Kimetrica International Limited
The survival of natural resources is dependent on a delicate and at times incompletely understood balance of many factors. These factors are affected by the need to tap on the economic benefits of the natural resource, to conserve the resource or control ownership, among others. This is complicated by the existence of a varied group of stakeholders, with diverse interests. A lack of knowledge about stakeholders' interests and activities often leads to misunderstanding, duplication of efforts and wastage of scarce resources.
This paper documents a new initiative to use Web-based technologies to facilitate networking and knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders (local communities, practitioners, researchers and policy advisors) in the drylands of Botswana, Kenya and Mali. Network members will share information on community-based indigenous knowledge, findings of scientific research, remote sensing, and past and present experiences in managing resources in the drylands. The tools are developed using open source software, and include mapping tools, discussion forums, syndication feeds, online library etc. The tools were selected based on findings of a survey and workshops held in each of the three countries. The paper also highlights the benefits and opportunities in using Web 2.0 technologies in natural resource management in Africa. Issues of technical, cultural and managerial challenges to host the network and support the technologies have also been explored.
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