Bhuvan Thematic Services – Wasteland Mapping: Tracking Changes in India’s Land Resources
The Wasteland Mapping module of Bhuvan Thematic Services provides geospatial information for visualising and analysing the distribution, extent and temporal changes of wastelands across India at 1:50,000 scale. The application provides wasteland datasets for 2008–09 and 2015–16, enabling direct comparison of wasteland categories and assessment of changes in land resources over time.
Wasteland mapping has progressively evolved from single-season satellite interpretation to a multi-temporal approach using Kharif, Rabi and Zaid season satellite data, improving the delineation and characterization of wasteland classes. A standardized mapping protocol comprising 23 wasteland classes, specifically designed to support change-detection studies, was adopted for the national assessment.
For the 2015–16 assessment, Resourcesat LISS-III data from approximately 900 scenes acquired during the three agricultural seasons were used. The 2008–09 vector layer was updated using 2015–16 satellite observations, with identified changes subsequently supported by limited field verification and summarized through change matrices.
The temporal assessment shows that India's mapped wasteland area decreased from 5,66,070.36 km² (17.22%) in 2008–09 to 5,57,665.51 km² (16.96%) in 2015–16, representing a net reduction of 8,404.86 km².
Through Bhuvan's interactive visualization and analytical capabilities, these datasets support land restoration, watershed development, degraded-land monitoring, resource planning and sustainable land management.