Training Tool on Environmental Data: Resources and Options for Supreme Audit Institutions

1. Training Tool on Environmental Data: Resources and Options for Supreme Audit Institutions Project subcommittee SAI India SAI USA

2. Background • The WGEA’s Sixth Survey on Environmental Auditing revealed that SAIs are conducting an increasing number of environmental audits. • Identified problem areas in the research paper “Environmental Data: Resources and Options for SAIs” (for WP 2011 – 2013) : • how to use environmental data effectively? • what key sources of environmental data are available? • alternative options when the necessary data are not available or are of poor quality

3. Conclusions of WP 2011-2013 Research • The 2013 research paper concluded that • Auditors encounter insufficient or low quality environmental data when conducting environmental audits. • There are various environmental data available at global, national and regional level. • Auditors should use related data to estimate unavailable data or develop own data through a survey. • Program managers are expanding their use of data from GIS and from other new tools, such as social networking, to manage their programs. These tools and other trends create opportunities for SAIs themselves to use the tools and the resulting data.

4. Current Project’s Objective To develop a training Toolkit to help • Acquaintance with Earlier research work • (WP 2011 - 2013) Tools, techniques and software which may be deployed for analysing specific environmental data And to further build capacity regarding • Tools and methods, SAIs may use when high-quality environmental data are lacking. • Key sources of environmental data available to SAIs and key considerations when using such data.

5. Target audience for Training • The participating trainees would need to have basic knowledge of CAATs. • The training toolkit could include study material and eLearning modules using illustrative environmental data. • Would attempt a balance in content - theory, practical examples and hands on training. • Tentative duration of training - three days • (could be modified in the course of training design considering feedback)

6. Project Scope • For preparing the toolkit, we would: • survey and compile recent developments in using environmental data in various SAIs. • identify, collect or develop appropriate case studies to demonstrate use of environmental data • identify key software applications, preferably open source, which could be used to analyze environmental data. • explore use of GIS in environmental audits • use specific datasets to explain their usage for assessing specific environmental issues • use illustrative databases pertaining to environmental audit concerning issues like Climate change, Global warming, Air quality, etc.

7. Potential training module inclusions • eLearning modules to demonstrate analysis using sample data. • Interactive training toolkit including • Instruction guides • Exercises • Case studies • videos

8. Potential training application areas • Key environmental issues like • Waste management • Air quality • Water quality • Pollution due to industrialization • Forestry • Other issues requiring intensive data analysis

9. Project timelines

10. GIS - An illustration to spell training toolkit dimensions …….

11. Why GIS ? • GIS/ Satellite imagery offers strong collaborative evidence for assessing environmental issues such as land use changes, encroachments and damages to forest cover. • It is highly useful in two scenarios: • When the Government’s own records are doubtful. • When Government Departments itself does not have any data or has not conducted any assessment. • GIS results are easy to understand and hard to deny.

12. Use of GIS in environmental audits

13. GIS – outlining explanation • GIS is a data integration and visualization technique which is ideal for visualizing, storing, accessing and manipulating the data pertaining to a geographical location. GIS allows multiple layers of information to be displayed on a single map. • As per the WGEA’s 2013 research report, the program managers of environmental programs are relying more and more on GIS, combined with satellite-based observations, to measure results and manage their environmental programs. • The report has also given examples from SAIs of Norway and Indonesia where the GIS technology has been used. • These and other examples in which trainees may feel interested could be included in training toolkit

14. GIS – outlining illustrative uses • With GIS technology, one can compare the locations of different things in order to discover how they relate to each other. • For example, using GIS, the same map could include • sites that produce pollution like gas stations • sites that are sensitive to pollution like wetlands • Correlating such sites on the map would help determine which wetlands are most at risk. • Illustrations like this could form a part of the training toolkit

15. Illustrative GIS Data sources • Data in many different forms can be entered into GIS. Apart from satellite based information, data in table form can also be superimposed if it has location (City, State or Country name). Some of the GIS data sources are • Various Web Map Services (WMS) like Google, Open Street Map etc. • Data from National Space Research Organisations such as NASA, ISRO, etc. • Data from Remote Sensing Agencies • Various government scheme MIS which capture GPS tagged assets.

16. An Example to write case study on ……Land use changes from 1973 to 2016 reported in a recent Audit in an Indian state

17. Damage due to Mini Hydel Power Plant in protected area reported in Audit using Google Historical Satellite images

18. Lessons from this audit(to potentially focus in the case study) • Land Use Land Cover (LULC) is an important indicator of changes happening in and around the Protected Areas which have a bearing on the conservation and protection of wildlife and their habitat. • As no Departmental study / data was available in this regard, the study on these changes was done analysing the satellite data (with help from Indian Institute of Science). • The boundary maps were obtained from the Forest Department while the cadastral maps were obtained from Remote Sensing Centre. • These maps were super imposed on satellite imageries (obtained from National Remote Sensing Centre and Google Earth data) relating to different time periods to ascertain the change in LULC. • Three period time interval (i.e., 1973, 1991/92 and 2016) imageries were analysed to get the status and loss of forest cover.

19. Thank You.