UNDP and NFA to Electronically monitor and conduct surveillance against illegal deforestation activities in Uganda.

NARIS is a collaborative, real-time, data mapping system that is now being implemented to monitor changes in forest cover, track the impact of initiatives relating to deforestation, and provide a data source for future initiatives.

UNDP and NFA to Electronically monitor and conduct surveillance against illegal deforestation activities in Uganda.

UNDP and NFA to Electronically monitor and conduct surveillance against illegal deforestation activities throughout Uganda.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Forest Authority (NFA) have launched the Uganda Natural Resource Information System (NARIS) designed to monitor and mediate deforestation throughout Uganda and protect the country’s forests and biodiversity.

NARIS is a collaborative, real-time, data mapping system that is now being implemented to monitor changes in forest cover, track the impact of initiatives relating to deforestation, and provide a data source for future initiatives.

The system can  serve to forecast future trends in forest cover, generate support for prevention and mitigation of deforestation, and provide credible data to influence decision-making on resource mobilization and allocation relating to deforestation in Uganda. 

Flanked by the minister of water and environment Hon. Beatrice Anywar,UNDP resident representative Elsie Attafuah says the system is accessible to government bodies, the private sector and other key stakeholders in the forestry and environmental sectors.

NARIS can be used both online and offline and consists of desktop and mobile applications for use in office and field locations.

The system incorporates a web user interface incorporating a geographic information system (GIS) with a land cover map of Uganda as a baseline; a mobile application to assist with field monitoring and validating information gathered from satellite imagery; the capability to track changes in forest cover over time and validate field actions through the mobile interface; and the capability to be used both online and offline, with data syncing once the user has returned online.