ABSTRACT
Introduction
An organised system of mapping was initially introduced in India in the 17th Century by Raja Todar Mal who conceived of a system to record land ownership, conduct a survey of standing crops and fix land revenue on the basis of estimates of agricultural income. The setting up of the Survey of India by the British in India and the enormous efforts put in by the teams of surveyors to map the entire country helped the creation of base maps. The integration of remote sensing with cartographic techniques opened up a challenging field of convergence of techniques for development planning in India. The conversion of Satellite imagery to provide thematic layers overlaid on one another provided meaningful analysis of natural resources in the country.
Applications of Geomatics
With the expansion of India’s Satellite and image processing resources, the analysis of sectoral, spatial and temporal data received greater attention. The developments in information technology, especially the initiatives in design of appropriate Geographic Information Systems, coupled with remote sensing, opened up challenging areas in the field of development planning. Techniques like scenario analysis, modeling, risk assessment and vulnerability analysis provided the much needed value addition in the use of GIS for policy analysis, problem solving and decision making.
Problem Areas
The dynamics of urbanization, industrialization, rural-urban migration, shifting of villages due to changing course of rivers, sea
erosion, river erosion, etc. make it imperative to revise and update the maps at regular intervals. The need for larger maps is also being increasingly felt for addressing the concerns of urban management in the rapidly expanding megacities and metropolitan cities. The availability of a wide variety of software packages and the use of diverse operating systems and software packages by different agencies has made the issues of inter-operability and portability of data more relevant than ever before.
The New Initiatives
The development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and the design of the National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) for 241 multi-hazard districts in 21 States builds on the earlier work done by Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, National Hydrographer’s office, NATMO and various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India. The developments like the preparation of Vulnerability Atlas for India for earthquakes, floods, cyclones, landslides etc. by the Building Materials Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and the richness and diversity of disaggregated socio-economic and demographic data, building stock data, livestock census, etc. provides us adequate resources for data analysis and informed decision making for the preparation of disaster management plans and appropriate emergency response strategies during disasters. The bathymetry studies carried out for the coastal areas of the country provide us inputs for various modeling exercises and scenario analysis.
Challenges and Road Ahead
While the NSDI would facilitate single window clearances to meet the requirements of specific map user agencies, there is a need for creating digital geomatic products which can be easily adapted and customized to meet specific requirements of user agencies. The interoperability, easy portability of data and the potential of using webenabled downloads as well as the flexibility to mutually exchange map products with humanitarian assistance agencies at the regional and global levels continue to be some of the challenges which need to be addressed on priority. Risk assessment and vulnerability analysis tools like micro-zonation require large scale maps and formats which would enable data sharing between various scientific and technical institutions. These aspects continue to pose insurmountable difficulties due to the lack of consensus among various stakeholder groups. In the field of disaster management, geomatic and cartographic inputs would continue to play a very significant role.
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Distinguished delegates of the XXVII Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) Congress, Senior government officials, professionals, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a rare privilege and honour for me to be here before you today to deliver the Todar Mal Lecture 2007, as a part of the XXVII Indian National Cartographic Association’s International Congress. As all of you must be aware, INCA has been holding the Todar Mal Lecture since 1994 to commemorate the contributions of Raja Todar Mal who established a scientific system of mapping the revenue land in India. I am very pleased to be here as for this lecture as it had been delivered in the past by very distinguished scientists and administrators like Prof. UR Rao, Padma Bhusan Prof. Yash Pal, Padma Vibhushan Prof. MGK Menon, Shri TN Seshan, Shri YS Rajan, Shri Manohar S Usgaokar, Dr. RS Tolia, Shri TS Chowdary, Shri Kiran Karnik, Lt. Gen(Retd.) GC Agarwal, Shri GN Saha, Shri B Arunachalam and Prof. VS Ramamurthy. It is indeed a very great honour to be invited to deliver the Todar Mal Lecture and I am grateful to the organizers and the office bearers of Indian National Cartographic Association for bestowing this honour on me by inviting me to deliver the Todal Mal Lecture this year.
I was very pleased to hear that the theme of the 27th INCA
International Congress this year is “Cartography for Coastal Management”. I am sure that you would agree with me that the easy access to cartographic tools of the coastal areas was one of the major constraints while trying to assess the impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26th December 2004 when the tsunami devastated the coastal communities in 13 countries. I have chosen the topic “Applications of Geomatics in Disaster Management” and I hope that the talk will not only provoke some of you, but would also inspire you to utilize your skill sets to address the complex challenges faced by disaster management practitioners.
