Limbe — Cameroon civil society organisations have expressed the need for a larger dissemination of the geographic information system technology (GIS) in the country.

The call was made in Limbe recently at the close of a six-day training of trainers from 15 civil society organisations under the auspices of the Yaoundé-based office of the Global Forest Watch (GFW). They came from South, Littoral, North West, and South West Provinces. What are the GIS? The Limbe workshop underscored the GIS, expansionist usefulness beyond its geographic base. I

t is, by expert conception, "a software device to locate happenings and patterns in both man-made and natural realms to better understand the world". It becomes glaring that GIS can be invaluable in all fields. It can be used to map out locations of school-age children to reveal where day-care is needed. GIS can map crime incident to help reveal where there is need for increased police patrols. Mapping geologic features and ground temperatures leads geologists to look for minerals, oil, gas and other underground wealth. Mapping park land in a city helps the local government to identify the need for more green space.

The military needs GIS to master the terrain and decide on how and where to deploy troops equipment an expertise. Farmers use GIS to identify fertile areas and choose cropping for high yields. There is no single area of knowledge that does not need the GIS.

As such, GFW that pioneers the propagation of GIS in Cameroon since 2002 has continued its strides mainly in the forested Southern region of Cameroon GFW's early marriage with the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife developed concentration on forest mapping. The GFW coordinator, Lawrence Nsoyani, spoke at the end of the Limbe workshop to encourage the civil society to learn the technology and better up varied spheres of their lives and environments. As an initiative of the World Resources Institute, GFW prefers to deal with groups rather than individuals so as to better vulgarise the GIS technology whose utility is yet belated in our society.