Development of a Regional Forest Management Information ...

Development of a Regional Forest Management Information System

Case study of Noo-shahr, Iran

Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde

der Fakultät für Forst- und Umweltwissenschaften der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität

Freiburg i.Brsg.

Vorgelegt von

Ali Mahdavi

Freiburg im Breisgau 2006

Dekan: Prof. Dr. Heinz Rennenberg

Referent: Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Dieter R. Pelz

Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Gerhard Oesten

Tag der Disputation: 02.02.2007

Table of contents i

Table of contents

Table of contents .........................................................................................................................i List of figures ............................................................................................................................iv List of tables ..............................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................vii

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................1

1.1 The problem..........................................................................................................................1 1.2 Objectives of the study .........................................................................................................2

2. Information and information system in forestry...........................................................4

2.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................4 2.2 Information resource.............................................................................................................4

2.2.1 Subject coverage.................................................................................................4 2.2.2 Resource types....................................................................................................5

2.3 Introduction to information system in forestry.....................................................................5 2.3.1 Benefits resulting from use of the computerized system....................................6 2.3.2 The relation between information system and management system ..................7

2.4 Integrated forest management information system ..............................................................8 2.5 Forestry information system in developing countries ........................................................11

2.5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................11 2.5.2 Some key constraints forest information system in developing countries .......11

3. Forests and forestry information in Iran .....................................................................15

3.1 Introduction on Iran’s forests .............................................................................................15 3.2 History of forest policy in Iran ...........................................................................................16 3.3 The structure of the Forest, Range & Watershed Organization of Iran (FRWOI) .............17

3.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................17 3.3.2 The main long-term goals of FRWOI...............................................................18 3.3.3 Departments of the FRWOI..............................................................................18

3.4 The status of different aspects of forestry information in the Iranian forestry sector ........23 3.4.1 Forest resource inventory .................................................................................23 3.4.2 Forest plantation statistics ................................................................................24 3.4.3 Statistics on forest harvesting and timber products ..........................................25 3.4.4 Revenue collected from the sale of forest products..........................................26 3.4.5 Statistics on timber trade ..................................................................................26 3.4.6 Statistics on forest or timber-based industry ....................................................26 3.4.7 Fire and other incidents ....................................................................................27 3.4.8 Number of families inhabiting the forests ........................................................27 3.4.9 Fire wood production and consumption ...........................................................27 3.4.10 Trees located outside of the forests ................................................................27 3.4.11 Non-timber forest products.............................................................................27 3.4.12 Statistics on forestry organisation and administration....................................28

3.5 Different agencies and organizations involved to collecting of forestry information........28 3.5.1 Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (RIFR)......................................28 3.5.2 Department of the Environment (DoE) ............................................................28 3.5.3 Statistics and Information Organization (SIO).................................................29

Table of contents ii

3.6 Main constraints and key challenges in relation to forestry information and information systems in Iran ..........................................................................................................................29

3.6.1 Increasing demand vs. limited national capacity..............................................29 3.6.2 Lack of funding ................................................................................................30 3.6.3 Fragmentation and duplication of efforts, validation and dissemination problems ....................................................................................................................30 3.6.4 Irrelevant and unutilised information ...............................................................31 3.6.5 Institutional arrangements ................................................................................32

3.7 Information requirements of the FRWOI ...........................................................................32 3.7.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................32 3.7.2 Forestry information users................................................................................33

4. Types of information systems to be considered for the forestry sector .....................36

4.1 The fundamentals of information and information systems...............................................36 4.2 The types of information systems.......................................................................................39

4.2.1 Office automation systems (OAS)....................................................................42 4.2.2 Transaction processing systems (TPS) .............................................................43 4.2.3 Management information system (MIS)...........................................................43 4.2.4 Decision support systems (DSS) ......................................................................45 4.2.5 Executive support systems (ESS) .....................................................................46 4.2.6 Expert systems..................................................................................................46 4.2.7 Knowledge management systems (KMS) ........................................................47 4.2.8 Other information systems ...............................................................................48

4.3 Selecting different information system technologies in the forestry sector .......................48 4.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................48 4.3.2 Existing forestry information system technologies for strategic planning and analysis ......................................................................................................................49 4.3.3 Existing forestry information system technologies for tactical (medium and short term) planning ..................................................................................................50 4.3.4 Existing technologies of forestry information systems for operational management and control............................................................................................52

4.4 Factors influencing information system development within the forestry sector ..............54 4.4.1 System characters and system environment .....................................................54 4.4.2 Aspects of system development .......................................................................58

5. The procedure for the development of a forest management information system...66

5.1 Information requirement analysis.......................................................................................66 5.2 System development processes ..........................................................................................71

5.2.1 Introduction to system development ................................................................71 5.2.2 Methods of system development ......................................................................71

5.3 Database design ..................................................................................................................76 5.3.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................76 5.3.2 Overview of the database design methodology................................................77

5.3.2.1 Conceptual database design..................................................................79 5.3.2.2 Logical database design for the relational model .................................86 5.3.2.3 Physical design of the database system ................................................88 5.3.2.4 Design security mechanisms and organization of data privacy and data security .............................................................................................................93

Table of contents iii

6. The development a model of integrated forest management information system in Iran …………………………………………………………………………………………..95

6.1 General conditions of natural and human resources in the GNRO of Mazandaran province (Noo –shahr) .............................................................................................................................95 6.2 Problem definition and objectives ......................................................................................96 6.3 Procedures used for information requirement analysis and the results ............................101

6.3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................101 6.3.2 Results of the interviews, questionnaires and document analysis ..................103 6.3.3 Current status of information technology.......................................................106 6.3.4 Analysis of the current information flow of the forestry sector in Iran..........109

6.4 Prototype database............................................................................................................119 6.4.1 System modules..............................................................................................119 6.4.2 Survey system module....................................................................................121 6.4.3 Harvesting system module .............................................................................122 6.4.4 Plantation system module...............................................................................124 6.4.5 Violation cases system module.......................................................................131 6.4.6 Creating reports and making an enquiry.........................................................133 6.4.7 GIS and its application in forestry sector in Iran............................................135

7. Conclusion and recommendations ..............................................................................140

7.1 Conclusion........................................................................................................................140 7.1.1 System technology requirement and proposed data flow...............................142 7.1.2 Transferability of the system and procedure ..................................................144 7.1.3 Factors affecting implementation and operation sustainability of the system145

7.2 Recommendations ............................................................................................................147 7.2.1 Collecting useful information and construction of a metadata database ........147 7.2.3 Increase co-ordination and collaboration .......................................................149

Summary ...............................................................................................................................150

Zusammenfassung ................................................................................................................154

