ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ICAR-IISWC) and National Remote Sensing Centre- Indian Space Research Organization (NRSC-ISRO), Hyderabad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under National Information System for Climate and Environment Studies (NICES) on 29th May 2024 to collaborate on Climate and Environment studies in the Western and Eastern Ghats regions of India. The MoU was signed at the NRSC-ISRO, Hyderabad by the Deputy Director of Earth and Climate Sciences Area (ECSA), NRSC-ISRO and the Head of Centre, ICAR-IISWC Research Centre, Koraput in the presence of the Director of NRSC-ISRO, Hyderabad.

During the event, Dr P Raja, Principal Scientist & Principal Investigator, presented the research progress on phase I of the ISRO-NRSC/NICES funded collaborative project titled “Study of Atmospheric and soil Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in Temperate Mountainous Ecosystem of Western Ghats with Reference to Climate Change Impact Assessment”. On this occasion Dr.Prakash Chauhan, Director of NRSC-ISRO appreciated the progress of phase-I and also provided guidance for phase II on climate data analyses, inferences, data dissemination, capacity building and knowledge sharing among the partnering institutions. He also expressed hope that this collaboration will leverage the expertise of both institutes to generate long-term data on essential climate variables and their impact on climate changeover both Western and Eastern Ghats region towards achieving Zero emission status. Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, Deputy Director, ECSA, NRSC-ISRO, expressed happiness on the progress of phase - I and reiterated confidence in the collaborative research efforts during Phase II. He emphasized the need for exchange of data for the benefit of society. Dr. D. Ramajayam, Principal Scientist & Head of the ICAR-IISWC, Research Centre, Koraput, highlighted the importance of collaborative research with renowned national institutions such as NRSC-ISRO. Dr M. Madhu, Director, ICAR-IISWC, Dehradun mentioned that signing of this MoU demonstrates the commitment of the two organizations to advance scientific knowledge and research through their collaboration. Further, he also mentioned that collaboration between ICAR-IISWC and NRSC-ISRO is crucial for collecting, collating, and updating climatic data, which is an essential prerequisite for modeling and forecasting the impact of climate change on soil quality and water availability for climate smart agriculture.