Using the Resources of the Galápagos Islands in a better way!
Over the past decades, the Galápagos Islands have been facing a considerable increase of human activities (tourism, population growth, migration, and exploitation of natural resources such as seafood and agriculture, etc.). These have resulted into an increased pressure on the living space of the islands. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new concepts of collaboration between public institutions, the private sector and most importantly, the population in order to address the challenges of the development and conservation of the Galápagos. The information management and geo-referenced data used in a modern cadastral system, recent maps of land usage, technologies for monitoring of species, the management of natural resources of the energy sector, and the provision of public services have been identified as crucial elements for the authorities and local communities.
In February 2014 an international expert group of Geo-information technology together with representatives of authorities, local and regional initiatives, professors of the San Francisco University of Quito (USFQ) and citizens worked on the design of a system for organizing geo-referenced information and for sharing it with institutions, initiatives and the population of the Galápagos. The group promotes the proper use of the information for further processes like planning, monitoring, resource and tourism management, cultural purposes and education. The Geocitizen platform will be an important tool in this system permitting the community to incorporate own data and observations into the system and discuss and monitor implemented projects via public entities, NGOs and the communities.
For more information please visit: http://geogalapagos.blogspot.com