References..............................................................................................................................159

Appendix 1: Questionnaire ..................................................................................................163

Appendix 2: Data dictionary ...............................................................................................177

List of figures iv

List of figures

Figure 1. The relationship of information system to management system (adapted from Duerr, et al. 1979) ..........................................................................................................................8

Figure 2. Example of a general representation of an integrated forest information system (adapted from Rondeux 1991, Feghhi 1998)....................................................................10

Figure 3. The structure of Forest, Rangeland& Watershed Organization of Iran ....................22 Figure 4. Different elements of a system (kanter 1972) ...........................................................38 Figure 5. Organisational pyramid and types of information needed to manage organisation

(adapted from Kanter 1972) .............................................................................................41 Figure 6. Hierarchy of information systems (adapted from Thiel et al. 1999).........................42 Figure 7. Three components of management information systems (Garg 2002a) ...................43 Figure 8. The foundation of MIS (Garg 2002a) .......................................................................44 Figure 9. Conceptual scheme of a decision support system.....................................................45 Figure 10. Factors influencing system development in forestry sector....................................55 Figure 11. Typical management structure in Iranian forestry sector........................................64 Figure12. The proportion of information requirement, information supply and information

demand (adopted from Koreimann 1974, Feghhi 1998) ..................................................67 Figure 13. Three aspects of an information system (adapted from Solvberg and Kung 1993) 71 Figure 14. Development processes in waterfall model (Hawryszkiewycz 2001) ..................72 Figure 15. Two dimensions of the RUP (Kroll and Kruchten 2004) .......................................75 Figure 16. Process map for process comparison (Kroll and Kruchten 2004)...........................76 Figure 17. The stages of the database application lifecycle (Connolly and Begg 2001) .........78 Figure 18. Examples of different relationships types ...............................................................83 Figure 19. An example of entity – relationship (ER) diagram .................................................84 Figure20. The geographic area of the GNRO of Noo-shahr in northern Iran .........................96 Figure 21. Procedure to information requirement analysis ....................................................103 Figure 22. Workflow processes for provision of a forest management plan..........................110 Figure 23. Work flow process from the recording of crop trees to receipt of a felling licence

........................................................................................................................................112 Figure 24. FRWOI, three hierarchical levels of information exchange .................................113 Figure 25. System home page ................................................................................................121 Figure 26. Survey page1.........................................................................................................125 Figure 26. Survey page2.........................................................................................................125 Figure 27. Starting page for the forestry plans component of the system..............................126 Figure 28. Marked trees information page .............................................................................126 Figure 29. Felling licence information page...........................................................................127 Figure 30. Information on re-measurement of trees page ......................................................127 Figure 31. Timber assortment information page ....................................................................128 Figure 32. Extraction conditions of produced products information page .............................128 Figure 33. Starting page for plantation component ................................................................129 Figure 34. Plantation information page ..................................................................................129 Figure 35. Forest nursery information page ...........................................................................130 Figure 36. Forest parks information page...............................................................................130 Figure 37. Starting page for violation cases component ........................................................131 Figure 38. The page for violation cases of arrested TWP in control stations.........................132 Figure 39. The fire information page .....................................................................................132 Figure 40. An example of forestry plan commitments report ................................................133 Figure 41. An example of marking trees information report..................................................134 Figure 42. An example of felling licence information report.................................................134

v

Figure 43. An example of diagrammatic report produced by MS Access .............................135 Figure 44. Proposed organizational network system in information generation and use in

FRWOI ...........................................................................................................................143

List of tables vi

List of tables

Table 1. The area of different types of forest in Iran................................................................15 Table 2. Summary of the main components of the national forest inventories between 1958 -

1996 ..................................................................................................................................23 Table 3. The statistical information on plantation activities in northern Iran ..........................25 Table 4. Different terms of computer - based information systems (Susallek 1998)...............48 Table 5. Aspects of an integrated information system development........................................61 Table 6. Methods of information requirement investigation (Feghhi 1998) ............................68 Table 7. Data and information at the field level .....................................................................104 Table 8. Data and information at the general office ...............................................................105 Table 9. Data, information, reports in FRWOI level.............................................................105 Table 10. The relationship of data class, their generators and report frequency....................106 Table 11. Basic characteristics of hardware network in the GNRO and the FRWOI............108

Acknowledgements vii

Acknowledgements

First I wish to thank and express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Dieter R. Pelz, director of the Department of Forest Biometry, for accepting me and inviting me to the department and introducing me this research topic, providing me working place, the necessary research facilities and other administrative supports. Without his inspiring advice, constant encouragement, endless patience and worthwhile criticisms the completion of this work would have been impossible.

My sincere and cordial thanks are to Dr. Guntram Ehrlenspiel1 for accepting to be as my co-supervisor and for his technical assistance and various valuable comments that I got from him during the development of the prototype of the database as well as for critically reviewing this manuscript.

I also thank my committee, Prof. Dr. Gerhard Oesten, director of the Institute of Forest Economy for taking up the role of co-referent.

I would like to thank Dr. Roberto Scoz, for his helps and cooperation and Frau Eva Meier the department’s secretary, for her cooperation and readiness to assist me in any way in her capacity is highly regarded.

Special thanks go to Esther Muschelknautz for organizing everything within the IPP programme. I would also like to thank my German language teacher Mrs Marion Kuss.

Equal thanks are to all my fellow doctoral students and my friends, some of them have left the department or the city after completing their study. Dr. Weeraphart (Boo) Khunrattanasiri, Lilian Andrea Soto Meza, Francis Bih, Efren Hernandez, Christian Kutzer, Aurel Heidelberg, Roberto Maldonado, Andrea Harausz, Dr. Till Neeff, Mark Schmidt and Dr. Marcus Lingenfelder.

I am indebted to all academic and administrative staff of the department of ‘Landesamt für Flurneuordnung und Landentwicklung’ who helped me directly or indirectly during my visiting at the department. Hereby I would like to express my special thanks to Mr Harald Arnold and Mr Kenan Dietz etc.

My special sincere thanks are also to Forest, Range Watershed Organization of Iran as well as General Natural Resource Office of Noo-shahr for their cooperation during my whole stay at the FRWO and GNRO. In this regard I would like to thank especially Mr. Nosrati2, Mr. Nazari, Mr. Rasaneh and the staff of the FRWOI and GNRO.

I fully acknowledge and express my gratitude to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran for providing me a scholarship for my study from 2003 to 2007 as well as the DAAD for granting me a scholarship for two months.

My fellow Iranian students and friends in Freiburg and other cities of Germany were important to ease the burden of life in a foreign land. I am grateful to all of them.

