Pham Van Cu (VTGEO), Bart Dominicus (ADB 2852),
Bui Duc Viet (VTGEO) and Nguyen Thi Thuy (Project Dep.Dir.).
The training sessions for the people from the Forest Inventory and Planning Company (FIPC) in Quang Ninh Province have been organized in the framework of an FAO Project. Objectives of this training were:
The training program was tailored to address the needs of the FIPC, i.e., based on an evaluation of skill levels before training compared with skills required to perform the project tasks assigned to the Company. The training was furthermore designed with an eye to building capacities in GIS/GPS and image interpretation not only in forest inventory, but in land use mapping and land allocation practice over the longer term.
This paper presents the experiences drawn from this six-month training course, focusing on the training program setting, implementation, operational data exploitation for training and, especially, with the Project Manager/Trainer/Trainee interfacing throughout these activities. This paper also deals with the problem of how to maintain and valorize the results reached in the future, particularly in circumstances which continue to pose several challenges, e.g., heterogeneity of GIS data (relative to their geometry and thematic quality), and access to data. We will furthermore analyze the awareness of the local community about the role technology plays in the decision making process with respect to the forestry sector with a focus on human resource training.
One of the tasks of the FAO Land Use Planning and Land Allocation Sub-project in Quang Ninh is to build up the capacities of the local staff (FIPC) in using GIS and Remote Sensing as a new tool for their forest inventory and planning exercises.
The Centre for Remote Sensing and Geomatics (VTGEO) of the National Centre for Natural Sciences and Technology of Vietnam (NCST) was selected to implement project training.
The objective of this sub-project is to establish a series of thematic maps and to use this task simultaneously as an on-the-job training exercise designed to build a local GIS team within the FIPC. Using Quang Ninh as the test case, the training was conducted to insure that FIPC staff could independently conduct similar land use planning and land allocation exercises in other target areas in the future.
Four communes in the sub-project area in Hoanh Bo District were chosen as the study area. For these communes, real GIS data and air-photos were used for the training.
FIPC staff trainees represented three different levels: operator, forest engineer and enterprise manager. Two representatives from the provincial project manager unit (PPMU) were involved for the introductory module of the training program.
The VTGEO training team consisted of seven trainers: six junior and one senior (supervisor). Two GIS and Desktop Mapping software were used (ILWIS and MapInfo) both for conducting training and for compiling the Land Use Planning and Land Allocation Map. The training approach, as agreed on by the Project’s Chief Technical Advisor, PPMU, FIPC and VTGEO, featured a hands-on approach with curricula adapted to the specific needs and skill levels of the target trainees. A CKD PC (Completely Knocked Down PC) was used to familiarize participants with a computer’s physical structure.
In our concept, the applicability of RS/GIS/GPS depends on the size of the intersection
between ‘User Needs’, ‘Technology Potential’ and ‘Training Program.’ The user must always be taken as much into account as the technology in developing the right concept. In the concrete circumstance of Quang Ninh, limitations were identified as shown in figure 1. This amplification is based on a contextually developed pedagogic methodology including its basic concept, criteria for training curricula and pedagogic materials.
Fig. 1: Intersection of the three key factors influencing the applicability of RS/GIS/GPS
Our method was developed using the following concepts:
Due to the results of the exploratory exchanges conducted between PPMU, CTA, VTGEO and particularly FIPC, VTGEO has built up a four part Program:
This program is to be implemented over a period of six months.
Once again, training success depends heavily on the quality of interfacing among the trainee interest, training program and organizational work as illustrated in Figure 2.
Fig. 2: Interrelations among the factors influencing training success.
In those circumstances where the client is sufficiently aware of how RS/GIS/GPS technologies can contribute to project tasks, training implementation is well-positioned to successfully train and produce final maps.
The Training Program may be the most important element of training. This program should be based first on a needs assessment and classification of trainees.
Maintaining the obtained results is primarily the responsibility of decision makers who must not only manage in a traditional top-down way, but solicit input from the trainee community.