Developing Conservation Data Sharing Tools for the Island of Maui, Hawai‘i

Samuel N.R. Aruch

MGIS- Capstone

• Background

• Partner relationships and needs

• Objectives

• Current Infrastructure

• Implementation and timeline

• Products and examples

• Challenges

• Measures of success

Background

Terrestrial conservation implementation in Hawai'i

• Challenges

• Logistics

• Costs

Partner Relationships

The Nature ConservancyMaui Program

West Maui Mountains Watershed Partnership

East Maui Watershed Partnership

Maui Invasive Species Committee

Logistics LogisticsGoals

Partner Relationships

Needs – Shared logistics in remote and rugged areas

Needs - Track fence work and measure goals

Needs - Track fence work and measure goals

Needs- Share weed control data and measure goals

oolProject objective:

Design an enterprise level data sharing structure for conservation partners on the island of Maui.

Perform a case study with two examples of shared data sets

• Track fence work and measure goals

• Share weed control data and measure goals

Current Infrastructure

• Local “real time” data: MS Access & ArcGIS Desktop

• Voluntary collaborative work on fence and weed standards

• Variable technical capacity

Current infrastructure - “Real time” Management Data

Current infrastructure - “Real time” Management Data

Current infrastructure - “Real time” Management Data

• Fence Name

• Fence Section

• Status (complete, partial, proposed, unmaintained, removed)

• Source (hand-drawn, GPS)

• Agency Built (TNC, EMWP, NPS, etc…)

• Agency Managed (TNC, EMWP, NPS, etc…)

• Purpose (pig, deer, dirt bike, cattle, etc…)

• Material (hogwire, mesh, barb, hog panels, etc…)

• Apron (yes, no, partial)

• Height ( # in feet)

• Length (from GIS)

• Last Check (from database)

• Condition (from database)

Collaborative Standards- Fences

Implementation – Data sharing 3 different scenarios

Program –Local user interface and data tables

Program - Local user interface only

Program –Local user interface and data tables

Aggregated/ filtered data

Shared Data Server

Check in/ Out

Hosted

Aggregated/ Filtered Export

Implementation – Timeline

July – August 2011

Plan – meetings

with partners and

collaborators

September - October

2011Implement-Build tools and scripts

Develop products

November 2011Assessment

Long term goals

Web portals Mobile toolsPermanent support and

hosting

Phase 1 – Sharing structure Future Phases

Implementation – Hardware and software

• Explore existing infrastructure and what works with collaborators

• Open source vs. proprietary

• Off the shelf vs. roll your own

• MS SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, PHP, Python etc.

Products and Benefits

• Visualizations for managers, administrators, and partners

• Status of resources and management

• Enhanced collaboration

• Accountability

• Continuity in perpetuity

Examples - Fenced Unit Management Status

* Sample data may not be current or accurate

Examples – Analysis by watershed

Challenges• Building momentum, collaboration, and relationships•Work from the bottom up and top down•Data compatibility and quality•Information security and trust•Don’t reinvent the wheel•Scalability•Usability•Costs•Time

Measures of Success

• Data shared by 2 or more projects

• Products are used by 1 or more administrators

• Products are adopted by 1 or more new agencies

Summary• Ecosystem threats• Conservation Partnerships and shared logistics• Objective- Design an enterprise level data sharing structure• Perform a case study with two examples of shared data sets• Aggregate and share data using different scenarios• Measure success by use

Through information collaboration we are empowered to look across entire conservation landscapes with the ability to make the best possible decisions when protecting our natural resources for

future generations.

Questions?

Sam Aruchsamaruch@gmail.com