1 Head of department of ‘information technology centre’, the state institute for environment (LUBW) in Baden-Württemberg, Karlsruhe, Germany 2 Head of ’forestry department ’ of FRWOI for northern forest of Iran

Acknowledgements viii

I am also thankful to my brothers, Saadi, Mehdi, Vali-o-Allah and Ahmad, for their encouragement and support in various forms including their care take service to our parents.

Last but the most my thanks go to my parents, Davoud Mahdavi and Kheironnesa Ghorbani, whose prayer and best wish are the source of encouragement in my study and from whom I have learned ever since my early childhood the basic philosophy of life, work, love and honesty.

Introduction 1

1. Introduction

1.1 The problem

In developing countries like IRAN the effort of the government are recognized to be an

indispensable force for development purposes. But in forestry, with its large and scattered

production units, the control or the influence exercised by the government is naturally weaker

compared to other sectors. This situation makes the role and nature of information and

communication difficult and complex and also substantiates its importance as a catalyst in the

process of the forestry development.

Despite the importance of information as a key ‘resource’ continues to grow, in most

instances, effective information management is far from straightforward, and there are many

obstacles in the forestry sector in Iran.

The Forest, Rangeland & Watershed Organization of Iran (FRWOI) takes action to provide

the forest management plan intended for conservation and rehabilitation of the north forest

every ten years. The plan is divided into ten annual plans as the actions of the organization. In

this direction, the organization selects different contractors to implement different annual

projects and the forest management plan at the end. These projects are divided into four areas

(Gorgan, Sari, Noo-shahr, Rasht) and are sent to the General Natural Resources Offices

(GNRO) in these areas for implementation. During the implementation of the projects

different documents and reports are extracted that are indicating the operation of the

organization, general offices, and contractors. These documents and reports have been

collected during long- times and amounted to 600 booklets up to now. The volume of data,

documents, and their variety are expanding as it is difficult to provide different reports or to

retrieve required information of them for decision makers, researchers and so on.

The major weakness of the existing paper- based systems is its inefficiency in retrieval,

analysis and communication of information, so nullifying the initial objective of collecting

data.

Information resides in multiple files and proprietary databases and multiple platforms which

are not well integrated or accessible. This is the legacy of many years of uncoordinated

development, and may have resulted in poor quality and inconsistent information.

Introduction 2

There is a huge volume of unstructured and frequently misplaced information, information is

created for different purposes by different people at different times, and based on different

definitions, resulting in many conflicts and inconsistencies.

Complex information exchanges exist across organizational boundaries, comprising a mixture

of electronic, paper-based and verbal communication.

Because of a long negligence and inadequate attention to forestry information and information

system, the forestry sector in Iran has faced many problems to provide management with

information that can provide the necessary input for gainful decision and policy making, for

planning, appraisal and evaluation of forestry project/programs and to monitor and manage

day to day activities as well. However, in a comparative sense, what is lacking in the forestry

sector is not forest information but its management (the capacity to systematically process,

store, retrieve, disseminate and document forest information) and the corresponding capacity

to use it efficiently.

Therefore, it is felt that there is an urgent need for the forestry sector in Iran to organize its

huge mass of information and dissemination activities under a unifying umbrella and work

out mechanisms of information exchange and information generation. Unless this is done,

information collection and utilization in the forestry sector will fail to support any specific

planning and management objectives.

To help address these problems, one of the best solutions can be the development of an

electronic database and information system.

1.2 Objectives of the study

The present study is intended to introduce a computer –based management information

system for the provincial general natural resource office of Noo-shahr in particular and

FRWOI in general. The central objective in the development of a computer –based

management information system for FRWOI is to pool together the ever-increasing difficult

and complex information management and processing works into one coherent system. The

system can be viewed from two aspects: (i) facilitating and improving the efficiency of

management functions of planning, monitoring and evaluation of the general offices through

providing critical information both on subject/functional and regional basis (ii) establishing

Introduction 3

the basic prerequisite for online communication and information exchange, and thereby

contributing to an efficient use of existing underused computers.

The study outlines the management information system requirements for middle and top level

users of the organization in general and the provincial general natural resource office in

particular. Specific methods for identifying and analyzing information needs of planners and

decision makers of forestry sector are discussed.

The main objectives of the study are:

Analysis of the present conditions of forest information flow in the forestry sector of

Mazandaran province in Iran and identification of the gaps in data transfer and

information

Analysis of information requirement

Design of a database model and forest management information system for managing of

information on a regional scale

Construction and testing of the database model

Information and information system in forestry 4

2. Information and information system in forestry

2.1 Introduction

Forestry information spans a broad and diverse spectrum. Forests are viewed alternately as

ecosystems, as sources of wood, and as social amenities. There are commercial perspectives

and policy issues, as well as scientific interests and technological considerations. Forest

managers require detailed information, whereas the general public needs simplified

information. Forestry information also spans many spatial, temporal and process scales. This

high degree of diversity means that different forest information is suitable for the respective

users (Päivinen et al 1998).

IUFRO in 1998 defines different forest information that is suitable to be included in a FIS, it

is described briefly below. They include both subject coverage and resource types.

2.2 Information resource

2.2.1 Subject coverage

• Silviculture

forest and ecosystem management

stand establishment and treatment

biomass for energy

• Physiology and Genetics

physiology of tree xylem, stem, canopy, and roots, the tree as a whole

breeding and genetic resources of conifers and hard woods

mathematical and biological genetics of tree and populations

• Forest operations and techniques

forest engineering (building, construction, machinery and operational methods

in all forestry practices)

work study, payment and labour productivity

• Inventory, Growth, Yield, Quantitative and Management Sciences

forest resources inventory (collection and analysis of resources data)

remote sensing

management sciences of forest enterprises


• Forest products

fundamental nature of wood and other forest products and their utilization

Production, characteristics, and use of non – wood forest products

• Social, Economic, Information and Policy Sciences

economics at regional, national, international levels

forest policy

forest history

research organization (philosophy, management , application of results )

• Forest health

environmental / pathogen interaction in forest decline

biology and control of forest trees and forest ecosystems

biological and applied aspects of tree diseases

• Forest environment

study of forest ecosystems

natural disasters (avalanche, torrent and erosion control )

biodiversity forest fire prevention and control use of fire as a cultural tool.

2.2.2 Resource types

Vegetation type data, Statistical data, Forest products trade flow data, Satellite mapping

data, Documents, such as articles and reports, and their abstracts, Legislation, Mailing

lists and newsgroups, Projects, Directories and so on.

2.3 Introduction to information system in forestry

According to Hitrec and Tomanic (1988) the development of information system in forestry

can be divided in to several phases.

