GIS and Remote Sensing Applications in Natural Resources Management in Bangladesh

This paper presents an overview of the GIS and remote sensing applications in natural resources management in Bangladesh and the information were taken from secondary sources. The first national Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) database was prepared in the period from 1980 to 1987. The database contains information on the country's land resources including physiography, soils, climate, hydrology, cropping systems, and crop suitability. In eighties, natural resources modelling systems were based on static GIS overlays. With the advent of more powerful desktop computer systems and more powerful software tools, it has become possible to develop more flexible and dynamic modelling tools. At the start of the new development efforts in 1997, an overall system design was established to allow for a dynamic analysis and modelling capability. The AEZ database constituted the foundation for a new effort to develop a comprehensive multi-scale GIS-based Land Resources Information System (LRIS) including additional databases and procedures, such as socioeconomic and demographic data influencing agricultural production. The technology used to establish the LRIS includes ArcView GIS; the ArcView Spatial Analyst and Dialog Designer extensions and Avenue; ArcView GIS software's programming language as well as multi-criteria analysis tools. The land resources inventory (LRI) application, for the classification and mapping of soil characteristics from the LRI database, allowed the users to specify the study area, the data to be classified, and the number of classes to create. Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO) has an Advanced Meteorological Satellite Ground Station (AMSGS) for receiving real time high and low resolution data/imagery from meteorological satellites like NOAA of USA and GMS (Geostationary Meteorological Satellite) of Japan. These data are being used for day to day weather forecasting and agro-climatic environmental monitoring, as well as water resource studies. The SPARRSO uses sophisticated digital image processing systems with ERDAS software for analyzing both meteorological and resource satellite data. GIS facilities include Mainframe ARC/INFO, ERIM GIS (Raster) and IDRISI (Raster). The SPARRSO applies space and remote sensing technology to survey the natural resources and monitor the environment and natural hazards in the country. Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information System (CEGIS) is supporting the management of natural resources for sustainable socio-economic development using integrated environmental analysis, geographic information systems, remote sensing, and information technology. It conducts activities to provide solutions to challenges related to natural resources management in sectors like water, agriculture, fisheries, environment, transportation and engineering.