Zambezi Wetlands Information Management System (ZWIMS)

t4cd is working with IUCN-ROSA to help provide a geographic information system (GIS) to support natural resources conservation and livelihoods enhancement in The Zambezi Delta.  t4cd is helping to develop a user friendly interface for a GIS database, which has been developed to host detailed information on the natural resources of the Zambezi wetland ecosystem.  The initiative is called the Zambezi Wetlands Information Management System (ZWIMS).  It will be used to help conservation practitioners, and other stakeholders in the Zambezi area, to use the GIS maps as a tool to communicate the true conservation and livelihood value of the ecosystem, and influence conservation policy and planning.

When used appropriately, GIS maps can offer a powerful visual tool, which can communicate a conservation message with far greater impact than relying solely text.  Maps can be used to engage a range of audiences - from government to corporates, NGOs to local communities.  Even the process of creating GIS maps can help to engage stakeholders with important issues and cultivate the all important "buy-in" or stakeholder support.  See the example of Helveta Limited's "CIEarth", in the current Technology of the Month" where the Mbendjele pygmies of Congo Brazzaville were empowered with the technology and support to collect the own data on natural resource use in their community area.