The first phase is when the first computers appeared (1960s). At that time the foresters did not

have their own computers, but they admired the new possibilities of making, say, volume

tables.

The second phases came with computers becoming cheaper which used for bookkeeping in

forestry enterprises. Different machines supported by different computer programming had

their own roles in different approaches to bookkeeping and accountancy.


The third phase was marked by a small number of strong centres within the major forestry

units. The centres were founded and managed by self-made experts and have been named

‘centre for ADP (automatic data processing)’. Besides administration and accountancy, these

now stronger machines were used for organizing data bases (forest stock-taking, forest

management plans, basic assets) though only in terms of collecting, sorting, storing and

exchange of information.

The invention of microcomputers in the early eighties was another phase in the development

of information system in forestry. The computers became cheaper and available to everyone.

A diverse choice of software has been added to a large assortment of hardware.

In general the development of the forestry information system as well as the necessity of

using information systems to replace routine clerical work by computer –aided data

processing has been slow to start in forestry when compared to other activities and branches

of the economy; this is a common phenomenon in most countries. The reason for the lag is the

relatively low level of education in information science for forestry staff, and resistance to

innovation (Novak and Tomanic 1988).

2.3.1 Benefits resulting from use of the computerized system

According to Novak and Tomanic (1988) the management effects of using the information

system are commonly divided into measurable and non-measurable. Both effects can be

direct and indirect. Under the economic conditions it is understood that the measurable

sides of the information system's efficiency are those whose financial equivalent is

evident.

Measurable reduction of production and management costs, the reduction of total

administration and routine work is the first result of developing and applying the

information systems supported by computers. With routine office work, the use of a

computer enables an increase in productivity, together with lower administration costs.

Developing a computer-aided information system in forestry resulted in saving of space

and equipment in terms of reducing investment and the costs of maintaining unnecessary

space for staff, equipment, archives and storage.

Introducing the computer into management has eliminated conventional documentation.

Savings on paper are evident and considerable. They are partly connected with the


reduced demands on paper used for storing data and information. Secondly, there is the

elimination of copying and duplication costs of all kinds. The costs of filing and

circulating documents are as well reduced.

Data redundancy is also reduced by developing the computer-aided information system.

This is partly connected with the above mentioned benefits but also and most

significantly, the multiple input and processing of one and the same information in

different dimensions of time and space is avoided.

Computer data processing (by means of programs, systems analysis, processing) can, with

simple algorithms, generate various reports so that multiple savings of time and quality

increases can also be achieved.

Increase the degree of information availability, these effects cannot normally be expressed

immediately and simply through quantity so they are classified as un-measurable benefits,

which does not mean that they cannot be recognised or that they do not exist.

Assumption and planning of economic events by means of a computer becomes easier,

more accurate and faster because a faster reception of a great mount of information is

ensured.

Increased precision of information, every system is trying to eliminate errors at any of the

stages. At input, processing and output. Computer processing offers great opportunities

and additional benefits by way of permanent control of data input and processing.

According to Chandurkar and Sudeshna (2003) the benefits of the using of the computers

in information management can be abstracted as the following: Storage of the data, access

and retrieval, spatially referenced data, standardization and comparison, processing speed,

cost wise effectiveness.

2.3.2 The relation between information system and management system

Forest resource management requires decisions, which require models, which require

information. A system for providing the manager with information thus is essential to the

life of the organization. Within the management system the information system bridges


the gap between problem recognition and decision making. It comprises three subsystems:

information gathering, storage-retrieval, and prediction.

How does the information system relate to the management system as a whole? It is

shown in Fig 1.

Figure 1. The relationship of information system to management system (adapted from Duerr et al. 1979)

As shown a flow extends from problem (question) recognition through decision

implementation, review, and feedback. The information system implied the central section

of figure and is subdivided into three subsystems each containing one or two elements.

2.4 Integrated forest management information system

In normal daily usage ‘’integration’’ means combining parts into a whole. When applied to

systems this indicates at least that the system is not monolithic but is composed of parts or

modules.

An integrated Forest Management Information System (FMIS), as it is shown in Fig 2, can be

termed as a set of computer based systems and procedures implemented to help forest and

Problem system Searching for problems

Identifying the problems

Information system

Decision supporting system Producing Models

Inserting the predicted information Making a decision

Implementing the decision Evaluating the outcome

Information Gathering system

Gathering suitable information

Information storage -retrieval system

Storing the information Retrieval the information

Information prediction system

Identifying required predictions

Gathering the predictions

Management system


wildlife managers in their crucial job of decision making. FMIS, thus, aims at providing

information that supports improved organizational and forest management decision-making

capabilities throughout the organization engaged in forestry or related operations (Garg

2002b).

An integrated forest management information system may contain forest resource information

system, forestry manpower information system, financial information system and other sub-

systems. The main objectives of an integrated forest management information system are to

provide:

1) Information on the latest status of forest resources for any level of hierarchy, such

as the national as whole, a provincial forest division, watershed, district, compartment,

etc. to aid planning and decision making.

The primary objective of any FMIS is to provide information to the planners and

decision makers. For this purpose it is necessary that the system provide timely

information about the forest resources of the country and their distribution not only at

national, but other lower levels also such as region, state, etc., by certain parameters of

interest which may vary from time to time and context to context.

2) Comparative picture of the forest resources at different points of time to help

strategic, tactical and operational levels of planning, management and monitoring of

various developmental projects.

3) Basic data to the researchers to enable building suitable mathematical models to

improve forest management and administration by way of employing techniques like

simulation.

It is common knowledge that most of the time of researchers is spent in basic data

collection. A good FMIS provides an answer in saving time of the researcher so far as

the secondary data is concerned. The data base design of course has to be done

carefully taking into account the research needs pertaining to the forest resource data.

4) Linkage with related computerized databases in other specialised branches in the

country.

It is not only uneconomical but also ridiculous to expect the data base of any specific

information system to contain the totality of data related even remotely to the subject-

particularly such data which is external to the organization and already available on

computer compatible media in other databases. For example, the interaction between

some of the forestry variables and metrological variables and consequent need of data


on parameters like temperature, rainfall etc. in a forest resource database is too well

known to necessitate elaboration.

Information systems when designed by any organization not only attempt to cater for

the specific requirements of the particular organization but also to provide the requisite

related data to other organization.

Thus a forest management information system can be built in links to other related

database from the environmental information system, metrological information

system, soil information system etc. which are likely to be available from the

respective agencies.

Figure 2. Example of a general representation of an integrated forest management information system (adapted from Rondeux 1991, Feghhi 1998)


2.5 Forestry information system in developing countries

2.5.1 Introduction

The availability of forestry information in developing countries varies from country to

country and is highly correlated with a country's level of development.

