IFMIS, Iranian Forest Management Information System

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Assistant Prof., Department of Forestry, Faculty of agriculture and natural resources, University of Ilam

2 Prof. Head, Department of Forest Biometry, University of Freiburg

3 Assistant Prof., Head, department of Information Technology Centre, the state institute for environment (LUBW) in Baden-Württemberg

Abstract

     Amount and diversity of activities which carried out by the Forest, Range and Watershed Organization (FRWO) in Iran resulted in production and reproduction of huge volume of data from which only a computerized system should extract useful information for management and monitoring purposes of the organization or the general offices. The major weaknesses of the existing paper-based systems of collecting, storing and delivering or dissemination of information in forestry sector of Iran are its inefficiency in retrieval and searching of data and information, inflexible in analysis and processing of the available data and information, difficulty in data and information flow among different levels of the organization that can be pointed out. Therefore, it is felt that there is an urgent need for the forestry sector in Iran to organize its huge mass of information and dissemination activities under a unifying umbrella and work out mechanisms of information exchange and information generation. The information collection and utilization in the forestry sector will fail to support any specific planning and management objectives until the system is not revised. The present research was intended to introduce a computer – based management information system for the provincial General Natural Resource Office (GNRO) of Noo-shahr in particular and the FRWO of Iran in general. Also the possibilities to install such an IFMIS in FRWO were tested using a pilot case-study. After evaluation of information requirements of the organization and its users using document analysis and questioning (interview and questionnaire), the results were used to design a model of forest management information system and database for the General Natural Resource Office of Noo-shahr.
 

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