Volunteer provides GIS technical assistance to South African organization

Volunteer: Emily Mills

The Protected Area Management (PAM) initiative is a partnership between the National Geographic Society, Esri, and GISCorps. This initiative seeks to facilitate and support the effective use of Esri’s ArcGIS Solutions for Conservation, which has been made available at no cost to protected areas throughout Africa through a partnership between Esri and the National Geographic Society. ArcGIS Solutions for Conservation provides protected area managers with a secure suite of configurable technology for better managing and protecting parks and sensitive conservation areas.

Established in 1993, Selati Game Reserve (SGR) is a nearly 28,000-hectare private conservation area situated in Limpopo Province, South Africa, near the western boundary of Kruger National Park. Established in 1993, it was founded by a collective of landowners with a shared vision to restore and preserve the region’s rich biodiversity. The reserve is renowned for its diverse habitats, including savannah grasslands and indigenous flora, and is home to a variety of wildlife, including the Big Five and the sable antelope. Selati is also recognized for its commitment to sustainable resource management and conservation efforts.

SGR’s vision and purpose is clear: to create an enduring legacy by conserving and enhancing the biodiversity of the ecosystem through the astute and sustainable management of resources.

SGR has been using ArcGIS Online (AGO) since 2020. They have developed a large number of GIS artifacts in AGO including Survey123, Story Maps, Dashboard, Field Maps, Quick Capture, and more. SGR ingests data from various sources including Google Big Query, Earth Ranger API, and LoRa network. They are interested in working with an experienced GISCorps volunteer that would:

  1. Evaluate their current environment and share AGO best practices; 
  2. Review and assess SGR’s data management practices and data flow and offer recommendations;
  3. Advise on the use of Drone2Map and applications of remote sensing for updating the vegetation coverage (time permitting);
  4. Leave clear and detailed training material behind (written or recorded).  

As a three-month long project, it starts with one or two exploratory virtual meetings, followed by a 7-10 day on-site visit, and then approximately two months of post-visit support.

Emily Mills, a GISCorps volunteer from Washington DC, has been recruited to share her technical expertise with SGR.

Recruitment complete, project in progress.

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