Information Explosion in the Contemporary Era
In the Preface to the Second Edition of the Story of Philosophy, what Will Durant wrote in 1926 is much more relevant today in a far more empowering manner: "...Human knowledge had become unmanageably vast; every science had begotten a dozen more, each subtler than the rest; the telescope revealed stars and systems beyond the mind of man to number or to name; geology spoke in terms of millions of years, where men before had thought in terms of thousands; physics found a universe in the atom, and biology found a microcosm in the cell; physiology discovered inexhaustible mystery in every organ, and psychology in every dream; anthropology reconstructed the unsuspected antiquity of man, archeology unearthed buried cities and forgotten states, history proved all history false, and painted a canvas which only a Spengler or an Eduard Meyer could vision as a whole; theology crumbled, and political theory cracked; invention complicated life and war, and economic creeds overturned governments and inflamed the world; philosophy itself, which had once summoned all sciences to its aid in making a coherent image of the world and an alluring picture of the good, found its task of coordination too stupendous for its courage, ran away from all these battlefronts of truth, and hid itself in recondite and narrow lanes, timidly secure from the issues and responsibilities of life. Human knowledge had become too great for the human mind. All that remained was the scientific specialist, who knew 'more and more about less and less,' and the philosophical speculator, who knew less and less about more and more. The specialist put on blinders in order to shut out from his vision all the world but one little spot, to which he glued his nose. Perspective was lost. 'Facts' replaced understanding; and knowledge, split into a thousand isolated fragments, no longer generated wisdom. Every science, and every branch of philosophy, developed a technical terminology intelligible only to its exclusive devotees; as men learned more about the world, they found themselves ever less capable of expressing to their educated fellow-men what it was that they had learned. The gap between life and knowledge grew wider and wider; those who governed could not understand those who thought, and those who wanted to know could not understand those who knew. In the midst of unprecedented learning popular ignorance flourished, and chose its exemplars to rule the great cities of the world; in the midst of sciences endowed and enthroned as never before, new religions were born every day, and old superstitions recaptured the ground they had lost. The common man found himself forced to choose between a scientific priesthood mumbling unintelligible pessimism, and a theological priesthood mumbling incredible hopes."
Disaster Management as a Multi-Disciplinary Field of Knowledge
In the past few decades, Disaster Management has emerged as a convergent discipline which integrates several multi-disciplinary streams of knowledge. Several disciplines like Engineering, Medicine, Psychology, Information Technology, Forensic Sciences, Bio Technology, Geology, Seismology, Radiology, Chemistry, Social Work, and several other disciplines started to contribute to the efforts in management of disasters. However, one of the most important disciplines which provides inputs to a proper analysis of disaster management concerns continue to be Geo Informatics or Geomatics as it contributes to the interpretation of base maps which depict the ground reality in disaster-prone areas. Apart from providing the base maps, Geomatics also facilitates the overlaying of spatial and thematic data, including remote sensing data on these base maps to provide meaningful insights for problem solving, policy analysis and informed decision making.
The Evolution of Geomatics in India
In India, the science of cartography was institutionalized in the 17th Century through the efforts of Raja Todar Mal, who used the scientific techniques of mapping the agricultural lands and estimating the agricultural income based on the average yields of standing crops to create the first authentic cadastral maps in India. The introduction of printing facilitated the processing of these records in the print format for more informed analysis and decision making. A major break through happened over time when computers provided the platform to use cartographic information as base maps with thematic and spatial overlays. The developments in remote sensing, space technology and information and communication technologies in the recent past have taken this discipline to a highly respected domain of knowledge. From Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we have moved to the convergence of disciplines which permit intelligent Decision Support Systems and Expert Systems. I will be using this opportunity to collapse the timeframes and attempt to reflect on the potential applications of Geomatics in the field of Disaster Management. Before I venture to talk about your field of specialization, let me use this opportunity to tell you briefly about the fascinating field of Disaster Management which is receiving tremendous attention especially in the past few years mainly on account of the devastating impact of recurring disasters like floods,
earthquakes, cyclones and landslides, but also because of the crippling effect of hitherto unheard of disasters like the tsunami and manmade disasters.
