Sakar Dhakal

I'm

About

I am a current M.Sc. Student in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand. I did B.Sc. in Forestry from Institute of Forestry, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Living in the vicinity of the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, I have an unparalleled care for nature and its significance in our life. I am Geography and Environment proponent, Cartographer, Earth Oberservant, RS/GIS Practicioner and Geo-spatial data analyst. I have a desire to change the world and tackle climate change with GIScience.

My research interest lies in spatio-temporal analysis of environment change patterns such as forest degradation, wildfire, insects attack, invasive species outbreak, river, etc and land cover change detection integrating human-nature relationships. During my study period, I gained plenty of experience related to forest management including field works, data collection and data analysis both individually and with a team. My expertise lies in environment conservation combined with Geo-informatics. Most of the time I spend my time on innovating with cartography, online RS/GIS training and research activities. From programming languages such as R, JavaScript API and Python to GIS software as ArcGIS, ArcGIS Pro and QGIS, they are my daily-drivers: both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Lately, I have started to delve more into Python for GIS and blend maps with AutoCAD and Adobe products.

Geo-Spatial Analyst & GIS Cartographer

  • Birthday: 13 Oct 2000
  • Website: sakar771.github.io/po/
  • Phone: +977 986 500 5780
  • Home: Chitwan, Nepal
  • Degree: B.Sc in Forestry
  • Email: sakardhakal123@gmail.com
  • Work: Available

Seeking for graduate assistantships and/or fundings in RS-GIScience relating to Forestry/Geography/Environment/NRM.

Current Projects

Currently, I am working on research involving CODED and CCDC-SMA approaches for accurate shifting agriculture assessment. Additionally, I am learning river change detection from GEE and effective weed management practices with the use of CNN mechanism integrated with UAVs applications. I was granted Rs. 102000 (USD $770~) for project entitled, 'Time-series analysis of forest disturbance and recovery trends of Karnali province using LandTrendr algorithm' by Forest Research and Training Centre(FRTC), Birendranagar.


Publications

    - Aryal, K. R., Mahatara, D., Kumar, R., Khadka, S., Dhakal, S., Bhattarai, S., Adhikari, H., & Jung, D. (2024). Modeling tree stem volume for hill Shorea robusta Gaertn. forests in Karnali. Trees, Forests and People, 18(September), 100675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100675
    - Dhakal S., Aryal K.R., Shrestha U. B., Adhikari H., 2024. Updating Forest Cover Changes of Nepal Using High Resolution Imagery and Machine Learning in LandTrendr Algorithm. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment. Under review.
    - Dhakal S., Aryal R. R. Shifting Agriculture Practices Assessment of Nepal and Its Effect on Forest Health Using Remote Sensing. (Under preparation)
    - Sharma S., Acharya K., Adhikari H., Aryal K., Dhakal S. Effects of forest management on forest structure and diversity: A case study of Surkhet district, Nepal. (under preparation)
    - Verma A., Dhakal S., Poudel N. Assessment of land cover change and its impact on changes in soil erosion risk in Karnali province. Under preparation.
    - Sapkota P., Bhatt V., Aryal K. R., Adhikari H., Dhakal S. Effect of forest fire on regeneration and plant species diversity: a case study from Surkhet District Karnali Province, Nepal. Under preparation.


Skills

I have acquired professional skill sets from engaging in different research projects, workshops, training and courses. In terms of datasets, I have knowledge of OpenStreetMaps, Copernicus ESA, USGS Earth Explorer and Google Earth Pro.

GIS Software 90%
Remote Sensing Products95%
MS Suites 90%
AutoCAD40%
R 75%
JavaScript API 70%
Python 50%
HTML/CSS35%

Other than these skills, I am proficient in communication and written tasks. I can work both independently and with a team.

Resume

Sumary

Sakar Dhakal

About 4 years of experience in the GIS field with sheer interest to bring positive changes in environmental policy and system with the impact of maps.

  • Bharatpur-7, Chitwan, Nepal.
  • sakardhakal123@gmail.com

Education

M.Sc. in Remote Sensing and GIS

2024 - Current

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.

B.Sc. in Forestry

2018 - 2023

Institute of Forestry, Hetauda (Tribhuvan University)

Thesis - 'Time-series analysis of forest disturbance trends of Karnali province using LandTrendr algorithm'

Course Projects:
- Prepared Community Forest Operational Plan of JanaEkata CF, Rautahat.
- Designation of local Volume Table of trees in Hetauda campus forest.
- Spatial data analysis of Crops usage pattern and Chitwan land cover change detection.
- Dalbergia Sissoo detailed research and presentation.

