Building National Forest and Land-Use Information Systems:

Securing the support from the highest levels of the government is instrumental in encouraging ministries to work together to resolve conflicting land use policies and initiating the development of a national FLUIS.

To account for all drivers of forest and land-use change, one of the first steps in developing a FLUIS is to undergo an institutional mapping exercise, where all relevant agencies affecting forests and land use are identified. These agencies, including those not directly governing the forest sector, should be included in the design and implementation of the system to help foster willingness to share data.

Beyond the initial development and availability of external support, a FLUIS requires continued main¬tenance and updating. Due to the common cycle of staff turnover and the resulting loss of institutional memory, funding for staff training is necessary. Alloca¬tion of funds in the national and sub-national budgets is necessary for maintaining a staff dedicated to the FLUIS after external funding ends.

In addition to funding for staff training and retention, there are other budget requirements for sustaining a FLUIS, such as equipment maintenance and data stor¬age infrastructure. Availability of this funding would be more stable if incorporated into a policy framework that establishes support for improved data integration and management.

To integrate data from sub-national governments in a national FLUIS, more capacity building and trainings on a set of standards for forest and land-use data col¬lection are needed and regional governments should be included in the planning process and implementa¬tion of the system.