Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Space science as a development tool

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: From watershed management and public health engineering to bio-diversity conservation and urban planning, space technology is emerging as a valuable tool for community development in India, according to Diwakar Parsi, Head, Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre, ISRO, Bangalore.

Delivering the inaugural address at Globe 2007, a national conference on Geographical Information System (GIS) organised by the Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers here on Friday, Mr. Parsi outlined the great strides made by the country in using satellite data for the uplift of rural communities and catalysing local-level development.

He said the data from high-resolution satellites like the IRS and Cartosat series was being effectively used for mapping of geographical features and preparing village community database. “In a country like India where the majority of people depend on agriculture, the real impact of space technology is in the farm sector. ISRO has taken up several participatory projects aimed at improving the productivity of land.”Mr. Parsi said training and capacity-building of community-based organisations was a key element in projects using satellite data for local-level planning. “Self-help groups and watershed communities are involved in the effort. GIS terrain maps are integrated with data on rainfall pattern, socio-economic conditions and vulnerable groups to form valuable inputs for watershed management, community-level resource development plans. ISRO has also developed software packages in local languages for the benefit of the rural users,” he said. Kerala, he observed, is one of the States that have benefited from the Village Resource Centre network using space technology to provide expert advice to farmers on land use and agricultural practices.

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