Application of Satellite Imagery and GIS to Wildlife Habitat Suitability

Mapping

Abstract
An ever decreasing wildlife population is most wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand warrants their
habitat study. Identification of potential habitat sites is a prerequisite of possible subsequent
protection . this study aims at identifying potential habitat sites for 7 wildlife species in Phusitan
Wildlife Sanctuary, the Northeast of Thailand . there are wild Boar, Barking Deer , common Palm
Civet, Rhesus Macaue , Golden Jackal , Sunda Pangolin and Sandstone Gecko. These are
significant wildlife species of the area, larger species being extinct .

Wildlife habitat suitability study involves an analysis of the complex inter relationship among
various environmental factors that exist over a geographical area . habitat suitability model for
each of the above wildlife species relevant to Phustan wildlife Sanctuary was identified . each
model calls for a study of life requisite factors of food and cover . these factors include forest type
, topography , water resource , distance from human activity centers, etc . this study applies each
model to GIS in order to identify the most suitable and moderately suitable habitats .

Landsat imagery, field investigation wit GPS and topographic maps were employed to generate
and thematic layers relevant to each model in the GIS database , using ARC/info. Overlay
operations on these layers leads to generation of habitat suitability maps . field check based on
the map out put was conducted and found the agree with the expectation of the model.
Estimation of populating size was beyond the scope of the study.

Introduction
In Thailand , the forest area has depleted rapidly form 53 percent of he total land area in 1961 to
25 percent in 1998 ( charuppat 1998) . during the period 1961-1985 the forest area was
decreasing at an average rate of 0.5 million has annually. Among the major causes of forest
depletion are illegal logging , cultivated area expansion , slash and burn activities. Encroachment
on forest Land can not be protected effectively. As a result of the forests clearing , it has had
effects not only for surface water hydrology but also has threatened the wildlife habitat as well . to
organize plan and project in accordance with the forest land management , a number of national
parks , and wildlife sanctuaries were established . the phustian wildlife sanctuary (PWS0 was
then established in 1990 with objectives of preventing and conserving and conserving wildlife
habitat under strictly legal measures . with an advent of satellite technology and GIS, it is well
accepted as tools to establish and to model spatial information . tis paper outlines state of the art
satellite data and GIS modeling with a number of wildlife species on habitat suitability data since
the technologies applied to wildlife habitat analysis have been reviewed by Epp (1988), Stelfox
(1988) , tueller (1980) and Mayer (1984)

The objective of te study is to identify potential habitat sutabiility for 7 wildlife species in the PWS ,
Northeast Thailand with satellite imagery and GIS analysis . the 7, wildlife species include Wild
Boar, Barking Deer, Common Palm, Civet , Rhesus Macaque Jackal , Sunda Pangolin and
Sandstone Gecko.

Study Area
The Phusitan wildlife sanctuary covers and area of about 250 km2 and is located in Northeast
Thailand . the area is characterized by a diversity of land spaces , land uses as wildlife species .
the landscapes comprise the small hill with tropical forest (deciduous and evergreen ) is
surrounded by gently undulatind topography of alluvial plain . geologically , the area is underian
by a thick sequence of Mesozoic rock and has sporadically rock outcrops . the people in te area
are engaged in agriculture and based partly on forest products i.e mushroom, bamboo shoot.

Methodology
The process of identifying wildlife habitat suitability in the PWS is based on its life requisites was
reviewed and evaluated ( Aggimarangcee 1992, Davis 1962, Diong 1973 , Grassman 1997,
Harriosn 1962 , Lekagul et a 1997 , Sinchareon 1998 and Taylor 1963).
In addition, field investigation was conducted to examine the existing habitat of the defined wildlife
species in relevant to their life requisites . the life requisites identified from the this study consists
of forest type , topography , water resource and buffer regions within/beyond specified distance of
existing human activates center as summarized in the table 1. Each factor are conducted as
assigned ad a thematic layer in the GIS . determinate of the various factors are conducted as
follows : forest type , water resources , road and tracts were based on Landsat TM acquired on
March 1997 and 1:50,000 topographic map. The slope gradient in the area was generated from
the 20 m contour lines of 1:50,000 topographic map. Geological formation was provided by
1:250,000 geological map of Department of Mineral Resources . locations of Villages, cultivated
area, forest protection units were collected using differential global Positioning System (GPS).
Each of the themes with its associated attribute data are digitally encoded in GIS data base . with
GIS command , buffer zone with in a given distance of a prespecified set of layer ( roads , village
cultivated area and forest protection units ) were generated. As a results , the selection criteria of
given thematic layers for wildlife species ( Table 1) were eventually produced.

