www.zgis.at/emGIS

Environmental Management with

Geographic Information Science

a project co-funded by the European Commission ASIA IT & C Programme

(ASIE/2004/091-778)

SELECTED SECTIONS OF THE FINAL REPORT Prepared By:

Dr. Shahnawaz Salzburg University

Austria

Asia IT&C, the EU-ASIA Information Technology and Communications Programme

ZENTRUM FÜR GEOINFORMATIK

CENTRE FOR GEOINFORMATICS

Capacity Building

in

Environmental Management with

Geographic Information Science (emGIS)

(a project co-funded by the European Commission Under Asia IT & C Programme)

SELECTED SECTIONS OF THE FINAL REPORT

Prepared by:

Dr. Shahnawaz Centre for GeoInformatics (Z_GIS), Salzburg University

Hellbrunnerstrasse 34 A-5020 Salzburg, Austria Homepage: www.uni-salzburg.at/zgis/shahnawaz

e-Mail: s.shahnawaz@sbg.ac.at

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Project Team

Project partnership involved 5 institutions: Coordinating Institution Austria, University of Salzburg – Centre for GeoInformatics (Z_GIS)

- Josef Strobl - Shahnawaz - Stefan Lang

Partner Institutions Bhutan, Royal University of Bhutan - Royal Bhutan Institute of Technology (RBIT)

- Kezang Chhodar (Year-1) - G. Prasad Babu (Year-1) - Cheki Dorji (Year-1) - Nidup Dorji (Year-2) - Ugyen Tenzey (Year-2)

Poland, Jagiellonian University Krakow - Inst. of Geog. & Spatial Management (UJAG) - Wojciech Widacki (Year-1) - Jacek Kozak (Year-2) - Mateusz Troll (year-1) - Bartosz Kulawik

Cooperating Institutions Bangladesh, University of Rajshahi, Dept. of Geography and Environment (UoR)

- Mizanur Rahman Nepal, Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Dept. of Geography Education (TU)

- Krishna Poudel - Puspa Sharma

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The project entitled ‘Environmental Management with GIScience (emGIS)’ had duration of 2 years from 10th March 2005 to 9th March 2007. This project included several intensive teaching and training activities focusing on Capacity Building.

1. Objective of the Project:

The major objective of the project was to enhance awareness about global environmental issues, identify specific local environmental problems and develop sustainable capability to utilise Geographic Information Science for their management in 3 South Asian Countries i.e. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal:

by organising short blocked Courses in ‘Environmental Management with Geographic Information Science’ at RBIT, Phuentsholing for the: Educators engaged at the institutions of higher education as well as for the

Mid-Level Professionals in relevant governmental and non-governmental organisations.

University Level Students from various institutions of higher education. by improving methodological, technical and pedagogical capabilities as well as enhancing their international orientation through short educational stay of 2 Teachers from RBIT at each of the partner institution in European Union.

by establishing an e-Learning Platform at RBIT for introducing Open and Online Distance Education pertaining to Environmental Management and Geographic Information Science to extend the benefits of the courses to wider indirect target audiences on sustainable basis.

Figure-1: Objectives of the ‘emGIS’ Project

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2. Courses in Environmental Management and Geographic Information Science: The major activity of emGIS project was to organise courses in Environmental Management and Geographic Information Science at RBIT, Bhutan in order to enhance awareness about global environmental issues, identify specific local environmental problems and develop sustainable capability to utilise Geographic Information Science for their management in 3 South Asian Countries. Courses were organised separately for the two different Target Groups:

2.1 Technical Level Courses 2.2 University Level Courses

2.1 Technical Level Courses (TECH-COURSE): Target Groups: University Level Teachers and Mid-Level Professionals. Course Duration: 4 Weeks (full day course) in 1 Year divided into two stages of

2 weeks, 1st stage in Summer Semester (SS) and 2nd Stage in Winter Semester (WS).

2.2 University Level Courses (UNI-COURSE):

Target Groups: University Level Students. Course Duration: 6 Weeks (full day course) in 1 Year divided into 2 stages of 3

weeks, 1st stage in Summer Semester (SS) and 2nd Stage in Winter Semester (WS).

Both the Courses were repeated in the 2nd year of the project. Course Structure: emGIS courses had total 3 Modules Module-1:

Introduction to Global Environmental Issues and state of the environment - types of environmental problems, causes and consequences of

environmental degradation; environment-development debate; environment- population linkages

- indicators for analysing environmental and developmental aspects - indicators of sustainability / un-sustainability - differences in the environmental problems in Europe and Asia

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- environmental problems in various physiographic zones specially in mountains (Himalayas)

- state of the environment in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Maldives - concepts of environmental management and their applicability in the target

Asian countries - various possibilities of environmental conservation and developmental

opportunities in the target countries. Module-2:

Introduction to Geographical Information Science - history of GIScience, an overview of developments; components of GIS; GIS

in action; data models and data structures; data sources and data acquisition (including aerial photography; satellite systems, and GPS); geoDatabase; data conversion; spatial statistics; geographical analysis; change detection; visualisation and cartography; environmental modelling; 3 Dimensional modelling, spatial models and simulation.

