Additionally I have used the additional data provided by SMA to analyze the use of this data for determining the extent and patterns of desertification and forest thinning in particular areas over the 1970 s. Dams The major pattern of dramatic vegetation decrease in both images can be easily attributed to the construction and resulting reservoirs of large-scale dams. Estimates from the SMA vegetation change results show that the Ukai dam alone drowned 128.02 km 2 of vegetated areas over the eight-year period. This is a significant disruption of the landscape and only reiterates the controversial nature of dams for the region. Many studies have analyzed the environmental impact of dams in India using remote sensing.
Dams are currently the most controversial environmental issue in India.
Habitat loss can be extreme depending on the size of the reservoir and the local environment. Unique habitat loss and widespread displacement of villages has caused a great amount of controversy around many dams from the 1960 s through today. Dams are also extremely beneficial to much of the population in the region, providing electricity, drinking water, and irrigation to millions in an area where it is especially important to curb the impacts of cyclical droughts. For this reason the Indian government, with the help of foreign investment banks, has invested huge amounts of money in the construction of dams on most rivers in the region. The biggest dams in the country are located in eastern Gujarat and many more are still being planned today.