Integrated Forest Information System (IFIS)

Introduction

Forests provide habitats to diverse animal species, and the also form the source of livelihood for many different human settlements. They prevent soil erosion, help in maintaining the water cycle, and check global warming by using carbon dioxide in photosynthesis. Sale of forest products contributes substantially to the State exchequer. India is a large and diverse country. Its land area includes regions with some of the world's highest rainfall to very dry deserts, coastline to alpine regions, river deltas to tropical islands. The variety and distribution of forest vegetation is large. There are 600 species of hardwoods. India is one of the 17 mega biodiverse regions of the world. Indian forests types include tropical evergreens, tropical deciduous, swamps, mangroves, sub-tropical, montane, scrub, sub-alpine and alpine forests. These forests support a variety of ecosystems with diverse flora and fauna.

The prime objective of the project is to develop a Remote Sensing and GIS based spatial information and knowledge base for providing inputs for forest mapping, management, monitoring, decision-making and preparation of comprehensive action plans based on thematic inputs for the overall development of the forest under a single database framework. The aim and objective of the project for development of GIS based Forest Resources and Decision Support Systems.