Lawin Forest and Biodiversity Protection System
Lawin combines and adapts a series of open-source software introducing technology into the entire forest conservation continuum. Lawin practitioners use Quantum GIS to analyze forest cover change over time and formulating conservation objectives and targets. CyberTracker, loaded in smartphones, is used by trained rangers to digitally record observations about forest condition, key indicator species, and observed threats to forests. Lawin data managers use the SMART software on their computers for data analysis, mapping and reporting at the local level and provide the basis for data-driven decision making. Seamless aggregation and visualization of patrol data across forest conservation areas is done through SMART Connect, a web platform available at local, regional and national levels. SMART Connect uses the power of cloud-computing and reduces dependency on physical server hardware.
Lawin is poised to achieve significant national level impact in the Philippines. To date, more than 3 million hectares of forests already have been placed under improved management, with a total of 6.8 million hectares expected by December 2017. Forest rangers have logged more than 45,000km of patrol distance with 300,000+ recorded observations. Decision makers at the local, regional and national level are using Lawin reports and data visualization to adaptively manage forests, take action on identified threats, focus forest protection activities on priority areas, and easily communicate conservation efforts to the public. Since March 2016, $24 million in public funds plus $1.2 million in private funds have been leveraged under Lawin. More than 3,000 trained managers, field staff and forest rangers are actively using the Lawin protection system on a day-to-day basis. DENR has adopted Lawin as the country’s forest protection system, fostering sustainability.
Quick upscale of Lawin and rapid increase in data processing needs caused initial crashes of SMART Connect. Upgrading cloud server power and drastic increase of storage solved the issue. Lawin data include geo-referenced images taken during the thousands of patrols. This resulted in large data transmission needs via often poor internet connections, which caused submission issues to the SMART Connect server. An additional plug-in now automatically compresses images allowing for better submission.
The Lawin system is easily replicable and adaptable to other countries’ contexts. The system uses freely available open source software. Its internal multi-layer structure – local, regional, national; and its flexible data model can be easily customized. Lawin can be piloted and scaled rapidly, providing decision-makers with results within 1 to 2 years. The approach to Lawin implementation is being captured in a Lawin Manual that can be used to guide its implementation in other contexts.
