of high resolution satellite data for monitoring forest plantations could be enhanced further by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), said the Director General of forests and Special Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sharad Singh Negi. He said this during his visit to the FSI in Dehradun on Saturday.
During his visit to the FSI, the Director General of forests reviewed the various tasks undertaken by the organisation. Negi was welcomed to the premises by FSI Director General, Saibal Dasgupta who also apprised him of the various activities being undertaken in the Forest Survey of India.
These tasks included work on forest fire pre-warning alert system and the utilisation of high resolution satellite data for enabling precise monitoring of forest resources on the ground. Referring to the recent forest fires which are estimated to have affected more than 4,000 hectare forest area so far this year, Negi appreciated the work undertaken by FSI for facilitating the automated forest fire report system based on satellite data.
Stating that satellite data can be used effectively for monitoring forest plantations, Negi asked the officials concerned to further enhance their utilisation of high resolution satellite data for this purpose. On the occasion, presentations were made on various subjects including the newly developed e-Green Watch for CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) monitoring and Decision Support System for forest clearance activities.
During his visit Negi also visited various laboratories established for forest cover mapping, e-green watch, high resolution satellite data processing, forest type mapping, inventory, forest fire monitoring cell of the entire country and data centre. He expressed satisfaction at the initiative taken by the FSI for the Digital India Mission.