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International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka, Earns Top Honors for Innovative Use of GIS Technology
San Diego, California — The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka, stood out from more than 300,000 organizations worldwide that use geographic information system (GIS) software to make a difference in the world. ESRI will present the organization with a Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award at the 27th Annual ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California, June 20. "ESRI recognizes the passion of our very special users with our Special Achievement in GIS award," says Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. "The effectiveness of these people to infuse our technology into their real world contexts creates meaning for our efforts. For this we are grateful." GIS is a software tool for exploring geographic relationships to better understand how the world works and how it is evolving, connecting, and changing. Virtually unlimited amounts of information can be linked to a geographic location, allowing users to see regions, counties, neighborhoods, and the people who live in them with clarity to solve real-world problems from tracking delivery vehicles to modeling global atmospheric circulation. Government agencies, businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations rely on the software to analyze their communities and make better decisions for their well-being. IWMI’s Data Storehouse Pathway (DSP) provides several terabytes of high scientific quality remote sensing and GIS products that are available through an online application. The site has more than 3,000 registered users from more than 80 countries. On average, at least 2,000 visitors from 70 countries visit the site each month to access information for university, government, and regional projects. IWMI’s services are instrumental in conducting critical analysis. For example, the organization’s maps were widely used to understand and analyze tsunami damage and assess recovery needs. The organization hosted and disseminated real-time maps of Sri Lanka to the world, informing them with the most current data. Other organizations being honored at the 2007 ESRI International User Conference include Society for Conservations GIS, Kenya; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service; Lyse Energi, Norway; Illinois Department of Transportation; Ball State University and Afterimage GIS; and the Kentucky Department of Public Health. To learn more about the 2007 SAG Award winners as well as view previous years’ winners, visit www.esri.com/sag. Visit ESRI for more information about GIS technology and its applications.
Please Note: The final edited version will be released through podcast by ESRI. Answers to Special Achievement in GIS Award Podcast Interviews Prasad S. Thenkabail (p.thenkabail@cgiar,org) International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 1. Why did you undertake this project? Prasad S. Thenkabail: First, let me introduce my institute and myself. I work for the International Water management Institute (IWMI), which has a global mandate to work on water. IWMI headquarters is in Sri Lanka and has offices in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, South Africa, Ghana, Uzbekistan and few other places. IWMI is involved in water management issues throughout the developing world and has scientists from all over the World. I am a principal researcher and head of the remote sensing and GIS (RS\GIS) unit. Within our group, we work on several research projects such as global irrigated area mapping (GIAM), water productivity mapping, wetlands, and drought monitoring. We provide all spatial data and products that we generate through public access global public good (GPG) sites. We have two very successful projects for which we won this award. These are:
The GIAM is the first satellite sensor based irrigated area product in the world. It provides irrigated area web maps, and area statistics for every country in the World. The GIAM project was initially funded by the Comprehensive Assessment (CA) which in turn was funded by the UN Millennium Assessment program. The IWMIDSP is the spatial data gateway providing remote sensing and GIS data of the river basins, Nations, regions, and the World. The focus is on the 14 benchmark river basins of IWMI and the Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF). 2. What were the challenges? Prasad S. Thenkabail: The greatest challenge we faced were to obtaining consistent global datasets, bring in innovations in data composition and handling, and making the project possible in a economically developing country set up where access to internet, bandwidth, data, and storage\backup were all challenges every step of the way. Putting a smart and dedicated team in place was the next challenge. Finance was always a challenge, especially for field work, storage systems, computers, software, and data. The project was made viable and later successful once we could have the above challenges met. 3. What were the goals/objectives? Prasad S. Thenkabail: The goal of the GIAM was to map global irrigated areas using remote sensing @ various resolutions and provide country-by-country statistics. The goal of IWMIDSP was to streamline all IWMIs remote sensing and GIS spatial data and product holdings in standard formats for the IWMI benchmark river basins as well as for the nations, regions, and the World. 4. What were the results (ROI oriented) – e.g., made employees more efficient, saved time, saved money, allowed employees to do things faster and more accurately? Prasad S. Thenkabail: First, we believed in innovation. For example, we introduced the concept of mega-file data-cubes where in you compose 100s or even 1000s of layers in a single seamless file so that at a click of a button one can have the information of that particular location interns of time-series satellite sensor band values, NDVI, and secondary information such as forest cover, populations, rainfall, and temperature. Second, our philosophy of relaying on public domain data was also a huge plus- probably the only way the IWMIGIAM and IWMIDSP projects were possible. Third, we believed in team work and everyone was given opportunity to contribute and become a proud member of the team. Fourth, our bold vision. We had a vision and we always pursued it vigorously and successfully. 5. What software products and/or data products did you implement? Prasad S. Thenkabail: We used ERDAS Imagine, ERMapper, ArcGIS, and suite of other ESRI software products such as ArcIMS, Arc pad, and so on. We also used SAS statistical software, We invested in development of web portals. 6. Was there integration with other systems/products? Prasad S. Thenkabail: The primary data that we used for the project came from various missions such as: AVHRR pathfinder, Landsat pathfinder, MODIS sensor, Geocover, and other data from NASA, USGS, University of Maryland’s GLCF, and others such as NRSA, India. Indeed, we have used wide array of data from numerous sources in our projects. We collaborated with advance research centers such as Yale Center for Earth Observation (YCEO). 7. How did you get into GIS and/or your role? Prasad S. Thenkabail: I have been in RS\GIS for last 21 years. It is not just work for me. It is a passion. I love every moment of my work. My current role, as a principal researcher and head of RS\GIS unit, is to provide leadership in spatial technology applications to water and land resource management. We work globally. Earlier to this, I worked at the Yale Center for Earth Observation (YCEO) as an associate research scientist. Prior to this I lead remote sensing programs in two other International centers: IITA, West Africa, and ICIMOD in Hindu-Kush Himalayas. Briefly also worked for the National Remote Sensing Agency (Department of Space, Government of India). I have a PhD from the Ohio State University. Currently, I am one of the 17 members of the Landsat Science Team. 8. What are your suggestions for someone who would want to follow your career path? Any advice? Prasad S. Thenkabail: Have dedication, show highest commitment and integrity, never stop learning (knowledge is endless), seek excellence, and be much focused. Do what you do because you enjoy it and never take enjoyment out of your work. Be a team player and shoulder responsibility. 9. Is there a question that I should have asked you that I didn’t? Prasad S. Thenkabail: Yes. Two points I must mention. First, I want to highlight the impact of our Global Irrigated Areas Mapping (GIAM) work. Traditionally, people think there is about 275 Mha irrigated areas in the World. But our GIAM work has shown that this can be as high as 407 Mha and when intensity is considered even 480 Mha. We recently conducted GIAM workshops in China and India-the two leading irrigated area countries with about 60 % of all global irrigation when put together. The news from there is that IWMI’s GIAM areas are closer to truth. But, this challenges the conventional wisdom of irrigated areas. But, more and more people are getting convinced that the conventional wisdom is way off. The implications of new GIAM areas are going to change many things: how much water is used?, how much food is produced?, how much food is consumed? and so on. So our research has created a new awareness on globally critical issues. This is an achievement that the team is proud of. Second, nothing of this magnitude is possible without a dedicated team. So I want to thank the Team Members. Finally, projects such as these can only succeed if there is support. For that you need leadership with vision. I and my team are indebted to our former director General Prof. Frank Rijsberman for his vision and support. Thereby, I and my team want to dedicate this award to him.
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