The forests in the world are gradually moving towards destruction and a new 3D map gives hope to at least warn conservationists about such happenings no matter however remote the place is. Using technologies from Google Maps and Google Earth, the state’s forest and environment department is all set to create an interactive 3D map that would show the forest coverage in the capital city in real time, pointing out the increase or decrease in coverage as compared to from the previous years.
The Oxygen Park that is all set to come up in Morhabadi ground is spread over an area of 16,000 sqm with an investment of `8.5 crore. The 70 per cent land of the park is dedicated to trees and only 20 per cent to flowering plants. “The final design plan for the park is ready on papers. We are using the Google Earth and Google Maps to overlay the layout to match it in real time. Google has given the technology to check anything regarding the green cover on these maps that is also called the Global forest Watch and is available for anyone to explore. We are closely working with a team of two Software Engineers on this final mapping and intend to complete the same within a weeks’ time,” said Rajiv lochan Bakshi, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Ranchi.
Bakshi further explained the processes involved in the procurement of data and the accuracy. “There is no reason of concern over the credibility of this 3D mapping method as Google Earth and Google Maps use data from a variety of sources, including National aeronautic Space Administration (NASA), to analyse forest coverage and to check whether the design would fit effectively in real time as well or not,” added Bakshi.