Despite the increasing awareness of the importance of information in planning for

sustainable forestry development, most developing countries still do not have an adequate

system of statistics pertaining to the forestry sector. The current information are below the

requirements to support sustainable forest management and the available forestry data are

often out-of-date and incomplete in terms of (a) the range of commodities covered (b) the

range of variables or data sets covered, and (c) geographical coverage. Furthermore, even

when data are available they are often difficult to access and their reliability is often

questionable. The data is thus often ignored and not used in any meaningful way e.g. in

Iran useful information on forest resources may exist but it is not readily available to

national decision-makers or other people who they make strategic decisions regarding the

forestry sector (Ma Qiang 2000).

National forestry data come from many sources including censuses and surveys. As the

different institutions involved are not always aware of each other's activities, there is often

considerable duplication of effort and, in many cases conflicting data are reported for the

same items. Finally, even when data relating to the forestry sector are generally available,

it has seldom been recognised that the different data components often have different

coverage and time frames thus requiring special processing, tabulations, adjustments, etc.,

prior to their usage in an integrated manner or for the purpose of a particular study or

analysis (Ma Qiang 2000).

2.5.2 Some key constraints forest information system in developing countries

• The general problems

With respect to developing countries one must further consider the absence of trained

personnel. The software may have bugs and quirks, so that frequent consultations with

the supplier are called for. If this cannot be done than the operating personnel must

absorb the problems through additional knowledge and skills.


To use of computer- based information system a variety of support may be required to

create an effective system that meets the user needs. In some developing countries,

maybe this is not the case for Iran, lack of a support system for even the basic

hardware and software, with a lack of a hardware support as the most visible problem

(Roessel 1986).

• Lack of funds

Data collection, analysis, storage and dissemination are costly. In forestry, data

collection is particularly expensive. Forests stretch over large areas; many natural

forests are still located in areas that can be classified as remote or inaccessible and the

number of operators in the forests and the wood-processing industries in many

countries is staggering. Hence, it is not surprising that many forest inventories are as

old as 10 years (or more). Infrastructure for processing, storage and retrieval of data

such as geographic information systems (GIS) or global position systems (GPS) have

been hailed as breakthroughs for data collection and analysis, but they also come at a

high price (Durst and Enters 2002).

• Inadequate skills and capacities

The advent of information technology in forestry requires new skills that are not

always easy to acquire. In most countries, there are very few people who can manage

GIS effectively, and training is no guarantee for strengthening capacities. There is also

a lack of suitable trainers conversant in local languages and many forest agencies are

unable to provide financial resources for upgrading skills. At the field level, the

problem is compounded by low literacy levels in some countries and a lack of

understanding as to why data have to be collected and questionnaires have to be

completed (Durst and Enters 2002).

• Complexity of agencies involved in forestry statistics

Usually it is assumed that forestry departments are the collectors of all forestry-related

data and disseminators of information. In practically every country this is far from

correct and Iran serves as an example. The main agencies collecting statistical

information on forestry and timber trade are forest, rangeland& watershed


organization, Research institute of forest and rangeland, statistical and information

organization, Department of environment, Ministry of trade.

This multitude of actors can create high transaction costs and lead to the duplication of

efforts. There may be no established channel of communication between customs and

forestry departments regarding import of timber and export/import of value-added

products such as furniture, some actors are reluctant to share information and raw data

are protected as secrets. In the absence of mandatory data transfers, information kept

at one level or one department cannot be accessed easily unless it is specifically and

formally requested, a frequently frustrating process (Durst and Enters 2002).

• Weak understanding of the objectives of data collection

The primary objectives of data collection, analysis and dissemination are to facilitate

planning, management and the formulation of policies. Adequate, accurate, timely and

relevant information also serves to direct scarce resources to areas of need, thereby

minimizing risk and waste of resources. Data collection, their analysis, storage and

dissemination are costly. Hence only relevant data should be collected and processed,

with the detail and precision appropriate for decision making. Unfortunately, only few

people understand the need to prioritize.

Data are often collected for the sake of data collection, or because that is what the job

description specifies. Little time is spent on selecting the appropriate level of

precision, choice of data-collection method and updating intervals. Survey forms are

designed poorly and when they are returned, no one is assigned to code the data for

further processing. All efforts are diverted to particular sectors of forestry and as a

result other sectors, deemed less important, such as domestic timber markets, NTFPs

or trees outside forests, are neglected totally by the institutions responsible for

providing accurate and relevant information.

The types of statistics used in many governmental departments are mainly descriptive,

in table form, graphics or pictures. Essentially data remain data and are not translated

into information. There is a substantial disregard for the needs of decision makers,

planners and the general public, and as long as the translation of data into information


is neglected, decisions will remain poor and people will continue to be misinformed

(Durst and Enters 2002).

Forests and forestry information in Iran 15

3. Forests and forestry information in Iran

3.1 Introduction on Iran’s forests

Iran the land of four seasons, is located between 32 and 53 degrees latitudes and being under

different weather pressures, has various climates and phyto-geographical regions. Nearly 93%

of the area is located on the Iran plateau, hilly and mountainous territory with 1,200 meters

average altitude. Highest and lowest place is the mount Damavand, approximately 5,670

meters and Caspian Sea coasts about 27 meters below sea level respectively. Two chains of

mountains have caused a vast area in the center of Iran be arid. First, the Elborz Mountains

situated as a wide wall along the NW to NE of Iran, which have helped to existence of a

humid to semi-humid temperate zone in Caspian Sea southern coasts (600-2000 mm annual

precipitation). Elborz mountains has deprived central areas of rainy winds from Caspian Sea.

Second the Zagros mountains which as an open crescent prevents spreading the

Mediterranean climate to the whole country (Sabeti 1993).

The forests cover according to the national classification

The table below shows the forest cover for the most recently available reference year. Data

have been extracted from the latest available and most relevant reports. This information has

been reclassified into the FAO classification scheme (Mirsadeghi 1999).

Forest regions Forest density

Arasbaran forest (ha)

Caspian forest (ha)

Iran- Turani

(ha)

Khali-omani (ha)

Zagrosian forest (ha)

Total forest (ha)

Closed forest

37.50 1,905,000 0,00 40,000 505,000 2,487,50

Open forest

60.00 0,000 447,000 0,00 2,020,000 2,527,000

Shrubs 0.00 0,00 500,000 1,260,000 0,00 1,760,000

Forest fallow

52.50 0,00 1,948,000 1,100,000 2,525,000 5,625,000

Total 150000 1,905,000 2,895,000 2,400,000 5,050,000 12,400,000

Table 1. The area of different types of forest in Iran


3.2 History of forest policy in Iran

The forestry planning process is still traditional in Iran. The FRWOI is one of the major sub-

sectors of the Ministry of Jahad - e – Keshavarzi (Iranian Ministry of Agriculture).

