High Atlas Foundation staff monitor trees with local communities.
High Atlas Foundation
GIS-Based Monitoring
The HAF Tree Monitoring team collecting data in Bouchane, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
The HAF Tree Monitoring team collecting data in Bouchane, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
The HAF Tree Monitoring team providing technical support to a local cooperative Bouchane, Morocco.
High Atlas Foundation
The systematic monitoring of planted trees that is conducted by HAF and the gathering and registering of data of trees planted, including GPS locations, height, diameter, survival rates, and social benefits. The integrated tree monitoring system, called AKVO, was developed by Ecosia, a German organization which plants trees using revenue generated from their search engine. Trained in the use of this application, the monitoring team disperses throughout the regions, visiting the farmers and monitoring the trees that were planted during the previous planting season. Stored in a shared database, the information collected by the team in collaboration with local nursery caretakers will enhance informed decision-making at all levels of governance and across sectors by filling gaps in knowledge and precedence regarding practical application of resource management.
GIS-based monitoring is enabled primarily through community partnerships. Local residents are able to support the monitoring staff and the massive effort that goes into to the monitoring and data collection process. Without an extensive network across the country, it would not be possible to implement this system.
As a result of its monitoring actvities, HAF has developed an extensive database on tree survival, growth, and product yield from its fruit tree nurseries across several life zones that, combined with published studies, can develop trends in agriculture products and carbon sequestration by life zone as a function of climate conditions. Additional field work such as analyses of soil samples, measuring growth and precipitation, and doing so in all biozones, is vital in order to develop a database that covers all Morocco toward national impact. In addition, the procedures for analyses and guidelines for determinations in relation to planting, water consumption, impacts on food security, and measured advantages from renewable energy must be specialized.