Geographic Information Systems

The GIS team at Iwokrama provides the decision support system for management of the Iwokrama Forest. This entails support for many of the activities of other units. The GIS team has research interests in the application of spatial models and satellite remote sensing to forest resource management.

Recent studies have included

• zoning plan for the Iwokrama Forest using linear programming
• predictive spatial model of Greenheart distribution using logistic regression
• delineation of understory seasonal flooding with satellite radar

Iwokrama is also very active in the development of GIS in Guyana. In 2001 it led a team of professionals in crafting recommendations for a National Policy on Geographic Information. Iwokrama was instrumental in setting up the (GIS) Forest Resources Information System of the Guyana Forestry Commission, by providing direction on priorities, equipment, staffing, protocols, etc. and training in GIS. Internships are regularly offered to University of Guyana staff and students to provide training stints in GIS.

Partnerships have been formed with researchers at the NASA/Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the USDA Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF). The Unit has recently joined ESRI's My Community, Our Earth: Geographic Learning for Sustainable Development initiative (MyCOE). Iwokrama continues to work towards the establishment of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), as part of a Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI).

Iwokrama has also supported activities of the Guyana Zoo and the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society and has received grant support from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ERSI) and a partial grant from ERDAS Inc.