Forest policy in Iran has never been rigidly defined. Only within the past fifty years the

permanent modification of the forest sector and the formation of forest policy have taken on a

specific character. The sector has been primarily preoccupied with the northern forests

because of their importance to the economy. Before the land reform, the northern forestlands

belonged to ‘khans’ and other large estates including royal forests. In 1962, ownership of the

royal forests was transferred to the government and resulted in the nationalisation of forests

and rangelands. All of the forests were eventually consigned to government supervision

(Mohamadi fazel 2001).

Scientific management of forests started in Iran with the preparation of the first forest

management plan in 1959. At first, the strategy was to maximize production through the

development of forest resources harvesting. The development activities hardly considered the

rural people and little attention was given to the private sector (Mohamadi fazel et al. 2001).

According to a 1994 survey based on aerial photographs, north Iran was covered by 1,847,860

hectares of forests. In comparison to the 1967 inventory figures, the north forest of Iran lost

141,572 hectares or 7.1 percent of the cover within 27 years (Mohamadi fazel 2001).

The execution of industrial forest projects accompanied by traditional exploitation by the rural

community has widely destroyed the northern forests. Even enormous investments by the

forest industry during the past twenty years have not led to a general policy of forest

conservation because of the insufficient attention given to the specific socio-economic

problems of the rural population.

Only from the beginning of the nineties, was there a slight shift in the management planning

system. More consideration was given to social factors in addition to the ecological and

economical aspects. By establishing cooperatives the rural people could contribute to the

execution of forest management plans (Mohamadi fazel 2001).

In spite of these existing obstacles, the forest sector has prepared projects for nearly 1.3

million hectare of commercial forests. The projects include several technical aspects, such as


forest inventory, silviculture, afforestation and the construction of roads and the transport of

wood. Along with the implementation of these projects, consideration has also been given to

the problem of destruction of the natural forests and the proactive execution of new plantation

projects. By 2002, the total amount of forest plantation projects involved nearly 328,000

hectares (Hedayati 2003).

Iran is relatively poor in terms of available forest area (7% of the total land). Thus it is

vulnerable to rapid destruction. One of the problems threatening Iranian forests is illegal

logging, over and above the logging permits issued by the general natural resources offices.

Rural people who reside with their livestock in the forests also threaten the biodiversity

assets. Since 1990 there have been relocation efforts but they have not been completed.

Another source of forest destruction comes from the large number of fires. From 1991 to

2001, a total forest area of 6141ha was affected by fire in northern forest (FRWOI, CPO

2004).

During the ‘Third Five Year Plan’ period, the main emphasis was set to expand forests. In

addition, the qualitative improvement of natural forests through selective logging and

artificial regeneration was also given priority. Major emphasis was placed on local people’s

participation, the relocation of rural forest people, and the movement of livestock from the

north forest. Private sector investment in the management and development of forests is a

cornerstone of government policy.

3.3 The structure of the Forest, Range & Watershed Organization of Iran (FRWOI)

3.3.1 Introduction

Management Information Systems (MIS) are built for specific use by an identified

organization. Hence, understanding the organization (i.e. it’s primary goals and objectives,

structure, dynamics, nature of work, scale of operation, culture, tradition, social settings,

concern of stakeholders, level of competition, value system, and finally the environment

under which the organization is operating) plays a key role in the successful

implementation of information systems. Such an understanding is necessary for

supplementing the technical soundness of the systems that are to be designed. Any MIS

that is well-designed from a technical point of view may fail if the dynamics of the


organization for which it is planned are not properly understood. Thus, a clear

understanding of the organizational components of an information system is critical part

of education in the area of MIS (Garg 2002b).

All organizations are divided into many departments or sections, with each department

having an assigned functional responsibility. Division of an organization into departments

with specified functions is mainly intended to let each department focus on an area of

responsibility. The chief executives of these large organizations do play a vital role.

To give a general idea of how forest data and information is processed, this chapter will

begin with a general description of the FRWOI. This description will be followed by

information on data collection and the dissemination mechanism.

3.3.2 The main long-term goals of FRWOI

Forestry planning is the responsibility of the FRWOI. Forestry planning has been done in

full consideration of, and with a view to supporting, the national goals for socio-economic

development. The major objectives of forestry planning include:

• Conservation of natural forests and wildlife resources through the establishment of

large-scale forest plantations

• Efficient utilization and exploitation of forest products to meet sustainable forest

development objectives

• Provision of forestry extension services, and the improvement of the national capacity

for the development of forest and pastures in terms of the required skills and technology.

• Establishment and encouragement of assembled industries and cooperative within the

society useful for exploiting the forest and rangelands according to relevant regulations

and laws.

3.3.3 Departments of the FRWOI

FRWOI is one of the dependent organizations of Ministry of Jahad -e– Keshavarzi. It has

the five following deputies:

• Forest Department - responsible for forest development and rehabilitation; the

managing of forest parks, the forest management and the harvesting of north forests in

Iran


• Rangeland and soil Department - responsible for the planning and management of

rangelands and forests outside of the north forest; monitoring stabilization and

desertification

• Department of Conservation and Soils Issues - responsible for conserving and

differentiating national resources including the forest, rangeland and desert; utilize these

lands for different purposes

• Department of Watershed Management - responsible for producing, developing and

conserving resources; utilizes floods and reduces the effects of dryness; supervision the

conservation of soils and the reduction of sediment in rivers.

• Department of Planning and Support - responsible for supporting human resources,

finances, personnel and administration, program planning and statistics, information, and

computation

There are some additional units that are under the direct control of the Organization

Director. These are as follows:

Forest and Rangeland Council; Public Relations and International Office; Inspection and

legal Office; Security Office; Engineer Technology Office.

Forestry Department

The forest Department for northern forest is located in Chalous city because of it’s

proximity to the Caspian forests in north of Iran. The department includes three offices;

the Forestry Technical Office (FTO); the Plantations and Parks Office (PPO); the

Harvesting and Timber Industries Office (HTIO).

Forestry technical office offers the following services

• investigation of forest management plans and delivering of the plans to the forest

council for approval,

• provision of statistics and information required for the construction of forest resource

databases,

• control and supervision of the implementation of forest management plans,

• identification and investigation of the socio-economic problems facing the rural

population


• the planning of the removal of domestic animals from forests and relocation of rural

people inhabiting the northern forests,

• selection and felling of trees under the forest management plans,

• provision of the volume tables and the corresponding paperwork.

