2016 ICT4D Conference

East Africa parks and conservation areas are under increasing threats that affect both short-term and long-term management goals. These threats include climate change, resource extraction, poaching and socio-economic pressures. There exists a critical need to grow the capacity of geospatial technologies for park and conservation area management in East Africa. These technologies can improve information and data gathering, generation, analysis and sharing that will translate into improved management strategies and on the ground implementation. Clemson University Parks, Recreation and Tourism management researchers over the past two years have built partnerships with conservation and government agencies in Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda to address these threats through improved management capacities founded in-part on the implementation of proposed geospatial technologies. These efforts are cross-cutting including 1) GIS training; 2) mobile app development to enhance the tourism experience and improve visitor management; 3) geospatial infrastructure to improve stakeholder engagement; 4) assisting with grant writing and identifying funding opportunities; and 5) development of strategic GIS plans. This presentation will focus on these efforts and provide an opportunity to discuss limitations and success of this engagement and partnership model.