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Affiliated to VTU, Belagavi,
Approved by AICTE, New Delhi,
Recognized by UGC with 2(f) & 12(B)
Accredited by NBA & NAAC
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
18CIV59
MODULE 5
ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION MITIGATION
TOOLS
1
MODULE 5
CONTENTS
Latest Developments in Environmental Pollution
Mitigation Tools (Concept and Applications):
G.I.S. & Remote Sensing, Environment Impact
Assessment, Environmental Management Systems,
ISO14001
Introduction to GIS
• Human activities and global warming are rapidly
contributing to environmental degradation, decreasing
glacier area, growth in glacial lake size, unprecedented
rainfall, changes in land use and land cover, forest
degradation, floods and glacial lake outburst floods,
landslides, and shortfalls in agricultural crop production
are among the many problems brought on by
environmental changes.
• These issues need timely monitoring and supervision.
Effective monitoring of the environment and an
improved understanding of the same requires valuable
information and data that can be extracted through
application of geospatial technologies such as remote
sensing and GIS.
REMOTE SENSING
AND GIS
APPLICATIONS
• The representation of spatial data on maps has become an increasingly
valuable instrument in environmental planning and management. Data
analysis techniques have evolved from descriptive to perspective maps that
display spatial relationships on a visual information platform that we all now
refer to as Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
• Where GIS represents powerful toolsets that are used for transforming and
displaying real-world spatial data; remote sensing data retrieved by air and
space located sources provides much of this valuable data for mapping and
environmental management and planning.
• Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about
the Earth using high-flying aircraft and satellites. The data is
collected by sensors attached to the aircraft that detect the
energy that is reflected from Earth.
• Remote sensors fall into two classifications; passive and
active. In response to external stimuli, passive sensors
record the natural energy emitted from the Earth’s
surface. Reflected sunlight is the most common source
of detected radiation.
• Active sensors differ in that they use internal stimuli to
collect data.
• A common example is the use of a laser-beam remote
sensing system, where data is collected by projecting a
laser to the Earth’s surface and measuring the time it
takes for it to be reflected back to the sensor.
• Remote sensing has a wide range of applications for
environmental planning and management.
• Coastal applications, ocean applications, hazard
assessments and natural resource management are just a
few of the broad areas under which fall an array of
analyses such as; monitoring shoreline changes,
measuring ocean temperatures, tracking the impacts of
natural disasters and charting wildlife habitats.
• These types of analyses all aid in the effective planning
and management of the land and water, and its resources.
• A significant area of research that is currently taking
place in the remote sensing field is NASA’s Soil Moisture
Active Passive (SMAP) Mission. Earth observation
satellites are used to retrieve data every 2-3 days that
measure soil moisture in the top 5 cm of soil over the
Earth’s surface.
• Maximizing our knowledge of the Earth’s topsoil layer is
vital due to its extensive use in agriculture and
supporting vegetation growth. Soil moisture also
contributes to our understanding of the water cycle and
forecasting weather and natural disasters for
environmental management.
• Traditionally there are two separate methods of deriving soil
moisture data from space. Active sensors such as Radarsat-2 (a
commercial radar satellite), which illuminates its target using an
Ultra-Fine beam to detect and recognise objects and measure
backscatter (the reflection of particles or waves back to the
direction of the satellite).
• Whilst this method returns data at a high spatial resolution, it
has a low accuracy. Passive sensors like the SMOS (Soil Moisture
and Ocean Salinity) Mission satellite measure naturally emitted
microwave radiation to record observations of sea surface
salinity and soil moisture.
• The sensors retrieve soil moisture data from brightness
temperature observations that are evident due to the large
dielectric contrast between water and dry soil, where the soil
emissivity ‘epsilon’ yields a particular microwave frequency
depending on the moisture content it detects.
• Another form of satellite data that is frequently used in
environmental management, is Landsat imagery. Landsat satellites
have maintained a continuous stream of data about the Earth since
1972, with Landsat 9 planned for launch into orbit in December
2020.
