Times of India , Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Correspondent : Vasundhara Sanger

NEW DELHI: Environment Ministry has launched first digital environmental atlas of India to mark the Earth Day which is being celebrated today across the world. An interactive website of state of environment atlas of India depicts forest and biodiversity in green, water resources in blue and air pollution in brown colours. The atlas provides flexibility and versatility for users to visualise environment spatial data using geographic information system (GIS) options, a senior official from environment ministry said. "The atlas which is the first of its kind with regular updates has been developed by an NGO Development Alternatives (DA) with the support from the Environment Ministry," he said. The official said the atlas available on www.soeatlas.org has feature such as pressure-state-impact-response (PSIR) framework analysis, where all the maps are presented and displayed for the users' benefit. With detailed database, the atlas is a treasure house for the environmentalists and researchers besides those keen to know about the state of environment in the country.

SOURCE : Times of India , Wednesday, April 23, 2008