Table 1. Selection criteria for Wildlife species

These layer are then spatially overlaid to produce wildlife suitability map. Schematic chart of the
spatial overlay for a selected wildlife species ( wild boar ) is illustrated in figure 1.

Application of Satellite Imagery and GIS to Wildlife Habitat Suitability

Mapping
Result and discussions
Landuse, slope and geology maps generating from into PWS are illustrated in figure 2 (a), 2(b)
and 2(c) respectively. The habitat suitability map of 7 wildlife species resulting form the spatial
overlay of thematic layers in the PWS is presented in fig 3. the corresponding area for each
wildlife species is show in table 2.

Table 2 Habitat Suitability area for each wildlife species ( in percent of total area of the PWS).
Suitability Wild Boar Barking Deer Common Palm civet Rhesus Macaque Golden jackal Sunda Pangolin Sandstone Gecko
High 4.08 3.36 13.16 74.33 17.73 34.17 2.00
Moderate 1.48 1.12 34.17 8.16 6.65 13.16 0.98
Marginal 94.44 95.52 52.67 44.51 75.62 52.67 97.02
Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

The information obtained provides an approach ot identify habitat suitability for wildlife species.
The theme layers to be used in the modeling differ from species to species . the result revealed
that the extensive area of the PWS is highly suitable for Rhesus macaque , Sunda Pangolin and
Golden Jackal . in the PWS endangered species i.e sandastone outcrop and far from human
activities.

This study method identifies the current ability of anta area to provide individual wildlife species
with environmental conditions needs for food cover and space. This would reflect existing
vegetation cover as influenced by natural and man-caused disturbance .

Fig.2 (a) Landuse 1997, Phusitan Wildlife Sanctury, North-east Thailand

Fig.2 (b) Slope, Phusitan Wildlife Sanctury, North-east Thailand

 Fig.2 (c) Geology, Phusitan Wildlife Sanctury, North-east Thailand

Fig.3 Wildlife habitat suitability map, Phusitan Wildlife Sanctuary, North-east Thailand. (a) Wild Boar
(b) Barking Deer (c) Common Palm Civet (d) Rhesus Macaque (e) Golden Jackal (f) Sunda Pangolin
(g) Sandstone Gecko

Ground investigation was used t assessed the rreliablility of he model developed . three wildlife
species (Rhesus Macaque , sunda Pangolin and Sandstone Gecko) could be directly observed in
the field , the rest species were found only their tracts.

In conclusion , for many wildlife species it is possible to evaluation habitat with identification of life
requisite and vegetation cover . it is difficult to estimate actual population because animal
population fluctuate substantially through time and space . many species are very difficult to
observe directly and reliably through survey sample technique . computer based GIS provide the
means to model the spatial habitat suitability effectively . accuracy of the model then relies on the
knowledge based on wildlife and ecology relationships.

Development of Traffic Accident Information System using Geographic

Information System (GIS)
Abstract
Traffic safety plays as key and integral role in a sustainable transportation development strategy.
The main negative impact of modern road transportation systems today is injury and loss of life
as a result of road accidents. The success of traffic safety and highway improvement programs
hinges on the analysis of accurate and reliable traffic accident data. This study discuses the
present state of traffic accident information in Metro manila . it shall also discuss the potentials of
developing a traffic accidents information system using geographic information system (GIS) .
initial attempts on the integration of geo-referenced traffic accidents data for spatial analysis shall
be discussed . lastly, this paper comes up with some recommendations on the institutionalization
of such a system line Metro Manila.

Introduction

There is no doubt that traffic safety has emerged as one of the key problems confronting
contemporary Philippine urban society . although this is so, it has to been given much attention
and remains uncharted mainly because the more pressing problems such as traffic congestion
are at hand.