Disaster Management
The Disaster Management Act 2005 defines a disaster as a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area. The Act further defines disaster management as a continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for the prevention of danger or threat of any disaster, mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster, or its severity or consequences, capacity building, preparedness to deal with any disaster, prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster, assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster, evacuation, rescue and relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
The National Vision of the Paradigm Shift
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 envisages a paradigm shift from the erstwhile relief centric response to a proactive prevention, mitigation and preparedness- driven approach, so as to conserve the developmental gains and also minimize losses to lives, livelihood and property. The National Vision for disaster management is to build a safer and disaster resilient India by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology driven strategy for Disaster Management. This will be achieved through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and efficient response at the time of disasters. The entire process will centre-stage the community and will be provided momentum and sustenance through the collective efforts of all government agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
Institutional Mechanisms for Disaster Management
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 was passed unanimously in both Houses of the Parliament and it received the assent of the President of India on 23rd December, 2005. While this Act was being discussed in the Parliament, through an Executive Order on 28th September, 2005 the Government of India set up the National Disaster Management Authority with the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India as it’s Chairperson. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 envisages also the setting up of the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) in the States and Union Territories with the respective Chief Ministers as its Chairperson as well as District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) at the District levels with the respective District Collector as Chairman and the elected representative as Co-Chairman. As per the Disaster Management Act 2005, eight Battalions of the National Disaster Response Force from four Para Military Forces have been deployed, trained and equipped to address emergency response functions in different locations in the country. The National Institute of Disaster Management has been set up as the apex Training Institute to strengthen the institutional capacity building in the field of Disaster Management. At the State level, Disaster Management Faculties have been established in 29 State Administrative Training Institutes to carry out the training to various stake holder groups in the field of disaster management. Financial mechanisms for emergency response as well as for disaster mitigation at the National, State and District levels are also envisaged in the Act.
The Mandate of NDMA
According to the Disaster Management Act, 2005 the National Disaster Management Authority may :
• Lay down policies on disaster management;
• Approve the National Plan;
• Approve plans prepared by the Ministries or Departments of the
Government of India in accordance with the National Plan;
• Lay down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in
drawing up the State Plan;
• Lay down guidelines to be followed by the different Ministries or
Departments of the Government of India for the purpose of
integrating the measures for prevention of disaster or the
mitigation of its effects in their development plans and projects;
• Coordinate the enforcement and implementation of the policy
and plan for disaster management;
• Recommend provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation;
• Provide such support to other countries affected by major
disasters as may be determined by the Central Government;
• Take such other measures for the prevention of disaster, or the
mitigation, or preparedness and capacity building for dealing
with the threatening disaster situation or disaster as it may
consider necessary; and
• Lay down broad policies and guidelines for the functioning of the
National Institute of Disaster Management.
Ever since its inception, the National Disaster Management Authority has been interacting with various stakeholder groups from the Ministries and Departments of Government of India and the State Governments, professionals from scientific and technical Institutes and representatives of Non Governmental Organisations and the Corporate Sector to professionalize the practice of disaster management in India by preparing policies and guidelines for the effective management of disasters.
Disaster Risk and Vulnerability in India
58.6% of the geographical area of India falls within high risk areas prone to earthquakes of moderate to very high intensity. 229 districts fall within the high risk seismic zones IV and V which can face high intensity earthquakes. Over 40 million hectares of land covering about 12% of the land area is prone to floods and river erosion. About 5,700 kms of the 7,516 km long coastline is prone to cyclones and tsunamis. 68% of the cultivable area is prone to drought, while the hilly areas are vulnerable to landslides, snow avalanches and mudflows. In the recent past, it is also increasingly felt that the vulnerability to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies is also high due to the industrialization, modernization and associated risks. Apart from the natural disasters and manmade disasters, we have also to be alert about the emerging concerns like climate change, global warming and sea level rise which has serious implications for the coastal communities and small island communities.
Disaster Management Guidelines
As mandated by the Disaster Management Act 2005, the National Disaster Management Authority has already prepared the Guidelines for the effective management of disasters like Earthquakes and Chemical (Industrial Disasters). NDMA has also prepared Guidelines on the formulation of State Disaster Management Plans. A comprehensive set of guidelines on Medical Preparedness and Mass Casualty Management has also been prepared with the help of multiple stake holders from among professionals, specialists, government officials and experts of the private sector. These Guidelines were released by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare on 14th November, 2007 at New Delhi. Several other Guidelines on the Management of Cyclones, Floods, Landslides, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies, and on Cross Cutting Themes like Psycho Social Care and Trauma Care, Community Based Disaster Management, Non-Governmental Organisations, Corporate sectors, Risk Transfer and Insurance, Incident Command System etc. are in the process of preparation with multi stakeholder participation through an inclusive and consultative process.
Role of Scientific and Technical Institutions
Scientific and Technical Institutions have to play an extremely important role in Research and Development, Early Warning Systems, Modelling and Scenario analysis, Forecasting, Development of prototypes, simulation analysis etc. The use of an appropriate tool kit is extremely necessary for any disaster management practitioner to the effective. The convergence of information and communication technologies has made it possible to introduce several new innovative dimensions in the field of disaster management. The development of space technology and the integration of remote sensing with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) has made it feasible to review and analysis the post-disaster damage and impact profiles with the pre-disaster profiles for meaningful policy
analysis, problem solving and informed decision making. The role of the cartographers in integrating many of these tools and techniques has been simplified with the recent developments in information technology.