Module-3:

Role of GIScience in Environmental Management – Practical Project - for completing this theme, the participants will be required to do intensive

practical project work on selected topics - all the participants will be grouped into teams constituted by the candidates

having interests in similar areas of environmental management and/or GIS Application

- they will be provided Satellite Images of selected areas in Bhutan and as well as other required data/information to be used in the practical project

Special Session:

Importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

- a half day special session will be organised for seminar and open discussion on the role of ICT in promoting environmental education, environmental management, socio-economic development.

- special emphasis be laid on the role e-Learning process can play for continued and further education in the least developed countries.

- participants will be introduced to an e-Learning platform and given ‘hands-on-experience’.

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Total duration of themes: - Module 1 : 1.5 weeks - Module 2 : 1.5 weeks - Module 3 : 3 weeks

Course Delivery:

Courses were delivered mainly by the EU Partners and RBIT assist them. Methods adopted for evaluating Learning Outcomes:

- quiz and short answer tests (individual participants) - practical exercises (individual participants) - project report and presentation (individual participants or team work)

Successful candidates were awarded ‘Certificate of Completion’ jointly by the Project Consortium.

For ensuring the quality of project activities, emGIS Consortium had designed a tightly coupled sequence of activities to check the lack, if any, before and after each activity. In this way, an automatic feedback-loop was coupled from beginning till the completion.

Figure 2 : emGIS Project Management Cycle

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3. Selection Procedure of emGIS Course Participants A ‘Call for Applications’ was launched in the beginning of April 2005 as well as 2006. This information as well as a set of ‘Application Documents’ was sent to various universities, educational institutions ministries, NGOs etc. The cooperating institutions in Bangladesh and Nepal assisted in disseminating this information within those countries. The project consortium followed a clear cut ‘Gender Equality Approach’ mentioning that 50% seats are reserved for female candidate. The final selection of the candidates was done based on following criteria:

• fulfilment of pre-requisites proficiency in English language as well as experience in handling computer operations,

• geographical distribution avoiding concentration • gender equality • deprivation factors

Table-1 Participation in emGIS Courses

Year 2005 - 2007 TECH-COURSE UNI-COURSE Total

Proposed Target 18 46 64

Achieved Target 34 50 84

Year 2005 - 2006

Applicant Candidates 40 24 63

Selected Candidates 20 22 42

Year 2006 - 2007

Applicant Candidates 24 67 65

Selected Candidates 14 28 42

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4. Schedule of emGIS Courses:

TECH-COURSE 2005-06

TECH-COURSE-1 SS: 23rd July to 2nd August 2005

TECH-COURSE-1 WS: 25th January to 4th February 2006

UNI-COURSE 2005-06

UNI-COURSE-1 SS: 4th July to 20th July 2005

UNI-COURSE-1 WS: 8th January to 24th January 2006

TECH-COURSE in 2006-07

TECH-COURSE-2 SS: 19th July to 31st July 2006

TECH-COURSE-2 WS: 3rd January to 15th January 2007

UNI-COURSE 2006-07

UNI-COURSE-2 SS: 2nd July to 19th July 2006

UNI-COURSE-2 WS: 15th January to 31st January 2007

Course Delivery Evaluation: Course participants were provided a Questionnaire for giving their feedback about the quality of the course contents as well as the course delivery.

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5. Practical Projects completed by the emGIS course Participants:

During the period of emGIS Project, the course participants a total of 46 practical project covering a range of application areas.

Note: The clips of some projects have been included at the end of this report.

TECH-COURSE 2005-06

Individual Projects: 1. Spatial Pattern of Environmental Quality in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh 2. Assessment and Management of Fire Induced Hazards in Densely Populated

Kathmandu City 3. Determinining Landslide Susceptibility in Bhutan: A GIS Analysis 4. Land Cover Change analysis of Bhutan from 1977 to 2001 5. Environmental Impact Assessment of Rural Electrification Network Expansion

Project - Tsirang Dzongkhag, Bhutan 6. Evaluation of Land Use Pattern in RBIT Campus, Phuentsholing, Bhutan 7. Building Maintenance Information System (BMIS) for RBIT

Groups Projects: 8. Developing Land Information System for Phuentsholing City Corporation, Bhutan 9. Identification of Potential Area for Settlement Expansion in Thimphu District

UNI-COURSE 2005-06

Individual Projects: 1. Demarcating Sites for Developing Picnic Spots in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Group Projects: 2. Land Use Change in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: 1978 - 1995 3. Identifying Potential Areas for Eco-Tourism Development in Nepal 4. Feasibility Study of Constructing Housing Units for Civil Servants in Bhutan 5. GIS for Conservation of Historical Sites in Bhutan 6. Re-routing High Power Electric Transmission Line between Phuentsholing and

