28 Jun 2021 LiDAR Based Survey of Forest Areas

LiDAR Based Survey of Forest Areas

Context:

Recently, the Union Environment Minister in a virtual event released the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) based survey of forest areas in ten states.

The 10 mapped states are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tripura.

Key Points:

Survey of Forest Areas Project:

• The project was awarded to WAPCOS in July 2020at a cost of over Rs. 18 crore for implementation in 26 states over 261897 hectares.
• WAPCOS is a Mini Ratna Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Jal Shakti Ministry.
• It is a first of its kind and a unique experiment using LiDAR technology which will help augment water and fodder in jungle areas thereby reducing human animal conflict.
• LiDAR technology has been found to have 90% accuracy.
• States will be given CAMPA funds to use in this project.
• CAMPA is meant to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.
• CAMPA was established to manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF)and it acts as the custodian of the CAMPA fund.
• One major ridge inside a forest block is identified in these states with an average area of 10,000 ha selected in each State; the area should have average rainfall of the state, and requires assisted natural generation.

Significance:

• Besides reducing human-animal conflict, it will help us in identifying areas which need groundwater recharge which will in turn help local communities.
• It will help in catching rainwater and prevent stream run-off, which will help in recharging groundwater.
• It will help in recommending different types of Soil & Water conservation structures such as Anicut, Gabion, Gully Plug, Mini percolation tank, Percolation Tank, Field bund, Sunken pond, Farm pond etc.

LiDAR:

• It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges & variable distances.
• These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
• A LiDAR instrument principally consists of a laser, a scanner, and a specialized GPS
• Airplanes and helicopters are the most commonly used platforms for acquiring LiDAR data over broad areas.
• LiDAR follows a simple principle — throw laser light at an object on the earth surface and calculate the time it takes to return to the LiDAR source.
• Given the speed at which the light travels (approximately 186,000 miles per second), the process of measuring the exact distance through LiDAR appears to be incredibly fast.
• Applications:
  • Lidar is commonly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in surveying, geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry.
    

    Download Yojna IAS Daily Current Affairs of 28th June 2021

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Yojna IAS Current Affairs Team