Research Experience

Lead Researcher

  • Time-series analysis of forest disturbance and recovery trends of Karnali province using LandTrendr algorithm - Use of temporal segmentation from Google Earth Engine code conduct for abrupt disturbance and gradual regrowth detection: ArcGIS for cartography and GEE, R and MS Excel for data analysis. USGS and Copernicus/ESA datasets used for validations and accuracy assessment.

Research Assistant

  • Assessment of land cover change and its impact on changes in soil erosion risk in Karnali province - Assisted in spatial data extraction through use of GEE, accuracy assessment through unsupervised classification and manuscript preparation.
  • Effects of forest management on forest structure and diversity: A case study of Surkhet district, Nepal - Aid in data collection (Bio-physical data with the help of Vortex, Binoculars, GPS and Diameter Tape), GIS cartography and manuscript preparation.

Training and Certifications

- 'Large Scale Applications of Machine Learning using Remote Sensing for Building Agriculture Solutions', 'Assessing the impacts of fires on watershed health', 'Monitoring water quality of inland lakes using remote sensing' and 'SAR for detecting and monitoring floods, sea ice and subsidence from ground water extraction' Advanced Training, ARSET, NASA.
- 'Transforming Earth Observation (EO) data into building insfrastructure data sets for disaster risk modelling' and 'Satellite data for air quality environmental justice and equity applications' Intermediate Training, ARSET, NASA.
- 2023 PACE APPLICATIONS WORKSHOP Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Applications Program, NASA
- 'Cartography', 'Spatial data science: The new frontier in analytics', 'GIS for Climate action' and 'Imagery in action', MOOC by Esri.
- GIS specialization courses: 'Fundamentals of GIS', 'GIS data formats, design and quality', 'Geospatial and environmental analysis' and 'Imagery, automation and applications', Coursera.
- 'R programming', 'Data analysis with R programming' and 'Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning', Coursera.

Professional Experience

Intern

June 2024 - Present

Forest Nepal

  • Digitization forests data of Nepal
  • Use of Remote sensing and GIS tools for forest cover monitoring and biomass estimation
  • Website tools monitoring and feedbacks suggestions.

Research Project Assistant

Nov 2023 - April 2024

Forest Research and Training Centre, Karnali

  • Assisted in research design of the project
  • Land use land cover map for the study area using CNN from TensorFlow for high accuracy.
  • Lead the forest technicians team and community user groups for the field inventory data collection.

GISCORPS Volunteer

Jan 2024 - Present

URISA

  • Online contribution by RS datasets mapping.
  • Working for human-environment related concerns.
  • Contributing for the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team projects

Training Facilitator

Basic GIS Training Program

Institute of Forestry, Hetauda

  • Organized a one day training program for 50 junior students.
  • Class presentation on basic GIS tools, terminologies and cartography.

Event Volunteer

Application of UAV/Drone in Forestry

Division Forest Office, Surkhet

  • Managed the technicalities of the event.
  • Assisted in aerial data collection of forest species identification.
  • Distribution of foods and coordination with the guests.

Research Internee

Jan 2023 - June 2023

FRTC, Birendranagar

  • Conducted research design and data collection for the first few months which included acquiring JavaScript hands-on excersice.
  • Data analysis - GEE analysis for disturbances and recovery detection, ArcGIS for mapping and use of statistical software like R and Excel for data manipulation for next 2 months.
  • Final manuscript preparation and presentation at FRTC during last month.
  • Office database management during working hours.
  • Active participation in LiDAR and UAVs training relating to forest conservation and management.
  • Field work experience on difficult topography for forest species inventory and data collection at Kalika Community Forest(CF).
  • Forest Technician

    OPERATIONAL PLAN FOR COMMUNITY-BASED FOREST MANAGEMENT (CBFM) PROJECT

    Chitwan and Rautahat

  • Forest species inventory and data collection through surveys of Batuli Pokhari CF and JanaChahana CF.
  • Spatial mapping of the study area using ArcGIS.
  • Data analysis using R and MS Excel.

Portfolio

I have an inner love for cartography. From my perspective, I always see GIS as a vast ocean of exploration for tackling environment concerns with innovations. Most of my works are bound to RS data usage, GIS mapping and analysis. However, I have few RS integrated data that I cannot share due to organizational/government legalities.

  • All
  • Cartography
  • Learning
  • Work

Contact

Please, feel free to contact me for any additional information. Thank you for the visit.

Location:

Chitwan, Nepal

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