Leveraging Geospatial Information and Analysis for Integrated Watershed Development Programme

Overview

Watershed Management is one of the critical interventions for improving water resources and conserving soil in the country's rain-fed areas. Currently, Geospatial technology with high spatial and temporal resolution satellite data is proving effective in the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of watershed management activities.

The Integrated Watershed Management Programme is a flagship programme of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India aimed at restoring ecological balance by harnessing, conserving, and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover, and water. It was recently merged with the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY, Prime Minister's Crop Irrigation Scheme). These schemes have received a varied degree of response and performance across India's rural landscape and have contributed to increasing agricultural productivity.

Over the last two decades, the implementation of Government Flagship Programmes has witnessed paradigmatic shifts due to the infusion of Earth Observation (EO) and GIS. The push by the Government of India is a huge factor, encouraging Ministries and Departments towards enhanced and effective utilization of Geospatial technologies for the benefit of society.

In this light, context-specific approaches have become the focus of several national-level programmes, including the Integrated Watershed Monitoring Program (IWMP), which relies on a Geo-ICT-based monitoring mechanism to achieve its vision.

Vision: To bring in transparency, efficiency, and decentralization into various aspects of watershed management using Geospatial technologies.

Objectives

y To develop a web-based monitoring system for the WDC-PMKSY (Watershed Development Component – Prime Minister Krishi Sinchayee Yojna) wherein primary satellite data, GIS platform, and software tools for plan preparation are provided. y To monitor the progress of all identified watersheds using periodical satellite images, Web GIS, and field data from smartphones for detecting and highlighting temporal changes. y To examine ecological improvement brought in by watershed development. y To monitor implementation activity and land-use changes using high-resolution IRS imagery in the multispectral and panchromatic regions.

Stakeholders Involved

Niti Aayog, State Planning departments, Departments in the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Central Water Commission, ICAR Institutions, State Land Use Boards. Solution and Implementation Plan

A web-based GIS platform was created for the visualization, dissemination, and management of information related to watershed management in the country. The platform was also leveraged to analyse land-cover dynamics and the impact of the implementation of the programme.

The IWMP mobile application was redesigned as per the latest requirements. Ground- and mid-level functionaries were provided sufficient capacity-building training to understand and use advanced techniques involved in the process.

Use of Geospatial Technologies

The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO, in partnership with DoLR, has designed and developed the required technological interventions. Monitoring and evaluation are being done through a defined component in the Bhuvan Geo-Web portal called SRISHTI (https://bhuvan-app1.nrsc.gov.in/iwmp/).

Bhuvan also provides a range of geoinformation-based products and services for various natural resource management needs. In addition, an Android-based smartphone Application named DRISHTI has also been developed with geotagged photography ability, allowing the user to capture an image with updated geoinformation and send it to the Web GIS server. While Srishti corresponds to the landscape-level view, which one gets through satellite imaging presented as a green expanse, Drishti supports the programme through geotagged vision, uploading instances of the field reality.

Key Outputs

The project stands as one of the first e-governance initiatives of the Government of India to adopt geotagging of assets, web visualization, and monitoring of landscape changes using satellite-based inputs.

The solutions and services provided by NRSC/ISRO in the various flagship programmes have significantly