Land Change Modeling for REDD

Monitoring Fire in Nepal using MODIS Images

During the long spell dry season in Nepal, several incidences of large-scale forest fire in the mountains were detected by MODIS Aqua satellite imagery. The fire has been rapid in several protected areas including Chitwan National Park and Kanchenjunga National Park. There are also reports on human casualties and economic damage due to this natural calamity. On the request of MENRIS – ICIMOD, NASA MODIS Fire Team has provided special subset system for Nepal to have everyday satellite imageries.

HMRSC-X

10th International Symposium on High Mountain Remote Sensing Cartography September 8-11, 2008 ICIMOD, Kathmandu Organiser: ICIMOD Supported by: ESA and GIS Development In collaboration with: Eurasia-Pasific UNINET, ICA, TU Graz and UNI Graz

Charter Activation: Floods in Nepal

The Koshi River breached an embankment on 18 August, causing displacement of some 50,000 people and sweeping away seven villages in the Sunsari District. Deteriorating weather in the days following the break worsened the situation as flooding spread to the state of Bihar in India where media reported 46 dead on 27 August. According to the Red Cross, as many as 1.5 million people may be affected by the violent flooding of the Koshi.

DLR-ZKI Koshi River Flood Map

On 18th August, 2008 the Koshi River breached an embankment causing flooding in the Sunsari district as well as further South in the Supaul district of Bihar which is situated 7 kilometres downstream in India. It also inundated the districts of Madhepura, Araria, Purnea and Saharsa.
After the breach, the River Koshi, which separates India from Nepal, changed its course resulting in more than 250,000 destroyed homes in 1,600 villages and a total of 3 million affected people. Damaged roads and flooded railway tracks have hampered relief efforts.
The map illustrates the flooded area south of the breached embankment with many flooded settlements, roads and agricultural land. The analysis is based on TerraSAR-X StripMap and ScanSAR data acquired on 30th August and 1st September, 2008.
The repetition rate of data acquisition could be accelerated significantly by using the unique left-looking recording ability of TerraSAR-X for the 1st September data take. Map production is carried out in the framework of the project "SAR-HQ" which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Maps & Satellite Images of Sapta Koshi River Flood

MENRIS-ICIMOD has complied maps of Sapta Koshi River Flood from various sources and also produced some maps.

M-eKH

GWSP Digital Water Atlas

The purpose and intent of the ‘Digital Water Atlas’ is to describe the basic elements of the Global Water System, the interlinkages of the elements and changes in the state of the Global Water System by creating a consistent set of annotated maps. The project will especially promote the collection, analysis and consideration of social science data on the global basis.

HKKH Partnership Project

The HKKH Partnership Project aims at consolidation of institutional capacity for systemic planning and ecosystem management in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya region. As a multi-scale initiative, we work together with local, national and regional stakeholders on capacity building and decision support tools for ecosystem management on different temporal and spatial scales. Our activities support the exchange of data, knowledge and experiences across the region and the development of a management-oriented research framework.

Outburst Flood Monitoring - Imja Glacial Lake

Recently, due to increased awareness of the effects of global warming and climate change, much attention has been focused sea-level rise due to an increased melting of polar ice caps. However, most people do not realize that the largest source of glacier ice outside the polar regions is found in the alpine glaciers in the high mountains of the Himalaya. For thousands of years, massive glaciers in the Himalaya have carved their way down the steep mountain valleys. The glaciers are the source of fresh water for more than 1.3 billion of people in the Indian sub-continental and south east Asia. Nine major rivers have their source in the Himalaya

Mountain GIS e-Conference (Archive)

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Eco Everest Expedition 2008