GeoTree: A participatory digital tool for forest landscape restoration in the tropics

dc.creatorEitzinger, Anton
dc.creatorFeil, Christian
dc.creatorEkue, Marius
dc.creatorOduor, Francis
dc.creatorKettle, Christopher
dc.date2023-09
dc.date2024-05-07T04:27:14Z
dc.date2024-05-07T04:27:14Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T13:33:00Z
dc.descriptionForest landscape restoration (FLR) in the tropics is often undertaken by smallholders and communities whose livelihoods rely on agriculture and forestry. While digital technologies can improve efficiency in FLR efforts, socio-technical barriers often impede the participation of these key actors in the restoration process. The main barriers are lack of technical infrastructure, access to digital tools and services, lack of ease of use for non-tech-savvy farmers, and lack of design targeted for low-literate and marginal groups. Moreover, precisely because of the transformative momentum of digitalization, there is a risk for smallholders to enter the digital divide and power asymmetry gap. The platform has been piloted in Kenya and Cameroon and tracks and monitors activities along the entire restoration chain, from seed collection to on-farm tree planting and monitoring of management activities and payouts to farmers. GeoTree offers participatory functionalities, including interactive forms, polls, geospatial features and maps, and community-driven data collection, which can be integrated into community channels. While other digital tools focus on monitoring tree planting for the purpose of carbon offsetting, GeoTree addresses the digital barriers facing smallholders and communities and enables them to participate fully in FLR efforts. GeoTree leverages blockchain technology to provide an integrated planting management process. The system allows gathering ground-level data with offline encryption and supporting low-internet environments and tracing the restoration process to provide transparency, facilitate real-time monitoring, evaluation, and verification, and support mobilization of sponsors.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/141751
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/62893
dc.languageen
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceEitzinger, A.; Feil, C.; Ekue, M.; Oduor, F.; Kettle, C. (2023) GeoTree: A participatory digital tool for forest landscape restoration in the tropics. Conference on International Research on Food Security, Natural Resource Management and Rural Development held on 20-22 September 2023. 4 p.
dc.subjectconservation agriculture
dc.subjecttrees
dc.subjectrestoration
dc.subjectlandscape
dc.subjectgeotree
dc.titleGeoTree: A participatory digital tool for forest landscape restoration in the tropics
dc.typeConference Paper

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