Hanoi (VNA) – A national workshop washeld in Hanoi on March 16 to expand a monitoring system for forest resources byusing tablets and Android apps.
This method is more cost-effective, time-saving,and easily used than the traditional one, said deputy head of the VietnamAdministration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nguyen Quoc Tri.
It has been carried out in 40 out of the 60cities and provinces, and is scheduled to be applied across the country uponits completion by the end of March 2017, he added.
Rangers could detect deforestation activities,forest fires, and encroachment of forest land by using supporting equipment,including tablets.
Suzuki Kei, a consultant of the JapanInternational Cooperation Agency (JICA)’s Project for Sustainable NaturalResource Management (SNRM), said the tablet-used system could measure exactlythe area of forest variability with the Global Positioning System (GPS)function, collect field evidence and minimize data losses and errors. TheForest Resource Monitoring System (FRMS) mobile software allows users totransfer the data such as satellite photos and maps into the tablets for usage.
A Record ofDiscussions on SNRM was signed in Hanoi in 2015 by the JICA, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironment, and the five provincial People’s Committees of Dien Bien, LaiChau, Son La, Hoa Binh, and Lam Dong.
It aims to develop, manage, and protect forestsin a sustainable manner, thus reducing poverty, improving local livelihoods,and protecting the environment. -VNA