Thimphu, Bhutan 7. Identifying Potential areas for Airport construction in North-western Bhutan 8. Designing a Master Plan for Developing an Industrial Estate in Dhamdhum,

Samtse, Bhutan

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TECH-COURSE 2006-07

Individual Projects: 1. Expansion of Thimphu City Area by 2020 – A Geo-Spatial Modelling 2. GIS for Landuse Change Detection – A Case Study of 3 Geogs in Bhutan 3. Housing Information System of Changjiji Colony, Thimphu, Bhutan 4. Landuse Change in Municipal Area Thimphu: 1997 - 2006 5. Distribution of Health Facilities in Bhutan: A Dzongkhag Level Study 6. Identification of the New Sources of Water Supply for Thimphu Municipality 7. Identificatuon of Landslide Prone Area Along Samdrup Jonkha-Trashigang

Highway 8. Finding the New Road Alignment from Baglung to Burtibang in Nepal 9. Identifying Cost effective Areas for Forest Harvesting in Bhutan 10. Identifying areas Prone to Frequent Cyclon Hazard in Bangladesh

Groups Projects: 11. Identification of Optimum Route for Garbage Collection in core area of

Phuentsholing City, Bhutan 12. Analysing Climatic Conditions for Agricultural Development in Bhutan 13. Identifying area for Eco-Tourism development in Bhutan 14. Connecting Unlinkwed Settements to Existing Road Netwrok in Bhutan 15. Hydrological Modelling for Water Resources Harvesting in Bhutan

UNI-COURSE 2006-07

Individual Projects: 1. Planning the Routing of Ringroad within Kathmandu Valley, Nepal 2. Analysing the Sufficiency of Drinking Water Supply in Kathmandu Metropolitan

City 3. Feasibility of Cable Car Construction from Motithang to Phajodhing in Bhutan 4. Locating Faults in Electricity Distribution Lines - A Study of Thimphu Gewog,

Bhutan 5. Identifying Sutabke Locations for Installing Mobile Netwrok Towers in Bhutan 6. Identifying the Extension Route for Samtse – Haa Road 7. Identifying Potential Areas for Additional National Parks in Nepal 8. Locating a Suitable Site for Electricity distribution Sub-station In Punakha

Dzongkhag 9. Comparitive Analysis of Schhold Facilities in Bhutan – A district Level Study

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Group Projects: 10. Identifying Potential Sites for Waste Disposal of Thimphu City 11. Locating Transmission Line Faults between Bumthang and Trongsa in Bhutan 12. Social Implications of Natural Constraints on Agriculture in Bangladesh 13. Finding Suitable Sites for Developing New Towns in Bhutan 14. Identifying Suitable Sites for Hydropower Generation Stations in Bhutan

6. Short Stay of Teachers from RBIT at European Institutions (EU-STAY): EU-STAY 1:

2 teachers from RBIT completed their academic stay at Jagiellonian University Karakow, Poland from 11th March to 30th March 2005.

EU-STAY 2: Another 2 teachers from RBIT completed their academic stay at the Centre for GeoInformatics, Salzburg University, Austria from 26th March to 19th April 2006.

7. Establish an e-Learning Platform at RBIT, Phuentsholing (e-LEARN):

An eLearning Platform at RBIT, Phuentsholing has been established under the web address www.cst.edu.bt/eLearn. Due to low internet band width, it is not fully functional but the efforts are being made to maintain it properly.

8. Project Concluding Conference (CONFERENCE) In order to disseminate the outcomes of the project among a wider audience of professionals from various related fields, a project concluding conference was organised in Thimphu, Bhutan on Friday, 2nd February, 2007. There were 100 participants in the conference which included dignities, project consortium members, emGIS Course alumni, member of National GIS Coordination Committee of Bhutan and a number of guests from various ministries.

9. Conclusions:

- organising short and intensive blocked courses is a highly efficient approach

- simultaneously training the teacher, professionals and students is very good for generating higher multiplier effect and ensuring sustainability of learning process

- disseminating project outcomes among the wider audiences is good strategy for demonstrating the science and creating extensive awareness.

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Coordinating Institution:

Austria Salzburg University (PLUS), Centre for Geoinformatics (Z_GIS), http:\\www.zgis.at

Partner Institutions:

Bhutan Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) Royal Bhutan Institute of Technology (RBIT) http:\\www.rbit.edu.bt

Poland Jagiellonian University Krakow (UJAG) Inst. of Geography & Spatial Management http:\\www.gis.geo.uj.edu.pl

Cooperating Institutions:

Bangladesh University of Rajshahi (UoR), Dept. of Geography and Environment http:\\www.ru.ac.bd

Nepal Tribhuvan University Kathmandu (TU) Dept. of Geography Education http:\\www.tribhuvan-university.edu.np