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GIS techniques for carrying capacity study of Damodar River Basin
S. Sampath Kumar, K. T. Sridhar
(Peagus Software
Consultabnts Pvt Ltd, Bangalore)
M. K. Chakraborty, B. K.
Tewary
(Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad)
Abstract
Geomatics tools have been used as aide to
study the carrying capacity of Damodar River Basin. The basin is rich in mineral
resources and has a high level of mining based industrial and economic activity.
In order to facilitate future planning for the basin, it carrying capacity was
studied with reference to its resources and degradation in land, water, air,
noise and socioeconomic living standards.
A digital geographic database
of Damodar River Basin was created and GIS analysis and modelling techniques
used to answer questions related to carrying capacity of DRB. This paper
specifically focuses on the GIS techniques and methodologies used to design and
create the geographic database and carry out analysis and modelling of the data.
The analysis/ modelling techniques identified for this study are discussed and
their use in finding answers to real-life questions related to the basin are
illustrated.
Introduction
The Damodar River Basin (DRB), a part
of the Ganges river system drained by two major river systems Damodar and
Barakar, extends over the states of Bihar and West Bengal. The basin is rich in
mineral resources, particularly coal, and has a high level of mining based
industrial and economic activity. Several urban and industrial centres exist in
the region. The result of unplanned growth in the region has led to
environmental problems related to land, water, air, noise and general standard
of living.
To study the current state of the basin and plan for its
future growth, the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, set
up a multi-institutional project with Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI),
Dhanbad, as the nodal agency. Several organisations in the government and
private sectors were involved at various stages of the project. The primary goal
of the project is to apply carrying capacity based techniques for planning the
future growth of the region. Geomatics tools such as geographical information
system and image processing packages were used as aids in the study of DRB
This paper reports on one aspect of CCDRB project, namely the use of
computer aided geomatics tools. More specifically this paper focuses on, and
discusses, the GIS techniques and methodologies adopted to meet the needs and
requirements of the study of Carrying Capacity of DRB (CCDRB).
Carrying Capacity of DRB
Sustainable development of an
industralised region is dependent on the physical limits of its natural resource
base and assimilation of generated residual wastes. To achieve sustainable
development of a region, planning for the region must take into account the
carrying capacity of the region. Carrying capacity of the region. Carrying
capacity of a region may be loosely defined as the intrinsic capacity of a
region to assimilate various categories of degradation and pollution such that
it does not affect the sustainability of the region. A detailed discussion on
carrying capcaity can be found in (CMR95, CMR97).
Planning based on
carrying capacity needs to study the existing scenario of the region and its
assimilative capacity. Carrying capacity of DRB was studied with reference to
the following five parameters, four of which relate to the environment and the
last one to the standard of living.
- Land
- Water
- Air
- Noise
- Socioeconomic standards
DRB data for all the five parameters
were collected by different organistaions participating in the project and GIS
techniques were used to create a geographic database of DRB and analyse the
geographic data for identifying hot spots and what-if scenarios.
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