| Peer-Reviewed

Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

Received: 26 January 2022    Accepted: 16 February 2022    Published: 25 February 2022
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

In Tanzania there is rapid adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the forest sector and other allied sciences. Many of the uses of ICT in the forest sector are relatively new or still on the horizon and majority are not documented. Despite that, studies on the application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector of Tanzania are still limited to up to date. This study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality to document the current application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector. Data on awareness, type of professional experts with ICTs based, ICTs application domain in forest, infrastructures, software used and outputs were collected from different forest institutions located in Morogoro Municipality using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics of the parameters were done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and R statistical package. The results have shown that, there is a promising trend towards applications of ICT in the forest sector, where about 75% of the respondents were aware of the ICT applications, while 25% were not. There were eight types of professionals in the forest sector with background in ICT’s based technology with higher application on data storage and analysis, documentation and forest inventory. The main challenges observed were related to the availability of infrastructures, internet connectivity and qualified personnel.

Published in International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (Volume 7, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14
Page(s) 22-28
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Information, Communication, Technologies, Forestry

References
[1] Ahrends, A., Bulling, M. T., Platts, P. J., Swetnam, R., Ryan, C., Doggart, N., Hollingsworth, P. M., Marchant, R., Balmford, A., & Harris, D. J., (2021). Detecting and predicting forest degradation: A comparison of ground surveys and remote sensing in Tanzanian forests. Plants People Planet 3, 268–281.
[2] Avgerou, C., Hayes, N., & La Rovere, R. L. (2016). Growth in ICT uptake in developing countries: new users, new uses, new challenges. In: Springer.
[3] Barrett, M., Sahay, S., & Walsham, G. (2001). Information technology and social transformation: GIS for forestry management in India. The Information Society, 17 (1), 5-20.
[4] Byrne, E., Nicholson, B., & Salem, F. (2011). Information communication technologies and the millennium development goals. Information Technology for Development, 17 (1), 1-3.
[5] Fagas, G., Gallagher, J. P., Gammaitoni, L., Paul, D. J., (2017). Energy challenges for ICT, in: ICT-Energy Concepts for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability. IntechOpen.
[6] Franklin, S. E. 2001. Remote sensing for sustainable forest management CRC Press LLC. Boca Raton Fla.
[7] Goetz, S., & Dubayah, R., (2011). Advances in remote sensing technology and implications for measuring and monitoring forest carbon stocks and change. Carbon Management., 2. doi: 10.4155/cmt.11.18.
[8] Grigolato, S., Mologni, O., & Cavalli, R. (2017). GIS applications in forest operations and road network planning: An overview over the last two decades. Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering: Journal for Theory and Application of Forestry Engineering, 38 (2), 175-186.
[9] Hetemäki, L., Nyrud, A., & Boston, K. (2005). ICT and the Forest sector: the history and the present. Information technology and the forest sector/Ed. Hetemäki, L. & Nilsson, S.
[10] Käyhkö, N., William, C., Mayunga, J., Makame, M., Mauya, E., & Järvi, A. (2018). Building geospatial competences in tanzanian universities with open-source solutions. International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing & Spatial Information Sciences, 42.
[11] Lubua, E., & Maharaj, M. (2012). ICT Policy and E-transparency in Tanzania. IST-Africa. Dar Es Salaam: IIMC International Information Management Corporation.
[12] Lwoga, E. T., Sife, A., Busagala, L., & Chilimo, W. (2016). The role of universities in creating ICT awareness, literacy and expertise: Experiences from Tanzanian public universities.
[13] Mahuve, T. G., (2013). Estimation of forest aboveground biomass using remote sensing and GIS: A case of a REDD pilot project in Lindi Tanzania. Ardhi University.
[14] Mganga, N. D., & Lyaruu, H. V. (2015). Applicability of Satellite Remote Sensing in Accounting Above-Ground Carbon in Miombo Woodlands.
[15] Mitchell, A. L., Rosenqvist, A., Mora, B., (2017). Current remote sensing approaches to monitoring forest degradation in support of countries measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems for REDD+. Carbon Balance Manag. 12, 1–22.
[16] Nzunda, N. G., Munishi, P. K., Kashaigil, J. J., Soka, G. E., & Monjare, J. F. (2013). Land use and vegetation cover dynamics in and around Kagoma Forest Reserve in Tanzania.
[17] Sæbø, Ø. (2012). E-government in Tanzania: current status and future challenges. Paper presented at the International Conference on Electronic Government.
[18] Siwa. N, Amani. U, & Chelestino. B. (2017). Overview of the application of Geographical Information System (GIS) in forest management: A case study of Tanzania. TAFORI newspaper 8, (2), 21-30.
[19] Soka, G., & Nzunda, N. (2014). Application of remote sensing and developed allometric models for estimating wood carbon stocks in a North-Western Miombo Woodland landscape of Tanzania. Journal of Ecosystems, 2014.
[20] Sonti, S. H. (2015). Application of geographic information system (GIS) in forest management. Journal of Geography & Natural Disasters, 5 (3), 1000145.
