53 
5. 
REMOTE SENSING AND GIS FOR MODELLING LAND DEGRADATION 
DUE TO MINING - A CONCEPT AND CASE STUDIES 
and 
el of 
s. I 
mary A. Bhattacharya 
National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad 
tion: 
the 
lger- 
ABSTRACT 
Though mining activity related land degradation forms one of the several components of the processes affecting the land in a 
negative way. it assumes its own importance because mining activity many a times, apart from the soil loss, changes the entire local 
topography. This does not mean that one has to stop the developmental activity which gives good economic return. Thus, the 
strategy for mining development should be based on the concept that environmental conservation and mining development must 
proceed parallel)' hand in hand. Development of a conceptual model for land degradation due to mining, considering various 
factors, is very important which gives clue for how to start the mining process to maintain the balance for the land preservation. 
The use of Remote Sensing and GIS is indispensable for monitoring the mining activity which affects agricultural land, forest 
cover, ground water reserve and quality, surface water and atmosphere. Time series analysis of remote sensing data in several 
mining districts like coal, bauxite and base metal helped to know the status of the land degradation and conservation, giving 
thereby clue for modelling. Depending on the importance given to the various parameters, weightages can be assigned to various 
land types and accordingly, a working model can be developed as a resultant like 'LD’ is the net "land degradation" which is the 
weighted factor of all the related land type loss. 
INTRODUCTION 
Land degradation is a common natural pheno 
menon, caused by several physical, chemical and 
biological processes. Accelerated erosion by wind and 
water often degrades the lands and further reduces their 
potential capability to provide returns through 
agricultural, engineering, sanitary and recreational 
practices. However, land degradation is largely human 
induced and thus includes a strong socio-cultural 
component. Though mining operation forms one of the 
several human-induced activities, it assumes its own 
importance as it often changes the entire local 
topography, bringing an irreparable loss to the land. 
Mining is considered as one of the prominent factors 
responsible for disturbing the environment. But at the 
same, it is also an acknowledged fact that the 
exploitation of minerals largely contributes towards 
building of national economy. Hence, we have to strike a 
balance between the developmental activities and 
environmental conservation. The strategy for mining 
operation should be based on the concept that 
environmental conservation and mining development 
must proceed parallely hand to hand. Impact of open 
cast mining is more severe than the underground mining 
if land degradation is considered. Hence, considering 
various factors, a conceptual model for land degradation 
due to mining should be developed before the mining 
operation starts in order to prepare better environmental 
management plans for the land preservation. Without 
such prior plans also, land conservation and 
rehabilitation are technically feasible even at the mid 
operation of mining activity, but often at high costs. To 
study land degradation, conservation and rehabilitation 
due to mining activity, many different types of data need 
to be collected and combined in order to make a sound 
environmental assessment. The use of remote sensing 
and GIS is indispensable in this process. In the following 
sections, this is discussed with few case studies. 
OBJECTIVES 
The main objectives of the present study are: 
1. To study the impact of mining on land degradation 
and surrounding environment using time series 
remote sensing data. 
2. To develop a conceptual model for land degra 
dation due to mining through GIS inputting infor 
mation collected from remote sensing and ground. 
CASE STUDIES 
Few mining districts of different kinds spread over 
the country are considered, such as 
1. Bauxite open cast mining in Lohardaga district of 
Bihar. 
2. Open cast and underground coal mining in Jharia 
and Karanpura in Bihar state and Raniganj in West 
Bengal. 
3. Lead-Zinc underground mining in Rajpura-Dariba 
area, Chittaurgarh district of Rajasthan.