Efficient use of Technology in the NRM Space

Presented at State NRM Conference, Mandurah, 23rd September, 2015

GAIA RESOURCESHow to make efficient use of

technology in NRM space

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Piers HiggsGaia Resources

TECHNOLOGY IN NRM

“Western Australia's vast landscape and seascape, intricate web of biodiversity and other natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good, and the community is involved in management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary.”

State Sustainability Strategy 2003

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMKey elements

• natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good

• community is involved

• management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary

TECHNOLOGY IN NRM

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMGaia Resources

www.gaiaresources.com.au

“Gaia Resources is a consultancy that responsibly delivers sustainable technology solutions to companies that work with the environment.”

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMWhen thinking about

technology…

• Selecting – skills in house, opportunities for collaboration, existing technologies

• Implementing – total cost of ownership, opportunities for collaboration

• Maintaining – active maintenance & ongoing support

• Engagement – internal & external

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMKey elements

• natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good

• community is involved

• management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

Where are they?

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• Spatial technologies can answer the “where” question in a few different ways

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• Field collection of spatial data

• Many different ways to do field collection

• Selecting – check skills in house, opportunities for collaboration, existing technologies

• Engagement – internal and external

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• “Cloud based” systems for spatial data

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• “Easy to use online GIS for NRM” – built by the NRM community, for the NRM community.

• For NRM staff: document the naturalresources, and actions taken toconserve them

• For NRM managers: planning for future works, reporting back on actions

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• Collaboration during development and ongoing road map

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• Free and open source software

• Quantum GIS – www.qgis.org

• Fully featured, can replace commercial desktop GIS packages

• No ongoing licence fees

• Strong support in the NRM community

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMConservation & Management of Natural

Resources

• Data management is still a key to all these systems working – and simplicity is a key factor here

Procedures File basedstructures

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TECHNOLOGY IN NRMKey elements

• natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good

• community is involved

• management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMCommunity is Involved

• Citizen science can help engage & educate the community, and deliver quality data for science

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMCitizen Science Hub

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMCitizen Science Hub

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMKey elements

• natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good

• community is involved

• management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMTransparent Management and Planning

Processes

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMTransparent Management and Planning

Processes

• Web mapping can help make yourprocess transparent

• Engagement – internal & external - must consider your audience

• Can also open this up for two-way communication – use webmaps to contribute data aswell

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMKey elements

• natural resources are conserved, managed and used sustainably for the common good

• community is involved

• management and planning processes that are transparent and visionary

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMTechnology trends

• Mobile data collection

• Cloud based systems

• Open source software

• Citizen science

• Web mapping

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMWhen thinking about

technology…

• Selecting – skills in house, opportunities for collaboration, existing technologies

• Implementing – total cost of ownership, opportunities for collaboration

• Maintaining – active maintenance & ongoing support

• Engagement – internal & external

TECHNOLOGY IN NRMWhen thinking about

technology…Collaborate!

TECHNOLOGY IN NRM

Piers Higgs(08) 92277309 or 0411 754 006

piers@gaiaresources.com.au