[21] Steiniger, S., Hunter, A. J., (2013). The 2012 free and Open-source GIS software map–A guide to facilitate research, development, and adoption. Comput. Environ. Urban Syst. 39, 136–150.
[22] Sheya, M., & Koda, G. (1987). The State of Informatics in Tanzania: Policy Issues and Strategies. Contribution of Informatics to Economic Development, UN Economic Commission.
[23] Wang, Y., Bonynge, G., Nugranad, J., Traber, M., Ngusaru, A., Tobey, J., Hale, L., Bowen, R., Makota, V. (2003). Remote sensing of mangrove changes along the Tanzania coast. Mar. Geod. 26, 35–48.
[24] Weilin, L., Buo, X., & Yu, L. (2000). Applications of RS, GPS and GIS to Forest Management in China. Journal of forestry research, 11 (1), 69-71.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mchelu Hadija Ahmad, Mauya Ernest William, Lolila Nandera Juma, Madundo Sami Dawood. (2022). Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 7(1), 22-28. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Mchelu Hadija Ahmad; Mauya Ernest William; Lolila Nandera Juma; Madundo Sami Dawood. Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. Int. J. Nat. Resour. Ecol. Manag. 2022, 7(1), 22-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Mchelu Hadija Ahmad, Mauya Ernest William, Lolila Nandera Juma, Madundo Sami Dawood. Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania. Int J Nat Resour Ecol Manag. 2022;7(1):22-28. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14,
      author = {Mchelu Hadija Ahmad and Mauya Ernest William and Lolila Nandera Juma and Madundo Sami Dawood},
      title = {Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania},
      journal = {International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management},
      volume = {7},
      number = {1},
      pages = {22-28},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnrem.20220701.14},
      abstract = {In Tanzania there is rapid adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the forest sector and other allied sciences. Many of the uses of ICT in the forest sector are relatively new or still on the horizon and majority are not documented. Despite that, studies on the application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector of Tanzania are still limited to up to date. This study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality to document the current application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector. Data on awareness, type of professional experts with ICTs based, ICTs application domain in forest, infrastructures, software used and outputs were collected from different forest institutions located in Morogoro Municipality using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics of the parameters were done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and R statistical package. The results have shown that, there is a promising trend towards applications of ICT in the forest sector, where about 75% of the respondents were aware of the ICT applications, while 25% were not. There were eight types of professionals in the forest sector with background in ICT’s based technology with higher application on data storage and analysis, documentation and forest inventory. The main challenges observed were related to the availability of infrastructures, internet connectivity and qualified personnel.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Applications and Challenges of Information and Communication Technology in the Forest Sector: A Case Study of Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania
    AU  - Mchelu Hadija Ahmad
    AU  - Mauya Ernest William
    AU  - Lolila Nandera Juma
    AU  - Madundo Sami Dawood
    Y1  - 2022/02/25
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14
    T2  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JF  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    JO  - International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
    SP  - 22
    EP  - 28
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-3061
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20220701.14
    AB  - In Tanzania there is rapid adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the forest sector and other allied sciences. Many of the uses of ICT in the forest sector are relatively new or still on the horizon and majority are not documented. Despite that, studies on the application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector of Tanzania are still limited to up to date. This study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality to document the current application and challenges of ICT in the forest sector. Data on awareness, type of professional experts with ICTs based, ICTs application domain in forest, infrastructures, software used and outputs were collected from different forest institutions located in Morogoro Municipality using structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics of the parameters were done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and R statistical package. The results have shown that, there is a promising trend towards applications of ICT in the forest sector, where about 75% of the respondents were aware of the ICT applications, while 25% were not. There were eight types of professionals in the forest sector with background in ICT’s based technology with higher application on data storage and analysis, documentation and forest inventory. The main challenges observed were related to the availability of infrastructures, internet connectivity and qualified personnel.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Department of Forest Engineering and Wood Sciences, Morogoro, Tanzania

  • Sections