• The Landsat project ‘… represents the world’s longest continuously
acquired collection of space-based moderate-resolution land remote
sensing data.’
• The current Landsat 8 satellite carries two sensors; the Operational
Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal InfraRed Sensor (TIRS). Orbiting
the Earth every 89.9 minutes, the satellite covers the entirety of the
surface every 16 days.
• The OLI sensor retrieves information in the form of nine spectral
bands from 15 to 30 metre resolutions, whilst the TIRS retrieves
Band 10 and Band 11 100 metre spectral bad data.
• The capabilities of remote sensing make it a valuable tool in
providing decision-makers with large-area maps of target
features in a quick manner, and over consistent time
intervals.
• Environmental practitioners seeking to use remote sensing
techniques have the availability of extensive data, methods
and tools at their disposal.
• Understandably, this choice can seem overwhelming for
practitioners due to the number of publications advocating
new techniques and arguing ‘best’ approaches to utilizing
remote sensing tools and capabilities.
REMOTE SENSING
❖ Information – Collection
– Interpretation
❖ No physical contact
HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSING
❖ The invention of photography in 1839 made
remote sensing (eventually) possible.
❖ Remote sensing began in the 1860s as
balloonists took pictures of the Earth's
surface.
❖ Pigeon fleets were another form of
remote sensing in the early years.
HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSING
HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSING
HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSING
HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSING
RESOLUTION
❖ Spatial resolution (pixel size)
❖ Spectral resolution (wave length region)
❖ Temporal resolution (repetitive)
❖ Radio metric resolution (DN value)
100 meter resolution
30 meter resolution
5 meter resolution
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
OBSERVATIONS
▪ Sensor – Mounted on satellites
RECORDING
▪ Photo film, Video tape, Magnetic tape TRACKING
ANTENNA AND COMMUNICATION LINK
▪ Ground station
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
RECEIVING STATIONS
PRE-PROCESS
▪ Corrections – Removal of
geometric and radio- metric
distortion
o Motion of platform
o Altitude
o Curvature of earth
o Non-uniformity of elevation
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
PROCESSING
Classification
FINAL DATA PRODUCT
▪ Digital Data
▪ FCC
▪ Satellite map
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
Statement of Problem
▪ Identify criteria
▪ Formulate Hypothesis
Data Acquisition
▪ Digital data
▪ Purchase
Image Processing
▪ Select or configurate
Initial Statistics Extracts
▪ Univariate and
quality
A multivariate statistics to
assess image
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
A
Initial Display
Pre-processing
▪ Radio metric correction
▪ Geometric correction
Image Enhancement
▪ For further digital
analysis
▪ For visual anlaysis
Thematic Information and Extraction
▪ Perform analysis
▪ Evaluate accuracy
REMOTE SENSING PROCESS
GIS
▪ Quarries
Solve ▪ Accept or reject
the hypothesis
GIS
GIS
GIS
GIS
What is GIS?
Geographic Information System
Scope of GIS in Environment pollution
mitigation
• GIS can be used most effectively for environmental data
analysis and planning. It allows better viewing and
understanding physical features and the relationships that
influence in a given critical environmental condition. Factors,
such as steepness of slopes, aspects, and vegetation, can
be viewed and overlaid to determine various environmental
parameters and impact analysis.
• GIS can also display and analyze aerial photographs. Digital
information can be overlaid on photographs to provide
environmental data analysts with more familiar views of
landscapes and associated data. GIS can provide a quick,
comparative view of hazards (highly prone areas) and risks
(areas of high risk which may occur) and areas to be
safeguarded.
Scope of GIS in Environment pollution
mitigation
• On completion of data analysis, GIS can help in
effective planning and managing the environmental
hazards and risks. In order to plan and monitor the
environmental problems, the assessment of hazards
and risks becomes the foundation for planning decisions
and for mitigation activities. GIS supports activities in
environmental assessment, monitoring, and mitigation
and can also be used for generating environmental
models.
