A map showing connectivity between forest patches in Azuero On Saturday afternoon, the 21st of January, Guillermo Duran, AEP GIS Administrator gave a presentation entitled “Knowing Azuero through Maps” as part of the AEP monthly lecture series. The lecture demonstrated what the AEP Mapping Initiative has accomplished in the past year and discussed the kinds of in-depth information that has been gathered about many aspects of peninsular life and its ecosystem. The event was attended by a mix of young people, local Pedasi residents, farmers, scientists, and friends of the Azuero Earth Project who came to learn about the program and get a glimpse of its GIS database of conservation priorities. This comprehensive, digital database paints a vivid picture of how land is being used across the peninsula and contains a total of 143 layers of information including climate, infrastructure, natural geography, social information, environmental risks, such as garbage disposal, and species sightings. In the presentation, Guillermo showed how the database can be used to visualize details such as forest regeneration over specific time periods. “The benefit of these lectures is that we can let the community know what we are doing and what tools we have available. The challenge is presenting the information for a wide-ranging audience to find the balance between explaining basic concepts and the more technical aspects,” said Guillermo following the event. He explained what sources were used to create the database and what kinds of maps the database can generate. The audience was eager to ask questions about the availability of the data as well as about the satellite and aerial imagery which the program utilizes. Local producers and researchers were particularly interested in learning about the program and how GIS can be used a tool for conversation, research, and many other relevant purposes. AEP recently produced a Regional Map of Azuero, which is now available for purchase in the area and demonstrates just some of what the GIS program can do. To view the complete presentation from this event, click here.
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