The objectives of the Plantations and Parks Office

• study, investigation, provision and execution of relevant plantation and reforestation

plans,

• control and to appraisal of approved plans,

• creation of recreation areas, natural forest parks and planted parks

• production and collection seeds and establishment of the seed orchards in forest; also

conservation of seed producing trees within forest stands.

• co-operation with other divisions for the protection and conservation of natural forest

resource.

The Harvesting and Timber Industries Office provides the following services

• investigation of the production and the consumption of timber resources from the

northern forests; management of non- timber products and other resources in the

country,

• provision of harvesting plans and utilization of the northern forests and their auxiliary

products,

• supervision of harvesting operations in order to reduce operation costs, damage and

logging waste,

• investigation of mining activities in the forests,

• overseeing of the harvesting and utilization by the timber industries and the

exploitation of non-timber forest products,

• determination of the mean annual price of timber, industrial round wood and fuel

wood and the government revenues to be generated from the implementation of the

forest management plans,

• subcontracting and supervision the implementation of forest management plans in the

northern forests,

• forecasting of the incomes garnered from forest and rangeland products in the northern

Iran


Department of Conservation and Soil Issues

The department includes three offices: the Soils Audit Office; Soil Delivery Office and

the Conservation and Protection Office. Below is a description of only one of the three

offices involved in the collection of forest information.

The Conservation and Protection Office provides the following services

• drawing up of conservational and protection plans and their transfer to the provincial

General Natural Resources Offices for execution,

• investigation, supervision and appraisal of the conservation and protection plans

implemented by the provincial General Natural Resources Offices and subsequent

revision where shortcomings are identified,

• facilitation of means of transfer of timber and non-timber forest products for

processing, and provision of chainsaws to authorized persons,

• conduit to the court of justice to ensure the timely investigation of offences identified

in relation to the use of natural resources,

• monitoring and evaluation of existing conservation laws and submission of

recommendations for either the reform of existing laws or the implementation of new

laws for consideration by the legal office,

• planning the construction of fixed and mobile stations at different locations in forests

and rangelands.


Figure 3. The structure of Forest, Rangeland & Watershed Organization of Iran

Forest, Rangeland& Watershed

Organization of Iran (FRWOI)

Department of Conservation and Soil

Issues Soils audit office

Soils delivery office Conservation and protection

office

Rangeland and Soil Department

Pasture Technical Office Desertification and Sand

Stabilization Office Forest office except northern

forest

Forest Department Parks and Plantations Office Harvesting and Timber Industry Office Forestry Technical Office

Director office Forest & rangeland council

Engineer technical office Public relations and international office

Security office Education and people partnership’s office

Inspection and right office Training office

Department of Watershed

Management

Department of Planning and

Support Financial Office

Administrative Office Programme Planning and Statistics Office

Structure, Methods and Information Office

General Natural Resource

Offices (GNRO)

Municipal Natural Resource Offices


3.4 The status of different aspects of forestry information in the Iranian forestry sector

The forestry data and statistics currently collected are considerable. They vary in scope and

details, their sources and method of collection. Nevertheless, they can be broadly classified

into the following categories:

3.4.1 Forest resource inventory

Different forest resource inventories are carried out for different purposes. The forest

inventories in Iran can be divided into the following two major parts:

National forest inventory

The first national forest inventory was carried out by a group of Iranian experts under

the supervision of Dr.Rajerz in 1958. In this study the north forest was divided into 18

units (except Talesh area) and into a total 753 sample plots (1000 m²) in the field and

8,310 sample plots in the aerial photographs were studied. Then the results were

generalized to total north forest area. The fifth national forest inventory was carried

out by the Forestry Technical Office (FTO) in 1996. The results of this investigation

were based on 5000 permanent sample plots that were located systematically on the

U.T.M network. In the table below, the abstract of conditions of the studies in different

periods is shown.

Number Year Supervisor Inventory

method Type of

Plot Field plot Aerial photo

plot

1 1958 Dr.Rajerz Double

sampling Permanent 753 8310

2 1973 Dr.William 3P Permanent 753 ….

3 1974 Yaakko Pöyry

Firm Random Temporary 1264 ….

4 1985 Mr.Najaran Systematic Temporary 15000 …..

5 1996 Mr.Moshtagh Systematic Permanent 5000 …..

Table 2. Summary of the main components of the national forest inventories between

1958 -1996 (FRWOI, FTO documents 2003)


Forest inventory to provide the forest management plans

Forest inventory activities are carried out by the FTO. The forest inventory for the

forest management plan is carried out once every ten years. The inventory defines the

extent and location of the forested areas and classifies them by forest types and broad

volume categories. This inventory employs data gathered from sample plot

measurement in the field and maps. The area to be inventoried is selected on the basis

of field survey. All possible data are collected in order to provide a sound base for the

decision- making process in management planning.

3.4.2 Forest plantation statistics

Data for forest plantations is only available for those plantations that are on government

budget. The sources of information are from the provincial General Natural Resources

Offices who keep records on annual tree planting activities.

Forest plantation records are kept and maintained by the provincial Plantation and Parks

Office and Organizational Plantation and Parks Office both of them are involved in

plantation establishment. Data on the area planted, year, costs and list of contractors are

compiled and submitted to the PPO of the FRWOI in Chalous which co-ordinates the

implementation of the plantation projects.

The government has strongly promoted re-forestation and tree planting activities, with the

aim increasing forest cover year by year. The promotion of forest plantations targeted the

annual planting programme of 20,000 ha and the target to be achieved by 2020 is

approximately 500,000 ha (Hedayati 2003).


Table 3. The statistical information on plantation activities in northern Iran

The key problems in relation to plantation information are:

• the absence of information on the choice of species, especially where site-species

adaptation is involved,

• a lack of information on the progress and the mortality rates of the plantations,

• the lack of spatial information about the plantations,

• the lack of standardisation with regard to seed sources, seed technology, nursery and

planting practices and

• inadequate data on the growth rates of indigenous species.

3.4.3 Statistics on forest harvesting and timber products

The Harvesting and Timber Industries Office (HTIO) is responsible for collecting timber

products information. This information is gathered from reports issued by the general

offices.

The key problems in relation to harvesting information are:

• the repetition of the same information at different levels and in different reports

• the lack of a specific format for storing and reporting such information

Year Area Planted (ha) Average of annual plantation

1962-78 29454 1732.6

1979-88 60010 6001

1989-93 89685 17937

1994-99 69435 11572.5

2000-02 79516 26505

Total 328100 7486.7


3.4.4 Revenue collected from the sale of forest products

The HTIO is responsible for collecting information on the revenue earned from forest

products. The information comes from the monthly reports of the general offices and is

transferred to the HTIO.