• GIS can aid in hazard mitigation and future planning, air
pollution & control, disaster management, forest fires
management, managing natural resources, wastewater
management, oil spills and its remedial actions etc.
Applications of GIS in Environment pollution mitigation
Applications of GIS in Environment
pollution mitigation
• Using GIS, preparations can be better, efforts can be more
directed and response can be faster. GIS enables the
response teams to gain situational awareness, engage with
the public, and understand the impact of the event. As GIS
leads to better identification of the affected areas and people,
recovery becomes easier and faster.
• In the recent past, India has made great strides in the
disaster alert systems – be it cyclone alerts, regional tsunami
warnings or heavy rainfall/flood alert system. The Indian
Tsunami Early Warning Centre based in Hyderabad has
been successful in delivering accurate alerts. Due to timely
predictions, preparations have been better, even leading to
timely evacuations and thus no loss of lives.
Applications of GIS in Environment
pollution mitigation
GIS in air quality monitoring
• Air quality monitoring has become an important part of healthy
living, and GIS can play a very important role here as well. A
GIS integrated platform by leveraging sensors and IoT for air
quality monitoring, analytics, and planning, can accurately
predict the PM levels in varied areas within a city.
• It can also tell you which areas are the most hazardous or
most dangerous for everyone, more specifically for asthma
patients. This analysis can help the field officers to take
corrective action on time to improve the air quality. Citizen
engagement is also becoming an important part of such
applications. Using mobile apps, the citizens can also make
the authorities aware which areas need immediate attention.
Applications of GIS in Environment
pollution mitigation
GIS in forest fire management
• Wildfire causes huge loss to flora and fauna. The very first
strategy to defend the forests against wildfire is to avoid it.
GIS has proved its potential in forest fire management.
• There are different applications of GIS in forest fire
management out of which the most important ones are
hazard map production, forest fire simulation, and resource
management.
• Simulation by itself has a main role in the management of
forest fire. GIS uses various information layers such as
Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and index of flammability
along with different models for the purpose of forest fire
management.
Applications of GIS in Environment
pollution mitigation
GIS in managing natural resources
• Data about natural resources could be collected through remote
sensing, aerial photography or satellite imagery and then they are
mapped using GIS technology. The major application of GIS in
natural resource management is in confronting environmental
issues like a flood, landslide, soil erosions, drought, earthquake
etc.
• It also addresses the current problems of climate change, habitat
loss, population growth, pollution etc. and provides information
about land area change between time periods.
• The information obtained from GIS help to study specific areas
and monitoring can be done in and around those areas. It
provides relevant information about the environmental condition
and policy, including conservation programs. Maps in GIS provide
the information of location and current resources.
Applications of Remote Sensing in
Environment pollution mitigation
• The environmental pollution and its monitoring is the
matter of concern for sustainable development.
Conventionally environmental pollution and planning is
generally being carried out in four phases, viz.
monitoring, modeling, development of decisions by
planner and finally by execution.
• It has been found that remote sensing environmental
pollution monitoring equipment's have the capability to
assess the pollution status in the desired area that may
be more beneficial for environmental pollution
management
Applications of Remote Sensing in
Environment pollution mitigation
• Today there are number of satellites mapping the earth
constantly. In India, the National Remote Sensing
Centre (NRSC) is the focal point for distribution of
remote sensing satellite data products in India and its
neighboring countries.
• NRSC has an earth station at Balanagar, about 55Km
from Hyderabad, to receive data from almost all
contemporary remote sensing satellites such as IRS-P5,
IRS-P6, IRS-P4, IRS-1D, IRS1C, IRS-P3, ERS-1/2,
NOAA series, AQUA and TERRA satellites
Applications of Remote Sensing in
Environment pollution mitigation
• In addition to the above-mentioned satellites, ENVISAT,
OCEAN SAT, CARTOSAT, WiFS, LISS series, RADAR
SAT etc. are some more important satellites whose data
is used for the detection of environmental pollution.
