BENGALURU: Now you can see what’s happening in the Western Ghats on real-time basis on your smartphone.
Researchers at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bengaluru, on Friday announced the launch of the android version of the Western Ghats Spatial Decision Support System (WGSDSS).The app already has a web version. The Sahayadri Mobile App helps to visualise eco-sensitivity of the Western Ghats at the village or grid level. The researchers have developed the app through integration of bio, geo, climatic, environmental and social variables. It can be downloaded from Play Store.
Prof TV Ramachandra from CES, IISc, said this enhances transparency in governance while meeting societal needs, which helps in the prudent management of ecologically and hydrologically vital Sahyadri hill ranges. Visualisation of ecologically sensitive regions at disaggregated levels (grids/village) is essential for effective decision-making at decentralised levels like through biodiversity management committees towards sustainable management of natural resources.
WGSDSS is designed by integrating free and open source software and spatial information of open geospatial consortium standards to carry out multiple criteria analysis. The app will also help in framing conservation and sustainable development policies.
He said spatiotemporal analyses of land use highlight the anthropogenic induced development thrust with the loss of 5% evergreen forest cover with an increase of 4.5% built-up cover and 9% agriculture area. Fragmentation analyses highlight that interior forest constitutes only 25% of the forest landmass, depicting the fragmentation pressure, impacting local ecology. Grid-wise analysis showed that 32% of the area under ecologically sensitive region (ESR) denoted very high ecological fragility.
Web version- https://wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in/sdss/wgsdss/index.php.
Mobile version- https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.esr_sahyadri