GIS and EA

Engr. Mansoor-Ul-Hassan Siddique

Government of Pakistan

Formal Definition of GIS

“A system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displaying data which are spatially referenced to the Earth. This is normally considered to involve a spatially referenced computer database and appropriate applications software”

Chorley Report, 1987

What GIS can do?

What would happen if . . . A chemical leaked into a river?

Is there a correlations between . . . The location of cattle colony and the spread of water-borne disease

Has . . . Population pattern changed over the last ten years?

Is there a spatial pattern related to . . . Car ownership in our area?

GIS comprises of:

Tools to execute four operations on geo-referenced data: Data input Storage Management Analysis Output

Type of Information

Spatial Maps Post Codes Census Report

Management Financial Statement EIA Guidelines Schematic Diagram

What is Spatial Data?

Grid co-ordinateGrid co-ordinate Place NamePlace Name Longitude -LatitudeLongitude -Latitude Post CodePost Code Distance and bearingDistance and bearing

Numerical Data

Maps to Display Spatial Data

Sta. 94, DOC 4.9

WELL200’

100’

100’

200’

Former Land Fill

URBANDuvall, pop 1170

FOREST

FOREST

AGRICULTURE

Snoqualmie River, 1

BrushCreek, 2

Stream,3

GIS Organizes Data in Layers

Land useSoils

Streets

Hydrology

Parcels

The Compilation of an Overlay Map from Various Component Maps

OverlayingOverlayingComponentComponentMapsMaps

Sites of Ecological Importance

Water Quality

Landscape Considerations

Development A (e.g., Industrial Plant)

Development B (e.g., road scheme)

Complete Composite MapComplete Composite Map

GIS System Architecture and Components

Data Input

Query InputGeographic

Database

Output: Display and Reporting

Transformation and Analysis

Use of GIS in Environmental Studies

Monitoring environmental risk Modeling storm-water runoff Management of watersheds, floodplains, wetlands,

forests, aquifers Environmental Impact Analysis Hazardous or toxic facility siting Groundwater modeling and contamination tracking

Features of GIS for EA

Description and distribution of natural resources Identification of environmental stress Description of project stress Assessment of response Risk assessment Assess effectiveness of mitigation measures