Geoinformatics for wildlife habitat characterisation  S. P. S. Kushwaha Head, Forestry & Ecology Division IIRS, Dehradun spskushwaha@yahoo.com Abstract The application of geoinformatics for wildlife habitat characterisation, evaluation and management is relatively younger discipline. Several studies have been carried out on utility of geoinformatics in gathering information on physical parameters of the wildlife habitat as well as analysis of spatial data through geospatial modeling. The results indicate profound advantage of these technologies over traditional techniques in terms of accuracy of the information, timeliness and graphic nature of the data. Over time this has largely improved evaluation significantly. Besides facilitating geospatial data integration, the GIS also has proved to be a highly valuable tool in alternate scenarios creation, before selecting the best suited one for a particular wildlife area. On cost-coverage analysis, these techniques have been found to be cost and time-effective. This paper discusses developments on use of remote sensing and GIS in wildlife habitat evaluation and management. Introduction A natural environment is self-renewing, self-perpetuating and stable one, in which every organism contributes in some way, howsoever, small to the overall stability. In natural ecosystems, the plants and animals have evolved at their own pace and in their own way under the influence of natural selection to fit in the constellation of certain environmental factors or niches. In the process, they help to sustain others, each species controlling its own population growth and at the same time limiting of other species, so that a reasonable ecological balance may be achieved and maintained for hundreds of years (Bhargava et al., 1988). The term wildlife applies to all biotic elements that comprise every species of plant and animal in the world, excluding man and his domesticated pets. But in practice, the term has become a fashionable coin giving value to a certain limited number of species of spectacular animals that enjoy public recognition (Chakraborti, 1990). India has a rich heritage of wildlife as well as a long history and tradition of the conservation. Human beings and wildlife co-existed in nature as long as man was not a dominant organism. Wildlife all over the world is vanishing rapidly presently due to growing influence of humans. The pressure of modernisation, along with an unprecedented growth of the human population and commercial exploitation have been the prime causes for the decline of wildlife in almost all the countries. Man has ruthlessly destroyed nature in search of food, water and shelter. As a result, the formerly secure wildlife habitats have been depleted and fragmented. This has caused wild animals to enter into human habitations and destroy crops in search of food. Damage to property, dwellings and human life is not uncommon. This leads the rural people to ponder whether it is reasonable to conserve wildlife. In reality, it is extremely necessary to have a peaceful co-existence with nature and natural life for the development and progress of human beings. The destruction of any form of life affects the human race itself. We must not reduce the earth into a dreary wilderness. During the past centuries, man has never walked such a path of self-destruction as in the latter half of the 20th century. The situation worsened during the 1950s and 1960s, which witnessed depletion of the country’s biological heritage on a massive scale.
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