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REGIONAL TRAINING ON
SG3 - Enabling regional and global mechanisms for sustainable action & AAE - Building institutions for regional cooperation and collaboration
Kathmandu, Nepal (hybrid meeting)
14 August 2023 to 18 August 2023
We are organising a five-day training on forest carbon assessment using Earth observation (EO) and geospatial information technology (GIT) for early- and mid-career professionals from national organisations of five Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
The training will cover topics in EO and GIT applications for forest carbon stock monitoring, assessment, and reporting using a blended learning approach – presentations and guided practical exercises on vector and raster data visualisation and spatial analysis, forest area mapping, forest cover change analysis, carbon stocks calculation, and map production.
We are organising this training under the AOGEO Regional Centre for Capacity Development (RCCD), in collaboration with the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIRCAS) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and with support from the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) and the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS).
This training primarily aims to build the capacities of national agencies in the HKH region in the application of EO and GIT for monitoring forest carbon stock. It also aims to build networks and partnerships for future collaboration in research and geospatial product/service development.
Upon completion of the training, the participants will have a better understanding of the applications of EO and GIT in monitoring forest carbon stocks, enabling them to apply this knowledge in their working areas.
We will organise the training in hybrid mode (virtual and in-person) with 30 participants from national agencies in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Anthropogenic drivers and climate change pose immediate threats to the well-being of mountain communities and to environmental sustainability in the HKH region. National and regional actions are urgently needed to address these threats, with an emphasis on substantially increased investments for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services is a key pillar of climate action, where forest carbon stocks are an important indicator and precursor to carbon emissions and should be accounted for in national reporting on SDGs. Geospatial approaches and EO information can facilitate forest conservation through monitoring of canopy cover and quantification of loss/gain in aboveground biomass and carbon.
HKH countries have limited capacity for assessing forest carbon stocks using EO and GIT. Capacity strengthening of national agencies including universities is important to gain access to more relevant EO data and locally calibrated methods. This training aims to build the capacities of key national institutions and individuals from the HKH region on innovative technologies and methods for monitoring forest carbon stocks. The training will also support the efforts to strengthen the AOGEO RCCD being initiated in collaboration among ICIMOD, AIRCAS, and NRSCC, and achieving the targets of SDG 15.
Abhas Maskey, Founder, Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal
Beichen Zhou, Professor International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS)
Bo Zhong, Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
Jin Wang, Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
Kabir Uddin, GIS/RS Specialist, ICIMOD
Liu Qingwang, Professor, Institute of Forest Resource Information Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry (IFRIT, CAF)
Poonam Tripathi, Geospatial Training Analyst, ICIMOD
Prakash Lamichhane, Research Officer, Forest Research and Training Centre (FRTC)
Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, Chief, Faculty of Technology, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, Senior Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Specialist, ICIMOD
Sajana Maharjan, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Analyst, ICIMOD
Sudip Pradhan Geospatial Application Development Specialist, ICIMOD
Sunil Thapa, Remote Sensing and Geoinformation Analyst, ICIMOD
Tao Zui, Professor, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (AIRCAS)
Yona Khalin Rai, Knowledge Park Associate, Living Mountain Lab, ICIMOD
Training overview and introduction of participants – Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, ICIMOD
Welcome remarks – Shekhar Ghimire, Director of Administration, Finance, and Operations, ICIMOD
Introduction of AOGEO RCCD – Xiang Zhou, Professor, AIRCAS
Remarks (10 min) – Dilip Subba, Vice Chancellor, NAST
Group photo (10 min)
Pre-training assessment (20 min) – Poonam Tripathi, ICIMOD
Lecture: Concepts of remote sensing and GIS for forest monitoring (70 min) – Poonam Tripathi, ICIMOD
Hands-on exercises
QGIS setup and installation (40 min)– Poonam Tripathi, ICIMOD
Demonstration of Regional Database System and GIS data access (30 min) – Sudip Pradhan, ICIMOD
Reflections on the previous day – Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, ICIMOD
Lecture: Estimation of forest volume using LiDAR remote sensing (45 min) – Liu Qingwang, IFRIT, CAF
Lecture: Efforts in land use/land cover monitoring and the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System – Kabir Uddin, ICIMOD
Demonstration of the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (40 min)– Sajana Maharjan, ICIMOD
Hands-on exercises (40 min) – Sajana Maharjan and Poonam Tripathi, ICIMOD
Time series land cover data visualisation and analysis
Lecture: Recent development and efforts in space allocations in Nepal (40 min)- Rabindra Prasad Dhakal, NAST, and Abhas Maskey, Antarikshya Pratisthan Nepal
Hands-on exercises – Sajana Maharjan and Poonam Tripathi, ICIMOD
Forest cover change analysis-forest loss/gain
Forest cover change analysis – forest loss/gain
Reflections on the previous day(15 min) – Rajesh Bahadur Thapa, ICIMOD
Chinese GaoFen 16 m ARD and its application on landcover mapping with high temporal consistency (45 min)– Bo Zhong, AIRCAS
Hands-on exercises session – Poonam Tripathi and Sajana Maharjan, ICIMOD,
Calculating forest carbon stocks
Lecture: Case studies integrating multi-source Earth observation data for forest carbon monitoring(6 min) – Rajesh Bahadur Thapa and Sajana Maharjan, ICIMOD
Lecture: Efforts on forest fire monitoring for carbon emission reduction(30 min) – Sunil Thapa, ICIMOD
Map production in QGIS
Lecture: Observation satellite and ground validation network progress in China (45 min)– Tao Zui, AIRCAS
Hands-on exercises session (continued) (60 min)
Lecture: Introduction of SDGSAT-1 and applications – Beichen Zhou, CBAS, AIRCAS
Hands-on exercises – Beichen Zhou, ARICAS
CBAS activities – SDG indicators monitoring
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight Regional Member Countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. An intergovernmental knowledge and development organisation with a focus on climate and environmental risks, green economies, and sustainable collective action, ICIMOD have worked in its eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – since its foundation in 1983.
Since the early 1990s, ICIMOD has been working on strengthening the capacity of national institutions in the region on EO and geospatial technologies. ICIMOD is a GEO Participating Organisation and has been actively engaged in AOGEO as the lead of Himalayan GEOSS. It is a collaborating organisation of AOGEO RCCD.
The Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was established in July 2017, following the approval for consolidation of three CAS institutes: the Institute of Electronics (IECAS), the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), and the Academy of Opto-Electronics (AOE). The merger is the outcome of CAS efforts towards reformation of its research and development system to meet future R&D challenges and to better meet the national demands.
The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) is an autonomous apex body established in 1982 with the goal of advancing science and technology in the nation. The academy is entrusted with four major objectives: advancement of science and technology for all-round development of the nation; preservation and further modernisation of indigenous technologies; promotion of research in science and technology; and identification and facilitation of appropriate technology transfer.
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