Geospatial Information Technology for Information Management and Dissemination

Over the last few decades, the development of geospatial technologies has converged with a variety of formal information technology disciplines (Zwartjes in Eur J Geogr 9(4):138–151, 2018; Jackson and Schell in Directions Magazine, 2009). The rapidly growing location-based services seamlessly integrate data and technologies from Earth observation (EO), Geographic Information System (GIS), Geographic Position System (GPS), and wireless and mobile communications (Huang et al. in J Location Based Servi 12(2):63–93, 2018).

Strengthening the Capacity on Geospatial Information Technology and Earth Observation Applications

The innovative transformation in geospatial information technology (GIT) and Earth observation (EO) data provides a significant opportunity to study the Earth’s environment and enables an advanced understanding of natural and anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems at the local, regional, and global levels (Thapa et al. in Carbon Balance Manag 10(23):1–13, 2015; Flores et al. in SAR handbook: comprehensive methodologies for forest monitoring and biomass estimation. NASA Publication, 2019; Leibrand et al. in Front Environ Sci 7:123, 2019; Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-73569-2_1). The major advantages of these technologies can be briefly categorized into five broad areas: multidisciplinary; innovative and emerging; providing platforms for analysis, modelling, and visualization; capability to support decision-making; and impact on policies.

Monitoring of Glaciers and Glacial Lakes in Afghanistan

During the needs assessment in Afghanistan, the General Directorate of Water Resources (GDWR) of the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) (previously Water Resource Department (WRD) of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW)) emphasized that the compilation of comprehensive data on the glaciers in the country is a national priority.

In-Season Crop-Area Mapping for Wheat and Rice in Afghanistan and Bangladesh

Cereal grains are the most commonly grown crops in the world. Wheat and rice are important commodities which contribute to 50% of the world’s food-calorie intake (McKevith Nutr Bull 29(2): 111–142, 2004). These two cereals are critical to food security in the developing regions. In this context, crop-mapping services can be used for detailed monitoring of the cultivated areas; it can also provide the area statistics of specific crops and the data on their intensity across the landscape. This mapping process is also valuable for government agencies since it provides them with critical information that can be used to manage their stocks (for imports and exports). This chapter dwells on a crop-mapping service developed under the SERVIR-HKH program. In this regard, the needs assessment was carried out with the assistance of the governments of Bangladesh and Afghanistan through a consultation workshop. Wheat mapping in Afghanistan and rice mapping in Bangladesh were the top priorities for the respective governments. Here, we discuss two particular mapping exercises that were undertaken in these two countries: wheat mapping in Afghanistan at a national level and the mapping of Boro rice in selected districts of Bangladesh.

Enhancing Flood Early Warning System in the HKH Region

Flooding is a chronic natural hazard with disastrous impacts that have magnified over the last decade due to the rising trend in extreme weather events and growing societal vulnerability from global socioeconomic and environmental changes (WMO 2011 in Manual on flood forecasting and warning (WMO-No. 1072)).

Lessons and Future Perspectives of Earth Observation and GIT in the HKH

During the last decade, SERVIR has been striving for realizing its vision of “Space to Village” by implementing services that provide innovative solutions to improve livelihoods and foster self-reliance with the help of EO and geospatial technologies. Over these years, there has been significant development in the field of EO and geospatial technology. However, the capacity of the key agencies to utilize these advancements to produce, disseminate, and use information has not been able to catch up with these developments. As cited in the previous chapters, SERVIR-HKH has been working with various partners and stakeholders in co-developing and implementing applied, user-driven EO and geospatial information services in the HKH region. SERVIR-HKH recognizes that the sustainability of information products and applications and their use requires an understanding of users and their needs. Understanding the user’s needs and organizational context is the key to delivering effective services. As illustrated in Chaps. 10.1007/978-3-030-73569-2_2 and 10.1007/978-3-030-73569-2_3, the needs assessment study revealed that the use of geospatial data in the region started in the early 1990s, but there are still gaps in the institutionalization and sharing of that information. Often, individual agencies produce geospatial information for their own purpose and do not share it due to lack of policies. Besides, in most cases, the information would have been generated through specific projects funded by external agencies without proper sustainability planning. And as has happened in many cases, those services could not be continued due to lack of resources and capacity.

Gender Integration in Earth Observation and Geo-information Technology Applications: Correlation and Connections

As technological innovation and advancement is sweeping across the world, transforming economies, countries, and societies, Earth observation (EO) and geo-information technologies (GIT) have come closer to the public realm and become exceedingly an all-encompassing part in the daily lives of people, with more uses and users. These technologies today are not just “research and visualization tools”, but they touch upon all aspects of people’s lives, bringing in advantages as well as challenges for different groups of people.

The High-Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit

Of the various types of weather phenomena, thunderstorms produce some of the most immediate and impactful hazards—damaging winds and hail, frequent lightning, and intense rainfall. Resilience to high-impact weather can be attained through investment in several key areas: proper infrastructure; effective emergency management; public education; and well-informed weather forecasting services.

User Engagement for Sustaining Services

In the first phase of SERVIR-HKH, there was disconnect between the cutting-edge technology products that were developed and the specific needs of the users. Thus, the service planning approach shifted the focus from products to comprehensive services that put the users’ need first. User engagement improved the quality of the services by addressing user feedback and also building sustainability into the services from the very beginning. This chapter aims to introduce the concept of user engagement in the context of SERVIR-HKH and its execution within the service planning framework; it also dwells on the lessons that have been learnt. The chapter also gives prominence to examples of user engagement case studies as well as to the tools and techniques that have been adopted for successful user engagement. It also describes the insights, achievements, and experiences during the implementation process of the user engagement module in the HKH region.

Rapid Flood Mapping Using Multi-temporal SAR Images: An Example from Bangladesh

In the HKH region, large areas in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan get inundated by floodwater during every rainy season. Among them, Bangladesh has been experiencing record-high floods where four types prevail: flash flood, local rainfall flood, monsoon river flood, and storm-surge flood; and these occur almost every year due to Bangladesh’s unique geographical setting as the most downstream country in the HKH region.