While of the road accident situation is slowly improving in the high income industrialized
countries, most developing countries such as he Philippines, face a worsening situation . the
continuous socio-economic growth over the years is causing increasing demand fore transport
service including road transport . with the number of vehicles on the road growing rapidly, more
road conflicts develop vis-à-vis traffic accidents .

Most of these accidents result from human error and carelessness on the part of the derivers or
pedestrians . However , the probability of occurrence, and its severity , can often be reduced by
the application of proper traffic control devices, and good roadway design features . the success
or failure of such control devices and design specifications however , depends extensively upon
the analysis of traffic accident records at specific locations. It has long been recognized that the
most effective means towards accident reduction lies in a systematic and scientific approach
based on the use of accurate and reliable traffic accident data . but the quantity of data important
for the analysis are not always sufficient

Much of the accident information available in police files is all too often incomplete and therefore
has not been utilized to the fullest extent. In addition, records are also needed to provide facts to
guide programs including enforcement, education, maintenance, vehicle inspection, emergency
medical services, and engineering to improve streets and highways.

Much of the accident information available in police files is all too often incomplete and therefore
has not been utilized to the fullest extent. In addition , records are also needed to provide facts to
guide programs including enforcement, education , maintained , vehicle inspection, emergency
medical services, and engineering to improve streets and highways.

There is a need for better information of the circumstance of collisions , especially with regards to
location in order to come up with a general picture of the data. More precise location data could
help provide facts to guide programs including enforcement, education , maintenance, vehicle
inspection , emergency medical services, and engineering to improve streets and highways .

Accident record keeping has to been give much priority by concerned government agencies . so
far , there is no integrated database that accounts for accidents statistics for the whole country .

Key Stakeholder in Traffic Accident Information

At the helm of traffic accidents data investigation and reporting is the Traffic Management
command (TMC) of the Philippine National Police . by virtue of a Standard Operation Procedure
(SOP) adopted by ht police organization, all traffic accident report forms filed at the different
districts ail over the country should be submitted to the TMC Headquarters at Camp Crame,
Quezon City. In metro Manila , the operation and management of the PNP is divided into five (5)
distinct districts, namely: North , South, East, West and Central . Directly under the District
Commander is the Chief of the Traffic Division. The Additionally, the Traffic Management Group
(TMG) has sole jurisdiction along the stretch of EDSA.

The Traffic Accident Investigation Report Program started in 1978 under the Traffic Studies of the
Ingra structure Planning Research and Statistics Division (IPRSD0 of the Department of Public
Works and Highways . specifically , the Traffic Studies Section encodes the TAIR and furnishes
the Bureau of Design , Maintenance Division and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Crame
of the encoded reports/statistics. The data gathered by the Traffic studies Section are used for
planning and improvement of road design and safety.

Apart from the DPWH-T4affic Studies section and the PNP, the Metropolitan Development
authority (MMDA) also perform an important role in Traffic Accident Investigation Report . MMDA
serves as the mediator between traffic accident victims and the PNP traffic investigator

The safety Organization of the Philippines (SOPI) is a non-government organization which also
aims to contribute in the traffic accident concern. SOPI conducts training on the following :1)
Better Driving Course- which covers road safety , road accidents, common traffic violations safe
driving, emergency driving and trouble shooting ; and 2) Land Transport Fleet Management which
covers road safety , road accidents, fleet safety program, accident investigation and analysis ,
terminal and garage safety .

The Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) maintains operational data on major intersection . it also
maintains the traffic signal control system for the Metro Manila Area. It collects and summarized
traffic accidents form all police districts. Its does this by fielding personnel who will collate the
data.

Almost recently , the TEC embarked on a project for the utilization of a GIS-based system for
traffic accidents. However , the system could not be maintained . the TEC Library contains a good
collection of accident information on paper . so far , no database system is in place. The TEC also
suffers from perennial organizational problems.

The National Center for Transportation Studies ( formerly Transport Training Center ) is a regular
unit of the University of the Philippines System. The NCTS plays a leading role in human
resource development ad research activities in the field of transportation . NCTS conducts
transportation research with the general aim of improving the country's transportation system . it
continues to provide transport professionals from government with better education and training
services .

