 Mr. Roxroy Bollers has been working with Iwokrama for nearly 6 years. During his tenure he has held different positions and developed a well-rounded understanding of the mission of the organisation. When he joined the Iwokrama team in June of 1999, Mr. Bollers was hired as a Research Assistant and was responsible for researching the Forest’s malaria situation and accomplishing faunal and floral inventories. Later, in his position of Database Coordinator, Mr. Bollers entered, analysed, and reported on those inventory findings. In addition, his work as Database Coordinator brought him into the sustainable development side of Iwokrama’s work through his creation of a Forest visitor database.
Very recently, Mr. Bollers accepted the position of GIS Coordinator. The term GIS is an acronym for Geographic Information Systems. Although many definitions for GIS exist, most users agree that GIS is a network of computer software, hardware, spatial data, procedures, and personnel. This network is primarily used to collect, manipulate, analyse, and present information that is linked to a location on the earth's surface. However, the real power of GIS lies in its ability to uncover spatial relationships and patterns within data that may not be revealed using other methods. Today, GIS technology plays an ever-increasing role in the decision-making process for a variety of governmental agencies, commercial businesses, and educational institutions.
In his new role of GIS Coordinator, Mr. Bollers has a key role in the development of the timber harvesting operation that will commence later this year. He has been linking the timber inventories to the geography of the Forest. The result of the process are maps which will address how and where the timber harvesting may be accomplished, addressing such issues as species density and road access.
Another major project of Mr. Bollers is to apply GIS to the wetlands monitoring project. Again, the mapping of the Forest’s waterways and wetlands will help the project team to understand how local communities’ water uses impact the Rupununi Wetlands and in turn the species that are dependent on the ecosystem. He recently participated in a WWF programme, “Watershed Management of the Guianas". This programme dealt with fresh water management as it relates to the goal of recommending areas that should be selected for the Guyana Protected Areas System. Mr. Bollers felt this was extremely valuable training, as it, “Helps me to work with the wetlands management project by better knowing how to represent wetland management in GIS. It gave me more tools to use in representing the wetlands and help work with communities to educate them about water usage and vital areas for water conservation.”
Mr. Bollers’ background definitely indicates he’s of a technical mind. His secondary education specialisation was in mechanical drawing, and he holds certificates in Windows, MS Office, DBase and Advanced Dbase. He is now pursuing a degree in GIS.
In spite of such a technical orientation, Mr. Bollers commented that his favourite experiences at Iwokrama have been working with the local indigenous communities. “They are so interested and willing to learn about their environment.” Some of the activities with which he worked with community representatives include training courses for rangers, computer literacy, and on ArcView software.
If you have questions about or would like to help with Iwokrama’s GIS efforts, please contact Roxroy Bollers at rbollers@iwokrama.org.
>Iwokrama GIS images available for download.
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