Online Course: Basics of GIS and Remote Sensing for Water and Sanitation

Dates: 26^th October to 6^th November, 2020

Study Hours: Total: 20 Hours (Online: 12 hours | Virtual: 8 Hours)

The School of Water & Waste, CSE organised an online course on the Basics of GIS and Remote Sensing for Water and Sanitation, from 26 Oct. – 6 Nov., 2020. The course was organised on the CSE Moodle Platform, and four virtual sessions were held on the Zoom platform. The course was attended by 63 participants from 34 cities across eight countries.

The aim of the course was to sensitize various stakeholders/practitioners to the basic tools and techniques for mapping-analysis for citywide water and sanitation management. The GIS package utilized in the course was the Long Term Release version of the open-source Quantum-GIS: Q-GIS 3.10.11.

The course content was provided in four modules on the CSE Moodle platform, providing articles, tutorials and videos related importance of GIS in urban water and sanitation management, installation of Q-GIS and performing basic analysis and preparation of thematic maps. Virtual sessions with external speakers were also organised for each module. Data for undertaking all the exercises was also provided by CSE, so that participants can practice hands-on.

Module 1: Introduction to GIS and Remote Sensing
The module focussed on the importance of GIS and in urban water and sanitation management, and its multi-dimensional use in planning, monitoring and advocacy for best practices; and also on the basics of GIS and Remote Sensing, data types, etc.

A webinar on ‘Importance of GIS in making Water-Sensitive Cities’ was organised, where Dr Pramod Kumar, Scientist, Urban Division, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun shared the history of GIS and Remote Sensing, and its usability in urban planning and urban infrastructure delivery services. He shared various case studies related to estimation of RWH potential using GIS, flood vulnerability analysis for urban areas, and sustainable water supply.

Module 2: Extracting and analysing GIS and Remote Sensing Data
The module sensitised participants on how to extract various GIS and Remote Sensing data from web-portals like OpenStreetMaps, USGS Earth Explorer, Bhuvan Portal, Survey of India, Census of India, etc., and how these can be used in Q-GIS. A virtual session was conducted by Mr Shubham Mishra, Founder, Urban Narratives, where he gave a brief introduction about the Q-GIS Interface, and gave a demonstration of data extraction from the various data sources. He also provided a list of plug-ins which are required for undertaking the analysis in Q-GIS. The module was concluded by an exercise on Geo-referencing a toposheet, and image on image georeferencing.

Module 3: Preparing Maps: Symbology and Layout
The module exposed participants on the use of query analysis for preparing thematic maps for water and sanitation. A virtual session conducted Mr Shubham Mishra provided a demonstration of the various query analysis that can be done using the attribute data. He also demonstrated how to join and relate excel spreadsheets in GIS. The module was concluded with various tools and techniques of preparing a layout map, and use of appropriate symbology.

Module 4: Basic analysis for water and sanitation management
The module highlighted the basic analysis regarding digitization of data, land cover mapping and proximity analysis for water and sanitation infrastructure in urban areas. A virtual session was conducted by Mr Shubham Mishra, where he demonstrated supervised land cover mapping, and buffer area analysis for water and sanitation infrastructure like lakes, rivers, public toilets, etc. He also demonstrated the use of proximity analysis and query analysis to identify areas which are not served by a public toilet in Bodhgaya. The module was concluded with using these analysis for drawing various conclusions, and preparation of thematic maps for the same.

Participants were assessed based on a Quiz (40% of marks) and a final assignment (60% of marks), where they were instructed to undertake analysis like geo-referencing, digitization, land cover mapping and proximity analysis, and prepare output maps for an area of their choice, or using the exercise data provided by CSE. A total of 31 participants were able to complete the final assignment and the quiz, while 44 participants completed the quiz.

For any other details, you may contact the undersigned.

Training Coordinator

Shivali Jainer
Programme Manager
Water Programme
+91-9873391885
Email: shivali@cseindia.org

 

Training Director

Dr. Suresh Kumar Rohilla
Senior Director & Academic Director (School of Water and Waste, Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute - AAETI)
Email: srohilla@cseindia.org