India develops Bhuvan-based tool for greening, restoration of wastelands with agroforestry

India has developed a Bhuvan-based tool to assess Agroforestry Suitability -- a collaborative effort led by NITI Aayog, with ISRO and five national and international institutions, the space agency said on Monday. The Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry GROW- Suitability Mapping portal Bhuvan allows universal access to state and district-level data.

India has developed a Bhuvan-based tool to assess Agroforestry Suitability -- a collaborative effort led by NITI Aayog, with ISRO and five national and international institutions, the space agency said on Monday. A Geoportal platform of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bhuvan hosts a wide-range of services spanning visualisation of satellite data, thematic maps, query and analysis, free data downloads and products, near real-time disaster services, Apps for crowdsourcing, and diverse geospatial applications.

''This (Bhuvan-based) tool integrates thematic geospatial datasets like Wastelands, Land Use Land Cover, Waterbodies, Soil Organic Carbon, and Slope to establish the Agroforestry Suitability Index (ASI) for national-level prioritisation,'' ISRO said in a statement.

An analysis revealed that about 6.18 per cent and 4.91 per cent of India’s land are highly and moderately suitable for agroforestry, respectively. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana emerged as the top large-sized states for agroforestry suitability, while Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, and Nagaland ranked highest among the medium-sized states, it stated. According to ISRO, the NITI Aayog released the Bhuvan-based tool on February 12. ''Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry (GROW)'' report and portal were launched. The portal allows universal access to state and district-level agro-forestry data. Agricultural practitioners, non-governmental entities, start-ups, and researchers are also invited to make use of this open data, it said. This multi-institutional effort led by NITI Aayog utilised remote sensing and GIS to assess agroforestry suitability across all districts in India, a NITI Aayog statement said. Using thematic datasets, an Agroforestry Suitability Index was developed for national-level prioritisation. The report provides state-wise and district-wise analysis, supporting government departments and industries for greening and restoration projects. ''The ''Greening and Restoration of Wasteland with Agroforestry (GROW)- Suitability Mapping'' portal Bhuvan allows universal access to state and district-level data. Currently, agroforestry covers 8.65 per cent of India's total geographical area, totalling about 28.42 million hectares. The current report underscores the potential benefits of converting underutilised areas, especially wastelands, for agroforestry. ''The GROW initiative aligns with national commitments, aiming to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 and create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide,'' it said. In 2014, India introduced the National Agroforestry Policy to improve sustainability and profitability through alternative land use systems. This effort aligns with global and national commitments such as the Paris Agreement, Bonn Challenge, UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Green India Mission, it was noted.