ISRO Organises Forest Fire Monitoring Training For Bhutanese Officials

Nellore: The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of ISRO has successfully conducted a four-day capacity-building programme on “Forest Fire Detection and Burnt Area Mapping Using Satellite Datasets” for officials from Bhutan under the India–Bhutan Space Cooperation Programme from June 9 to June 12 at its Jeedimetla campus in Hyderabad.

The training programme brought together 11 officials from Bhutan representing the Department of Forests and Park Services, College of Natural Resources, National Land Commission Secretariat, and GovTech Agency. It course had been organised at the request of Bhutan’s GovTech Agency to strengthen the country’s capabilities in using space technology for forest fire monitoring and management.

Scientists from NRSC’s Forestry and Ecology Group explained and demonstrated to Bhutanese officials various aspects of satellite-based forest fire detection, burnt area mapping, fire severity assessment, and operational fire management systems. Key topics included thermal remote sensing, active fire detection using MODIS and VIIRS satellite data, AI and machine learning applications, and fire alert generation systems.

Experts from ISRO’s Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Space Applications Centre (SAC), and the Forest Survey of India (FSI) delivered special lectures on fire danger rating systems, real-time forest fire monitoring using geostationary satellites, and India’s operational fire management practices.

The Bhutanese visited the NRSC’s Shadnagar campus, where they became familiar with India’s satellite data reception and processing infrastructure, including the Satellite Data Reception Facility, Bhuvan Geoportal Services, and the National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM).

The programme also explored opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation in the use of space technology for forest fire monitoring and sustainable forest management.