Current State of Traffic Accident information

The authority responsible for nation wide accident record keeping is the Traffic Management
Group (TMG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Accident records form all PNP Police
Stations are to submit to the TMG Districts or Teams stationed in each region. These reports are
then transmitted for consolidation to the TMG office in camp Crame. A committee under the
chairmanship of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

At present, the system of traffic accident investigation and reporting is plagued with organizational
and technical problems. These include incomplete data on e TAIR, non-submission of traffic
district to the TMG Hq, discontinuity of program due to change in officials; and inconsistency of
forms used by the different police stations.

Currently, there is an information gap with regards traffic accident date due to the following
reasons . first, the currant traffic accidents database system is ineffective due to non-submission
of forms . a second reason is the inaccuracy and inefficiency in the actual traffic accident
investigation and reporting . a last reason would be the absence of a comprehensive traffic safety
and highway improvement program.

Development of a Traffic Accident Information system

The development of an integrated traffic accident information system is prompted . organizational
restructuring wit focus management has to be adopted by government in order to delineate and
relegate certain function which are integral to the overall system . recent developments in
computer technologies can be utilized in order to aid manual work in the work of traffic accident
data warehousing.

Figure 1 shows that network configuration for the proposed Traffic Accident Information System .
in this proposed system , several remote sites shall be connected in a Wide Area Network (WAN).
A cost-effective netwoek connection can be established using dial-up network protocols. Remote
sites include the five traffic management districts in Metro Manila and PNCC for the North and
South Expressway data.

Figure 1. Network Configuration

A central site shall maintain the database and map server. Te central sit shall also be equipped
with plotting and external storage devices for achieving purposes.

In such a system, information from the traffic accident investigation report forms are directly
encoded via an interface program. The application shall be constructed under a Client/server
Architecture as shown in figure 2. reporting police stations shall only need to forward their reports
to the district office for proper processing and input. Thus , accident reports can be updated on a
daily or weekly basis to prevent backlog. The system shall also update the master database at
the central site. The central site, on the other hand , shall prepare accident' black spots' and data
processing and report preparation for the whole coverage area .

Figure 2. Applications Architecture

Geo- referenced Traffic Accident Data

Presently, the existing TAIR forms considers the following referencing system : a ) XY Map
Number , b) X and Y-coordinates, Route Number, KM station, 100m Station, Nope Map number,
and Node Numbers. However, the aforementioned systems have not been utilized. This sis due
to the fact that there has not been and overall authoritative system that is in place yet.

The current referencing system adopted the TAIR are non-earth based references. Although, not
fully implemented the TMG HQ are set toe encode accident locations manually. Thus there is a
big backlog of accident records that has yet to referenced. Te problem is even made more
complication by the non-submission and incomplete forms. A further constraint is that the km-post
system only cover national roads.

Relevant work at the Department of Public Works and Highways sere on-going through the Road
Information and management support System (RIMMS) Project . the RIMMS Project hopes to
create the ground work for a Location Referencing system (LRS) that will cover the entire country.

Central to the system is the utilization of GIS technology. Utilization of such a cost-effective
technology offers big potential fro information delivery. The use of GIS would ease the work of
geo-referencing accident data. Proper and accurate spot maps can be established. Moreover,
accident data can be tied with other spatial data such as road characteristic and intersection
geometry, to cover a full - range of analysis

Areas of Improvement
Several areas of improvement are identified as requisites for an efficient traffic accident
information system., as follows:

1. Better traffic accident investigation procedure ( eg. Accident site measurements,

reconstruction ),
2. adherence to the official Traffic Accident Investigation Report (TAIR) from
3. creation of an integrated traffic accident database system ,
 4. geo-referencing of accident occurrences
5. utilization of available cost-effective technologies ( eg. Geographic Information System,
Global positioning System),
6. utilization of Client/server network architecture for better information delivery, and
7. training and education of traffic accident invest gars in the field of accident investigation
and reconstruction .

conclusion
the benefits and potential of the creation a traffic accident information system is great. It is
implement able and realistic, only concerned government agencies, research institution , as well
as , the private sector should participate in an overall program for traffic safety. Cost-effective
technologies like GIS can be utilized to provide a reliable system.

