Title : Geoinformatics for tracking progress towards the UN sustainable development goal 13- A spatial framework for environmental sustainability
Abstract:
The climatic change is a serious challenge to the delicate ecosystem of the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) requiring strong spatial monitoring systems to determine the environmental sustainability. This research utilizes geo-informatics to monitor the achieved progress on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 (Climate Action) by using a multi-temporal Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change to assess the change in land use over 2000-2025. Spectral indices derived based on Landsat and Sentinel data were used to analyse the changes in vegetation health, water resources, and urban growth through spectral indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The non-parametric Mann Kendall trend test and Sen slope estimator were used to assess spatial and temporal variations in environmental change to measure the direction and the magnitude of the climatic variations. The findings indicate that there is a high extent of vegetation loss in the mid-altitude areas, expansion of the built-ups within the valley areas, and varying availability of surface waters because of glacial withdrawals and varying precipitation patterns. The integrated spatial framework offers a quantitative framework of adaptation of regional climate and sustainability planning in mountainous ecosystems. The paper demonstrates the importance of geo-informatics in unremitting SDG 13 monitoring and justifies policy intervention based on evidence to facilitate climate-resilient development in the Himalayas.
