Train Ferns Naturalists society, Mananthavady, in association with the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, has launched ‘Puzharekhakal’ to sensitise the public in Wayanad, an ecologically fragile district, on mitigating natural disasters by utilising modern technologies like geographic information system (GIS) mapping and real-time mapping for assessing climate vulnerability.
The project envisages training people in the basics of mapping as well as the importance of mapping during flood and disaster rescue operations. It also aims at using climate vulnerability data on planning for adaptation.
“We train the public to map their area themselves by introducing applications in their phones, K.S. Neeraja, coordinator of the project, told The Hindu.
“We have already organised four workshops on GIS mapping and real-time mapping with the open street map as part of the project, and we are planning to organise more workshops in the coming days,” she added.
“We are mainly focusing on developing community-based rapid response rescue operators,” said P.A. Aurn, a trainer and subject expert in river and flood plain communities.
“Going by the real-time mapping of the Chalakudy river basin by environmental enthusiasts during the 2018 floods, our workshops assist the public in uploading real-time data on the open street map, which they get via field visits or text and voice messages from affected areas during disasters,” he added.
Besides, up-to-date maps of flood areas will be prepared for local representatives, teams involved in rescue efforts, and others to find people who need food and water.
It will also help generate transparent data on planning rescue operations, set up a platform for community consultation, and build a development discourse between the public and officials during natural disasters, Ms. Neeraja said.
A team of experts, including P.A. Vinayan, a citizen science expert, Luqumanul Hakeem, senior analyst, Cognizant, Hyderabad, and Vaishakh Murali, a rescue operation team member, Malappuram, are leading the workshops.