Recommendations
The research is still in the initial stage . several initial and general recommendation, however, are
put forth as follows :

1. strengthen institutional organization and link-ups towards the efficient collection, reporting
and monitoring of road traffic accidents.
2. strengthen training activities for accident investigation and reporting.
3. employ cost-effective and innovative solutions t traffic accident data reporting and
monitoring, such as geographic Information systems .
4. establish better accident investigation standards and reference system .

The creation of such a system can greatly improve information delivery among concerned
government agencies and the private sector s well . furthermore , the system shall be in support
of an overall traffic safety and highway improvement program.

Application of Remote sensing and GIS for Road (Asian Highway) Network
Database creation and Risk Assessment

Abstract
Road network promotes economic development of a country through trade and tourism
development. Status of road network in most of Asian countries in terms of their condition as well
as connection to neighboring countries is very poor at present. Asian Highways project has been
initiated by UN-ESCAP to promo mote and coordinate the development of international road
transport as a means to contribute to he expansion of national and international trade and tourism
, to stimulate economic growth and to facilitate cultural growth among he Asian countries.

A database on road networks such as existing spatial distribution of roads and their possible links
to the roads of neighboring countries has been created and updated using Remote Sensing and
GIS . GIS provides a versatile platform for creating an accurate and cost effective database. The
information currently available for the road network varies in scales and projection from country to
country of t region . Therefore, GIS provides an appropriate environment for integrating such a
diversified information . Multi-temporal satellite data are used for updating this GIS database.

The GIS database created for the study are contains information available in existing maps. Since
the most of the maps in Thailand were revised in early nineties, therefore, newly constructed
roads do not exist in these maps. An updated database has been created using satellite data and
field visits. Information such as contours form topographic maps is also incorporated in the
database.

The database created in the study is used for landslide risk assessment along the road. Many
portions the Asian Highways is passing through undulating terrain with steep slopes and landslide
are very common in these areas. There is also a high probability of slope failure due to road
construction work. A landslide is a complex phenomenon, therefore, a wide range of ancillary data
such as geological, topographic etc. are acquired from existing maps and incorporated into the
database. A slope stability analysis in the study area has been carried out and alternative routes
are suggested in highly susceptible locations.

1. introduction
the Asian Highway project was first proposed in 1959 (UN-ESCAP, 1997) with a road network
covering 65,000 km in 15 member countries . at present there are 18 member countries and 7
republics form former USSR have also joined in the project comprising a road of 90,000 km which
include both international and sub-regional routes . it is agreed that emphasis will be given to use
the existing infrastructures while developing the Asian Highway. Efforts are also made to connect
major cities while finalizing the routes of the Asian Highway. The condition of roads varies
substantially form country to country and improvement measures need to be considered in
individual basis to meet the requirement of international standard . updated maps dn present
condition of roads are not available in may countries of the Asian countries . the conventional way
of capturing spatial data is not only tedious, but also time consuming. . however, updating of road
information using satellite data is a very cost effective an efficient . wit the advancement of space
technology, currently high-resolution satellite data are available for monitoring the road
conditions.

2. Study Area
the study are is in Chiangmai province of Northern Thailand and it is extended from 980 45' to
99008' in the east and 18045' to 19009' in the north. Figure 1 shows the study area.

Figure 1: Location Map

3. Methodology

3.1 data Processing

Satellite data were corrected geometrically using Ground Control Points (GCP) taken form
topographic maps including road crossing, buildings and bridges etc. thirty GCPs were selected
for this propose . A first order polynomial transformation equation was applied to rectify the data
set. Road maps were digitized carefully from the topographic maps. Similarly, separate GIS
layers or major rivers and contours at he interval for 20m digitized .

3.2 Post Processing

Digitization error like node errors were corrected for each of the GIS layers. Since each or the
topographic maps was digitized individually, the arcs were not properly connected in the adjoining
maps. I order to remove the is kind of error, edge matching was performed for each of the map
sheets.

3.3 Updating Map Information

The digitized layers were overlaid with the geo-coded imagery. Survey for the topographic maps
were conducted in 1969, however some maps were updated in 1990's . there are many more
newly constructed road in all over Thailand, which are clearly visible in the satellite image. Figure
2 shows procedure of map updating .

