The Cambodia Conservation Area Land Management Project is an example of conservation and ecological awareness coming together. “The project works toward the conservation of the key components of the biodiversity of Cambodia’s Northern Plains landscape by enhancing national and local capacities to conserve more than 500,000 hectares of dry and evergreen forest and wetlands. It aims to support integrated conservation and development planning at the landscape level and to establish appropriate community land tenure and resource-use rights. It also aims to encourage community engagement in natural resource management and to strengthen capacity for biodiversity management.” The results for this project speak to it’s success.
Significant efforts are also being placed upon Central Asian and the Caucasus regions. The Ecoregional Program: Collaborative Research Program for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus Project is similarly devoted to helping to augment land management issues. In this case it has been noted that there is a lag in scientific information reaching the field in many countries. The impact of this is lack of development and inability to extend agricultural and conservation systems that help people to benefit from natural resources.
As we begin to understand the value of natural resources and their contribution toward the health and welfare of people, then our capacity to grow, develop and assist people to help themselves will also grow. Part of this pursuit will include the use and application of geomatics tools for land management purposes, other aspects will include the use of tools for monitoring cities and landscapes in higher frequency and greater resolution. In all cases the integration of this information and placing into the decision-making hands of the people involved will become a major step forward.