Following pictures depicts recent tragic accident of the
“Mumbai oil spilt” in the Arabian Sea.
• Remote sensing data may be used for the study of
water quality, air quality, land use and land degradation,
forest cover change, fire detection etc. The remote
sensing data is available from NRSC at concessional
rate as well as on Internet (Download from Global Land
Cover Facility (GLCF)).
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process
which ensures that all environmental matters are taken
into account quite early in the project at planning process
itself.
• It takes into consideration not only technical and
economic considerations but also, traditional aspects like
impact on local people, biodiversity etc.
Functions of Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA)
• EIA is intended to prevent or minimize potentially
adverse environmental impacts and enhance the
overall quality of a project.
• The main benefits and advantages of EIA are:
• Lower project costs in the long-term
• Increased project acceptance
• Improved project design
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Informed decision making
• Environmentally sensitive decisions
• Increased accountability and transparency
• Reduced environmental damage
• Improved integration of projects into their environmental
and social settings
Type of projects under go EIA
• Agriculture
• Construction (Road networks, Malls, Townships, Dam etc)
• Industries
• Electrical projects
• Waste disposal
• Any developmental projects around Protected Areas /
Nature Preserves
• Clean Development Mechanism CDM projects
The EIA Directive
• The EIA Directive requires projects likely to have
significant effects on the Environment by virtue of their
nature, size or location to undergo an environmental
assessment before the competent authority in question
grants consent.
• The EIA Directive defines a project as the execution of
construction works or of other installations or schemes,
• other interventions in the natural surroundings and
landscape including those involving the extraction of
mineral resources
The EIA Directive
The EIA Directive
• The EIA should identify, describe and assess the direct
and indirect effects of a project on the following factors:
• Human beings
• Fauna and flora
• Soil, Water & Air
• Climate and the landscape
• Material Assets
• Cultural Heritage
• Interaction between all above factors
• EIA therefore should have a very strong social
dimension
History of EIA in India
• Started in 1976-77, when Planning Commission asked
Department of Science & Technology to examine River
Valley Projects from environmental angle
• Till 1994, Environmental Clearance from Central
Government was an administrative decision which
lacked legislative support.
• On 27th January 1994, Union Ministry of Environment &
Forests, GOI under Environment (Protection) Act 1986,
promulgated EIA notification making Environment
clearance mandatory for expansion or modernization of
any activity or for setting up new projects listed in
Schedule one of the notification, which have been
amended more than 12 times.
EIA Clearance required
• Total EIA clearance is required for 32 categories of
developmental works broadly categorized into following
industrial sectors:
• Mining
• Thermal power plant
• River valley
• Infrastructure (Road, highway, ports, harbor, airports,
• Industries including very small electroplating or foundry
units)
• Certain activities permissible under Coastal Regulation
Zone Act 1991, also require similar clearance
Environmental Management System
• A set of methods and procedures for aligning corporate
strategies, policies and operations with principles that
protect ecosystems.
• International Organization for
standardization(ISO)14001
The aim of EMS
• to increase compliance and reduce waste
• Compliance
• the act of reaching and maintaining minimal legal
standards
• Reduce Waste
• to reduce environmental impact
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR
STADARDIZATION
• In September 1996, Standardization published the first
edition of ISO 14001, the EMS standard.
• describing specific requirements for an EMS.
• A second edition of ISO 14001 was published in 2004
• the dominant environmental management system in the
world.
