Role of Geographical Information System
(GIS) in Climate Change Adaptation
 

Climate change poses a far greater threat to human civilisation and has wide ranging effects on the environment and on socio-economic and related sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity and coastal zones. There is an increase in awareness on the impact of climate change on a global scale. However, what is most striking is how little we understand about the implications of this change. Assessing the impact of vulnerability to climate change and subsequently working out an adaptation plan requires good quality information. The geospatial toolset is a mature information technology that provides a means to measure, monitor and visualise these changes in a framework, which encourages collaboration and integration of knowledge for a much clearer picture of the global impact of climate change.

Alongside climate protection, adaptation to climate change is gaining in importance. The adaptability to climate change is facilitated by input resources knowledge, along with modern technologies like Geographical Information System (GIS) support. The GIS based spatio-temporal information can be used to assess the vulnerability of various environment and social indicators. The goal of Geo-spatial information System is to integrate knowledge across all disciplines and social groups to address the broader issues of climate change impact, especially for vulnerability assessment, climate adaptation and mitigation.

Using climate, water resource and topographical data, land use and land cover data, the Geographical Information System (GIS) allows the resource managers and decision makers to predict the possible impacts of climate change, based on the historical and current trends. The GIS provides a means for the planners to view and analyse different types of data in varying scenarios. The distribution of climate change data to the GIS community is the basic essentiality to project the impact of change in climatic conditions. The climate-related data can be obtained from government agencies and organisational reports, for example The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Compendium. ‘Methods and Tools to Assess Impacts of, and Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change’ is a web-based resource that provides key information on the available frameworks, methods and tools, and their special features.1 It is designed to assist parties and other potential users in selecting the most appropriate methodology for assessments of impacts and vulnerability and preparing for adaptation to climate change and thereby disseminating information, which is useful to decision makers and planners.

Several studies show that climate change is likely to impact significantly on water resource availability. The pressure on the existing water stress will be significantly exacerbated by climate change, which is a result of reduced rainfall and increasing temperatures. Agriculture will be one of the hardest-hit sectors by climate change impact on water resources, as warmer temperatures will lead to increased water evaporation, intensifying the need for irrigation precisely as water becomes even less available and thus creating pressure on intensified agriculture. In agriculture, for example, soil survey data combined with soil nutrient information can direct soil improvement measures. Using GIS tools, digital maps can be built representing the climate scenarios. Various threats, such as drought and floods caused due to fluctuations in climatic parameters, can be mapped out. Risk Maps can be plotted using the GIS-based software modules. Future climate scenarios can be predicted using the GIS-based climate models by providing all necessary climate parameters.

Thematic Overlaying of Layers

The GIS Technology is a useful tool for Spatial Distribution of Climate Parameters observed in a point location over a period of time, for example of climate parameters, which depend on topographic conditions, over medium scale areas and a relatively long period of time. The climate parameters obtained are put into the GIS Model. The accuracy of the model of phenomena parameters’ distribution is established on the basis of measurements in points, while creating the model2. It concerns both the location of the measurement’s place and parameter’s value. A GIS Analyst can transfer information on the basis of data available on a number of indicating points. On the basis of this information, the digital maps of climatic conditions can be built. The constraint in generating information onto the GIS platform is the problem in the transferring point information from some places because there are different natural conditions, natural or anthropogenic barriers. This way of interpreting information from the phenomenon’s model, indicates areas which need additional research before making a decision, conditioned by the examined parameter’s distribution. For fine scale spatial variability, stratified modeling strategy associated with climate complexity needs to be developed. Thus, the GIS tool provides integration of all climatic parameters onto a single platform. The Geospatial data analysis can pinpoint the “hotspots” of potential impact thereby, GIS supports as an analysis and infrastructure tool in climate research.

At present, any changes in the cropping pattern, land-use pattern, over exploitation of water storage, have been observed in areas due to fluctuating variations in climate factors. Thus, there is need for better integration of datasets developed by the geographic and atmospheric communities to address the issues of global change, especially for vulnerability assessment, mitigation and adaptation.

Taruna Chauhan
tchauhan@devalt.org

Refrences
1 unfccc.int/program/mis/meth/index.html
2 http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/environment/climate/ma0772.htm
 

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