Philippine E-Journals

Developing a GIS for Rural Villages in the Philippines

Alejandro F. Tongco

Discipline: Information Technology

 

Abstract:

This paper is an introduction to applying geographic information systems (GIS) technology specifically to rural villages in the Philippines. GIS is a relatively new and valuable tool in decision making that is useful in managing organizations and applicable in a wide range of disciplines including agriculture, public health, natural resource management, and local governance. Rural village governance, although well-established, has been largely untouched by GIS technology. This paper lays out steps to develop a GIS that is uniquely village-based and home-grown. The ultimate goal is to empower villagers to set the direction and implementation of their own village’s development efforts. The steps discuss how to build an inexpensive GIS for rural villages with the help of a GIS expert-coach. Village participation, interest of GIS technician-trainees, and village financial capability are some important considerations in village GIS capability building. A simple GIS for an actual village is also hypothetically illustrated.