EMS Model or PDCA Cycle
EMS Model or PDCA Cycle
Act Policy Plan
Policy
Policy
Implement
Checking ation &
Check Operation Do
PLAN
• Identify Environmental Aspects
• E.g. air pollutants
• Determine most important to company
• E.g. worker health & safety
• Legal and Other Requirements
• Objectives and Targets
• E.g. Objectives – Overall Goal, e.g. minimize use
Target – Detailed, Quantified, e.g. minimize by 10% by
specific date
• Management Actions to Support Objectives and Targets
DO
• Structure
• Training, Awareness
• Communication
• EMS Documentation
• Document Control
• Operational Control
• Emergency Preparedness and Response
Check
• Monitoring and Measurement
• Nonconformance, Corrective and Preventative Action
• Records
ACT
• EMS Audits
• Management Review
• This final review stage creates a loop of continuous
improvement for a company
Environmental Management System
(EMS)
Other Environmental Program Management
Benefits of EMS
• Drives Sustained Performance
• Set targets to reduce energy use, water use & waste to
landfill
• Achieve cost savings
• Easier compliance
• Pollution prevention
• Increased efficiency
• Improved morale
ISO 14001
• ISO 14001 is the
international standard
that specifies
requirements for an
effective environmental
management system
(EMS).
• It provides a framework
that an organization can
follow, rather than
establishing
environmental
performance requirements
Environmental stewardship
Environmental stewardship can be defined as “the
responsible use (including conservation) of natural
resources in a way that takes full and balanced account of
the interests of society, future generations, and other
species, as well as of private needs, and accepts
significant answerability to society”
History of Environmental Stewardship
The topic of stewardship entered public consciousness
in the middle of the last century in the works of writers
such as Aldo Leopard (A Sand Country Almanac), Garret
Hardin (The Tragedy of the Commons), and Rachel
Carson (Silent Spring).
Building on this growing consciousness, the concept of
sustainability and sustainable development was introduced.
Environmental stewardship- Need
Experts around the world agree that the need for
stewardship has never been greater, as there exists
overwhelming evidence that the environment is being
irrevocably damaged by human actions.
Climate change caused by increased greenhouse
gas emissions (World Tourism Organization, 2008a)
and the loss of biodiversity due to declining habitat
loss are just two compelling issues.
Stewardship actions
The activities, behaviours, decisions, and technologies
carried out by stewards--individuals, groups, or networks of
actors
Our framework for integrating stewardship actions into
education programs has five categories:
❖ Restoration and Protection
❖ Everyday Choices
❖ Community Awareness
❖ Civic Action
❖ Stewardship Science
Restoration and Protection
• Actions that assist in the recovery or preservation of an
ecosystem that have been degraded, damaged or
destroyed and allow that ecosystem to evolve with minimal
human influence.
• The following examples are actions that lead to improved
biodiversity or ecosystem health.
Clean up litter at local beaches, parks, or school
grounds
Assist local estuaries, parks, or other natural areas with
planting or restoring protective vegetation or trees
Restore a local habitat
Remove invasive plants
Everyday Choices
• Actions that reduce resource inputs and emissions per unit of
output through technological change and consumer
purchasing, use and disposal behaviors
• The following examples are actions that lead to reduced
carbon footprint or use of natural resources.
Start or expand a recycling program at home or school
and measure the effect of the change
Monitor and save water in the face of potential drought
or reduction in available water
Upcycle discarded materials
Compost food or yard waste
Reduce waste in a cafeteria and measure the impacts
to the school or local community
Community Awareness
• Actions that inform others in an effort to convince them
to take action to address community-level environmental
issues
• The following examples are actions that lead to
increased awareness by community members.
Giving presentations to local organizations
Sharing information on social media
Organizing community events
Recording and broadcasting public service
announcements
Civic Action
• Actions that inform public or organizational policy
decisions that can improve environmental outcomes for
many people or organizations at once.
• The following examples are actions that lead to an
environmental policy or rule for an organization or
community.
Speaking or presenting at town meetings
Voting for legislation or candidates
Writing to elected officials or decision makers
Meeting with elected officials
Stewardship Science
• Actions that collect and report monitoring data in an
ecosystem that inform management of the natural
resource.
