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INTEGRATING ECOLOGICAL TOOLS WITH GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
SYSTEMS (GIS)
G. H. Chekuimo
TRAFCAM, Yaounde, Cameroon - azpa01@yahoo.com
Commission VI, WG VI/4
KEY WORDS: Biodiversity, Natural Resources, Geographic Information System (GIS)
ABSTRACT:
The world faces a wide variety of complex environmental threats: the loss of biodiversity; the depletion of the ozone layer; global
climate change; the degradation of soil and water resources essential for food production; and the accumulation of widespread,
health-threatening pollution. These problems are even further exacerbated by the basic trend in world population, which has doubled
since 1950 and is expected to double again by the middle of the next century. The foremost global issue facing mankind is how to
satisfy the ever-growing need for natural resources to meet food and living standard demands while minimizing impacts upon an
environment which already shows signs of serious levels of biodegradation. Most sustainable development decisions are inherently
multidisciplinary or cross-sectoral, because they require trade-offs between conflicting goals of different sectors. However, most
natural resource development agencies are single-sector oriented. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology can help
establish cross-sectoral communication - by providing not only very powerful tools for storage and analysis of multisectoral spatial
and statistical data, but also by integrating databases of different sectors in the same format, structure and map projection in the GIS
system. However, main constraints and problems drive with the current use of GIS in the Environmental Industry.
1. INTRODUCTION
The world faces a wide variety of complex environmental
threats: the loss of biodiversity; the depletion of the ozone layer;
global climate change; the degradation of soil and water
resources essential for food production; and the accumulation of
widespread, health-threatening pollution. These problems are
even further exacerbated by the basic trend in world population,
which has doubled since 1950 and is expected to double again
by the middle of the next century. The foremost global issue
facing mankind is how to satisfy the ever-growing need for
natural resources to meet food and living standard demands
while minimizing impacts upon an environment which already
shows signs of serious levels of biodegradation.
Most sustainable development decisions are inherently
multidisciplinary or cross-sectoral, because they require trade
offs between conflicting goals of different sectors. However,
most natural resource development agencies are single-sector
oriented. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology can
help establish cross-sectoral communication - by providing not
only very powerful tools for storage and analysis of
multisectoral spatial and statistical data, but also by integrating
databases of different sectors in the same format, structure and
map projection in the GIS system (SDRN, 1999).
One of the most exciting and rapidly growing technologies for
the 1990s is that of Geographic Information Systems 1 (GIS).
The computerized retrieval, manipulation, analysis, and display
of geographic information allow experts in a variety of different
disciplines to improve their effectiveness and efficiency when
addressing location-related problems and issues. (Huxhold,
1994).
1.1 Overview
1 Appendix 1
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore the
spatial relationships of animal populations is a relatively new
field for ecologists (Johnson, 1990, Scott et al., 1993) and one
untouched by population geneticists. GIS, as an environmental
modelling tool, evolved from simple beginnings as a mapping
program to a modelling and analysis engine for a variety of
different disciplines (Goodchild, 1993). GIS is well-established
in habitat-based studies of animal populations to analyze
remotely-sensed databases (Johnson and Naiman, 1990) and as
a predictive tool for animal or plant species distributions (Scott
et al., 1993, Jensen et al., 1992). In addition, GIS is now used to
create databases, manipulate spatially-explicit surfaces to
represent specific parameters, and to displace spatial
relationships through simulation modelling, hydrologic
constructs, and species relationships (Keller, 1990; Aspinall and
Veitch, 1993). One application still unexplored with GIS,
despite the importance of spatial heterogeneity, is the animal
population dynamics as expressed by genetic parameters.
1.2 What is GIS?
A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based
tool for mapping and analyzing things that exist and events that
happen on the earth. GIS integrates common database
operations, such as query and statistical analysis, with the
unique visualization and geographic analysis benefits offered by
maps (http://www.hgac.cog.tx.us/geography/cep/whatis.html).
It consist of a powerful set of automated tools for collecting,
retrieving, analyzing and communicating spatial data. Such
systems involve not only the automated handling of map data
and imagery, but also the automated handling of records and
attributes of anything that can be tied to a geographical location
on earth. The technology is applicable to remarkably diverse
applications ranging from resource management to emergency
response and disaster recovery, from political districting to
forestry and marine studies, from mass marketing to urban
infrastructure management, and from local studies through
regional analysis to global change research (Raymond,