Figure 2: Flow chart of updating map information

The layers are updated according to image interpretation on a monitored. Some of the GIS layers
are to exactly matching in the image due to the errors committed while digitizing. Keeping the
satellite image in the background GIS layers are corrected wherever necessary. Figure 3a sows
the deviation from actual road while overlaying with the digitized road network whereas figure 3 b
shows the map after correction.
 Figure 3a: Overlay with errors

Figure 3b: Corrected Map

Missing roads, which are not available in the topographic maps, have been updated room the
satellite image. Looking at the condition form the satellite image, roads are categorized into three
groups. Roads comprising 3 pixels or more are categorized as wide, roads with 2 to 3 pixels are
categorized as medium and roads with 1-2 pixels are categorized as narrow. Figure 4 shows the
different categories of roads .
 Figure 4a: Wide Road

Figure 4b: Medium Road

 Figure 4c: Narrow Road
3.4 Database for River Crossings
for each of the major roads, the number of bridges exists in rivers and streams crossing have
been identifies using topographic maps and field visits. Location of each of the bridges is
recorded in the kinematic GPS. A database for the bridges has been created.

3.5 Slope Stability Analysis

The slope stability is analysis is done using fundamental engineering principles. safety factor is
calculated room the ration of driving moment to resistance moment. Slopping areas are divided
into number f slices by conversing into raster format for ease of calculation

Fellinious method has been used to calculate slope stability. The factor of safety is calculated
using he following relationship

T= RW Sinα (1)
N=R(CL+tanΦ W cosα) (2)

Where T= Driving moment, N=Resisting moment, R=Radius of critical circle, W=Weight of each
slice , a=Angle between horizontal axis and the base of slice, L= Length of base slice,
C=Cohesion and j= Angle of shearing resistance.

The factor of safety is determined for the following relationship.

Fs =ΣN/ΣT (3)

From the topographic map, the contours are digitized at the interval of 20 meter and a Digital
Elevation Model (DEM) is created with grid size of 20m. a slope aspect map is produced from the
DEM. Steepest slope direction for each for the pixel is extracted comparing the surrounding pixels
and the profile is drawn. Geo-technical data such as angle of shear resistance and cohesion are
used as input for an algorithm to generate a road risk map for the study area.

For determining an alternative route for the highways in most vulnerable locations, a weighted
distance function has been used. This function calculated the shortest weighted distance or
accumulated travel cost from each cell to nearest cell n a grid. from the accumulated travel cost,
a least cost path route can be derived to any destination cell in a grid.

The grid where accumulated distance function is applied contains cell value depending o safety
factor and slope. Higher value is assigned to the cells with high slope failure risk and high slope.
Figure 5 shows the complete methodology for creating the road network database and risk
assessment.

Figure 5: Flow chart showing the complete methodology

5. Result and Discussion

Road network database can be updated very easily using satellite images . while creating an
updated vector database for road, river or contour lines, errors are unavoidable while digitizing ,
keeping precisely corrected image in the background this kind of errors can be rectified. The new
roads that are not available in the topographic maps cab be detected in the satellite image. The
approximate road width can also be determined from the images. The highway considered in the
study has 22 km length with wide croo-section , 15 km length with medium cross- section and 11
km in length with narrow cross-section as shown in figure 7. There are 13 numbers of rovers or
streams crossings with bridges and culverts.

Figure 6a: Vulnerable (Fright) Areas

Figure 6b: New Alignment

 Figure 7: Type of Roads

As far as road stability is concerned, the road network in the study area shows high stability in flat
areas. Figure 6a is a slope failure risk map where bright areas represent high risk of slope failure.
An alternative route has been determined for the portion of road as shown in the fig 6 b where
high risk is involved .

5. conclusions
Information exits in maps become outdated quickly, particularly I countries where the rate of
infrastructure development is very high . satellite images provides an opportunity it update maps
at an affordable cost. Using satellite images , road information can be updated and approximate
with of a road can be determined.

The stability of slope along the road can also be determined using GIS which is very vital form
construction point of view. If a particular section of road is very vulnerable , then and alternative
route can be suggested.

The stability of slope along the road cab also be determined using GIS which is very vital form
construction point of view . if a particular section of road is very vulnerable, then and alternative
route cab be suggested