Applications of Geomatics
The expansion of India’s satellite and image processing resources in the past two decades has improved the technical capabilities for the analysis of sectoral, spatial and temporal data. The developments in information technology, especially the improvements in convergence of techniques in the design of appropriate geographical information systems, coupled with remote sensing, opened up challenging areas in the field of development planning. As in several other frontier areas, the applications of GIS was increasingly used in strategic planning by the Armed Forces and by Urban Local Bodies in the field of regional planning and spatial analysis. Several mapping and Spatial Data Management Projects have been assigned to various Government agencies by the Department of Science and Technology. The Survey of India has digital databases and maps covering the whole country on 1:250,000 scale and 1:50,000 scale. For almost 60% of the geographical area, hard copy data is available with the Survey of India on 1:25,000 scale. In the case of coastal areas there is a need for generating maps on 1:10,000 scale with 1 mtr contour intervals, which would be extremely useful for various disaster management related applications. In the case of metropolitan cities and mega cities, special efforts are also being made to collect data on 1:5,000 or 1:2,000 scale with 0.5 mtr. Contour intervals.
Bathymetric Surveys
In the case of coastal areas prone to storm surges due to tropical cyclones and tsunamis, the Bathymetric survey of 50 mtr. grid intervals, supplemented with ALTM/Aerial Photography wherever required, may also need to be carried out to understand the potential risk and vulnerability in these areas. The National Remote Sensing Agency has acquired the capability and the technology to use ALTM and LIDAR mounted on Air Crafts for surveys. The satellite based remote sensing inputs would be useful for developing Digital Elevation Models to carry out risk assessment and vulnerability analysis. It will also be useful to integrate photogrammetric techniques to enable analysis of spatial data for risk assessment and vulnerability analysis in disaster prone areas.
National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)
As a subset of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure, a National Spatial Data Infrastructure has been set up in India by bringing together the map users and map producers through an innovative public-private partnership. GIS standards have been published by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) 19,000 Series and by NATO. A project called INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) has been initiated to make available core data along with some thematic data over the Internet by 2015. Several National Data Standards were evolved in many countries like the National Transfer Format (NTF) in the UK, EDIGeo in France, Spatial Data Transfer Standards (SDTS) in the USA and Spatial Archive and Interchange Format (SAIF) in Canada. Many professional standards like the Digital Geographic Information Exchange Standards (DIGEST) by NATO’s Digital Geographic Information Working Group, International Hydrographic Organisation’s Transfer Standards for Digital Hydrographic Data (DX-90/S57) and the automotive industry’s Geographic Data File (GDF) standard have been developed. Most of these efforts are aimed at addressing the need for achieving interoperability between Spatial Databases within individual countries and across countries. The Department of Space in India is coordinating the National Spatial Data Infrastructure which would soon evolve as a single window platform to meet the specific requirements of map users.
National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM)
For the 241 multi-hazard districts in India, a National Database on Emergency Management (NDEM) with multiple layers of spatial and non spatial data at different resolutions is being developed by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) of the Department of Space, Government of India. The NDEM is expected to provide appropriate decision support systems for the effective management of disasters. The NDEM is a multi stakeholder initiative coordinated by the Department of Space and will be supported by a satellite-based Virtual Private Network for emergency communication linking various nodal institutions in the country. The need for interoperability of systems and continuous revision of maps because of the dynamics of urbanisation, industrialization, ruralurban migration and shifting of villages due to changing course of rivers, sea erosion, river erosion etc. continue to pose serious challenges to Cartographers and GIS specialists. For addressing the concerns of urban management, especially the monitoring of urban amenities like under ground telecommunication cables, water supply and sewage pipes, gas pipes etc., GIS solutions have proved to be of immense value. In the Management of urban disasters, the GIS solutions would offer tremendous potential for problem solving and decision making through scenario analysis and modeling. In conclusion, I would like to mention that Cartographers will continue to play an extremely significant role to assist the decision makers for the effective management of disasters. By ensuring that duplication is avoided in the efforts for creation of digital databases and facilitating interoperability between systems, tremendous value addition would be achieved, thereby facilitating our efforts for working towards a disaster resilient India. We hope that in the coming months, we will be able to see the full potential of using customized, web enabled map downloads to assist the decision makers for making disaster management more professionalized. Once again, I wish to convey my gratitude to the organizers for giving me this opportunity to interact with you. I am counting on your support to the Government of India through your contributions in the convergence of Geo informatics tools and techniques for effective disaster management in India.
Thank you, Jai Hind.
