Digitalizing the Conduct of BAMS and SEAMS in Protected Areas

The Biodiversity Assessment and Monitoring System (BAMS) and Socio-Economic Assessment and Monitoring System (SEAMS) are among the priority activities in all legislated and proclaimed areas in the Philippines. BAMS serves as a tool for scientific assessment of the current status of biodiversity, habitat quality and certain ecosystem services. Further, it is utilized to establish a baseline for long-term monitoring and management, determining trends in ecosystem and species abundance and diversity, as well as identifying threats and stressors. On the other hand, SEAMS is a tool for conducting a comprehensive assessment of the socio-economic conditions of communities within and adjacent to protected areas. The results of BAMS, together with the results of SEAMS, serve as inputs to Protected Area Management Planning and the formulation of management interventions.
 
Under a previously completed foreign-assisted project, the LAWIN Forest and Biodiversity Protection System (The Cyber Tracker) is a free data capture software installed on smartphones and tablets that is used worldwide to record environmental observations. With the enhancements made by B+WISER, the Cyber Tracker app for LAWIN enables the capture of habitat and wildlife photos, the recording of wildlife sounds and threats, and detailed descriptions by patrollers. Taking off from the success of LAWIN, the SIBOL Project is now working with the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) to upgrade the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) data collection and management software used by LAWIN to SMART 7.0; and conduct testing of both SMART 7.0 and EarthRanger in selected sites: Zambales, Palawan and Surigao del Norte. FMB, Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), and the regions are jointly selecting the most appropriate data capture and visualization tool to enhance LAWIN, BAMS, and SEAMS, streamlining data capture and response mechanisms at the site, subnational and national levels.
 
Additionally, SIBOL is collaborating with FMB and BMB to enhance modules (e.g., BAMS) to retrofit the changes in the integration of BAMS and SEAMS and migration to a single platform, the EarthRanger dashboard for DENR. SIBOL is assisting in the development of standard operating procedures for the implementation of improved monitoring systems and the national rollout of EarthRanger by BMB, and SMART 7.0 for FMB.