• The following example is action that contribute data to
environmental monitoring efforts.
Extend student learning beyond the classroom with a
citizen science monitoring project that impacts the
species or environmental concern students are
studying
NGOs
• Organizations which are independent of government
involvement are known as non-governmental
organizations
• NGOs are a subgroup of organizations founded by
citizens, which include clubs and associations that
provide services to their members and others.
• NGOs are usually nonprofit organizations, and many of
them are active in humanitarianism or the social
sciences.
• Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of
public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the
concerns of society and stakeholders.
Environmental Non-governmental
Organization
• An ENGO (environmental non-governmental
organization) is a non-governmental organization (NGO)
in the field of environmentalism.
• These organizations operate both locally and
internationally which makes them play an important role
in dealing with different kinds of environmental issues
that are happening in the contemporary world.
Main goals of environmental NGOs
• Creating relationships with the government and other
organizations,
• Offering training and assistance in
agricultural conservation to maximize the use of local
resources,
• Establishing environmental solutions, and managing projects
implemented to address issues affecting a particular area.
• To fully understand the social, economic, and environmental
effects that the organization can have on a region, it is also
important to note that the organization can act outside the
formal processes what state governments and other
government institutions must comply with.
Five Growing NGOs Protecting Our
Environment
1. EcoDrive
2. International Women Association Kep
3. Terra Conscious
4. Conflict and Environment Observatory
5. Climate Conversations
EcoDrive
• EcoDrive is a Hong Kong-based organization that seeks
to raise awareness of the dangers of single-use plastic.
• Through educating at schools, panels and presentations,
the 11 women that founded this organization seek to
reduce plastic use in their country.
• They also reach out to corporate offices to educate
people in the workplace and how that reduction can lead
to a cleaner city.
International Women Association Kep
• A prime example of how political, social and
environmental elements add up is through the results of
the work from IWA Kep.
• This NGO is a Swiss non-profit that helps women in
Cambodia locate jobs in the plastic recycling industry.
• In the Kep Province, some women have difficulty finding
a well-paying position.
• IWA Kep helps these women financially and creatively.
Terra Conscious
In western India, the state of Goa offers many beautiful
attractions like the beaches, temples and wildlife.
That's why Terra Conscious operates as a marine
conservation organization out of the northern part of the
area.
With community engagement and partnerships, the
organization seeks to foster a better relationship between
people and their social impact.
Conflict and Environment Observatory
• CEOBS offers a unique look into the negative
consequences military conflicts have on the
environment and how it affects civilians.
• CEOBS provides a compelling look at how to raise
awareness and take action.
• The volunteers report on environmental impacts from
armed conflicts; plus, they speak out against any
military or political regulations that have humanitarian or
ecological consequences.
Climate Conversations
In a broader perspective, climate change affects the entire
world.
From forest fires in California and Australia, to greenhouse
gas emissions and energy consumption, the environment
requires attention from everyone.
Climate Conversations takes the lead in starting dialogues
that spread awareness and reach people from continent to
continent.
The organization offers outreach programs for anyone to
take advantage of.
NGOs- Need
• NGOs have been around for many years and strive for
the global change that we need.
• While some have significant resources, most others
need funding by donations and volunteers to do their
work.
• With scientists predicting imminent environmental
dangers, the time for action has never been more
pressing.
• World NGO Day, observed annually on 27 February,
was recognised on 17 April 2010
References
• [Link]
• [Link]
Utility%20Services/Environme ntal%20Services/
PublishingImages/[Link]
• [Link]
[Link]
• [Link]
Environmental_management_system
• [Link]
List_of_International_Organization_for_Stan
dardization_standards
• [Link]
catalogue_detail?csnumber=31807
MVJ College of Engineering
Near ITPB, Whitefield
Bangalore-560 067
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M: hod_civil@[Link]
P: +91 80 4299 1040
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