Research Publication-Conservation Prioritization and Planning Of Forest Land by Measuring Forest Disturbance Using Geospatial Technology

Mr. Firoz Ahmad and Dr. Laxmi Goparaju of VENHF have authored a research paper titled 'Conservation Prioritization and Planning Of Forest Land: A Reciprocal Approach By Measuring Forest Disturbance Using Geospatial Technology' in the international journal 'The Ecoscan'. The open access article can be accessed on the journal's website here. An excerpt from the abstract and the full paper is also reproduced below:

Conservation of forestlands in West Singhbhum District of, Jharkhand State, is increasingly important because of enhanced pressure and deforestation. The present study was attempted to generate an accurate and reliable conservation prioritization map for restoration/ management activities by analyzing spatiotemporal patterns of landuse and land cover (LULC) change occurred in the part of Porahat forest division over the past three decades (1975 - 2015). Patterns of forest disturbance and the level of fragmentation were geospatially analyzed on the distance from roads, settlements, topography (slope, aspect, elevation).The results revealed that the forest cover was decreased from 60.5% (59,616 ha) in 1975 to 52% (51,257 ha) during 2015. However, there was an increase in non-forest and water bodies by 8.1% (8,045 ha) and 0.49% (314 ha), respectively compared to 1975 statistics. The prioritized conservation map was generated with an accuracy of 82 percent employing the GIS modeling. It was observed that about 22% of existing forest lands was highly disturbed. These disturbed patches need special attention/prioritization for conservation and management. The generated spatial pattern of conservation prioritization map of this study can be utilized in the regeneration of natural species and the sustainable development of forest lands.