3.4.5 Statistics on timber trade

Information on timber prices, export volume by species group and destination, import

volume by product type and point of origin are collected by the Ministry of Trade through

the customs office. This information is disseminated for both national and international

use through the annual statistical reports of the Customs Office. The export of timber and

timber products from Iran amounted to 11,465,899 $ and the import of timber and timber

products to Iran equal to 77,754,892 $ in 2002 (Customhouse 2002).

3.4.6 Statistics on forest or timber-based industry

From 1991, the Harvesting and Timber Industries Office took action to collect

information on the operators of the forest or timber-based industries (e.g. sawmills,

plywood/veneer mills and paper mills). Information was also collected on the number of

removal passes, species, volume input into the mills, volume input into the processing

machinery, output of converted timber and sales of timber to markets. The information is

collected by the HTIO of the FRWOI through either the mail or on-site inspections. This

process takes about four months every year.

There are about 52 big productive mill units in Iran, including plywood mills, paper mills

and pulp mills. There are a further 40,000 or so small mills engaged in timber and wood

products. The total capacity of the big mills is estimated to be about 2.3 million m³.

However, due to a lack of the required wood, the utilisation rate in 2002 was only around

1,435,000 m³. The total capacity of the large and small mills combined is estimated to be

about 3,700,000 m³ (FRWOI, HTIO documents 2004).


3.4.7 Fire and other incidents

The data on forest protection activities such as fire, pests, diseases and forest offences are

kept in the Conservation and Protection Office. The sources of this information are the

monthly, quarterly and annual reports of the GNROs.

3.4.8 Number of families inhabiting the forests

There is a plan in place at provincial level to remove rural people and their livestock from

the northern forests. The plan was implemented in 1990 and was intended to prevent the

degradation of the northern forests. It was also designed to increase timber production,

decrease the destruction caused by livestock and change the means of livelihood of the

rural forest community. A special office was established for this purpose. This office

collects information on the number of families living in the forests and their livestock.

Based on a study in 2000, there are about 4,848 cowsheds including 747,310 domesticated

animals. Of these, 52% are cows, 39% sheep and 9% goats. About 5000 families are

currently living in this forest area (Ghiassallhossini 2000).

3.4.9 Fire wood production and consumption

Fire wood production and consumption are based on official studies and estimates.

Nevertheless, the figures seem rather low. The total annual local fire wood consumption is

estimated to be about 2 million m³ for the north of Iran.

3.4.10 Trees located outside of the forests

Information on trees located outside of the forests is not collected. Based on the results of

only one study conducted by the Harvesting and Timber Industries Office in 1996 on

Populus.sp plantations, these plantations produced about 2 million m³ wood (HTIO

documents).

3.4.11 Non-timber forest products

Other than some studies on the potential of non-timber forest products (NTFP),

information is not collected.


3.4.12 Statistics on forestry organisation and administration

Information on the administration, staff deployment and manpower requirements are

compiled and recorded at the district, province and national organizational levels.

3.5 Different agencies and organizations involved to collecting of forestry information

In the absence of a well-defined centralized national forest information system, forestry

information on different subjects is collected and disseminated by other agencies which fall

into the following broad categories:

• Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands

• Department of Environment

• Statistics and Information Organization

• Customs Office

The nature, collection method, storage and dissemination of information by various

organizations in the above categories are largely independent of each other and mostly

uncoordinated.

3.5.1 Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (RIFR)

Research into the status of the forests and their protection is conducted by the RIFR and

universities. The RIFR is an autonomous institution affiliated to the FRWOI and located

in Tehran. The RIFR collects and disseminates forestry information linked to certain

subject areas. Unfortunately inefficient and insufficient contact exists between the

research bodies and those responsible for implementing the results in Iran.

3.5.2 Department of the Environment (DoE)

Iran has an extensive conservation network comprising seven national parks and

approximately sixty other protected areas. These encompass approximately 12 % of the

country’s forests. The main administrative and management body responsible for

protected forest areas designated as national parks is the Department of the Environment

(DoE), established in March 1972. The most important duties of the DoE are as follows:


• fulfilment of Article 50 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran to protect

the environment and ensure the legitimate and sustainable utilization of natural resources

to guarantee a sustainable development process,

• prevention of the destruction and pollution of the environment,

• preservation of Iran’s biodiversity (DoE of Iran)1.

The department is divided into a series of divisions dealing with different environmental

matters. The Parks and Wildlife Division is the main body charged with the management

of protected areas. Generally, the department undertakes long term environmental studies

and management projects. It collects the pertinent information relating to the area of the

national parks and the condition of the wildlife resources in these areas.

3.5.3 Statistics and Information Organization (SIO)

The Statistics and Information Organization is a key agency in the country which collects

and disseminates official statistics on number of themes. The data so collected facilitates

planning on a national scale. FRWOI is the major provider of forestry information to the

Statistics and Information Organization

3.6 Main constraints and key challenges in relation to forestry information and information systems in Iran

3.6.1 Increasing demand vs. limited national capacity

Traditionally, the main objective of forest management has been timber production.

However, forest policy and forest management objectives have diversified and expanded

in recent decades.

In common with the traditional aims of forest management, the main focus of forestry

statistics has been on timber, timber products, timber processing industries and forest

resource assessments. Following the structural and institutional alterations in the national

forestry sector over recent years, as well as changed objectives, there is now increased

concern in relation to and recognition of the need for the collection of information on

forest condition, growing stock and yields of non-timber forest products, trees outside

1 http://www.irandoe.org/en/about.htm


forests, fire wood use, biodiversity, etc. The demand for information from different users

and interest groups is growing rapidly. However, there are some limitations in relation to

the collection of certain information, such as trees outside forests, non-timber forest

products, biodiversity and so on.

3.6.2 Lack of funding

A lack of funding is a permanent constraint in data collection, especially in the field

offices where, in most cases, funds are insufficient even for the regular monitoring of

production and forest condition. Data collection and monitoring are usually incidental,

carried out as part of other overriding activities and, therefore, have low priority.

There is no specific office or unit within the forestry sector with a clear mandate and the

facilities necessary to collect, to compile and to analyse the data and information required

for sustainable forest management.

The staffs of FRWOI have inadequate data collection and analysis skills, especially at the

field level.

Although data processing and analysis are simplified somewhat by computers, most field

offices have not acquired computers and other relevant equipment.

Data storage systems are limited and data – especially raw data – are managed carelessly

and are sometimes lost. Furthermore, the inadequacy of the data transfer systems often

slows the flow of information from the field to the organisational level and, therefore,

causes delays in the dissemination of information to the users.

3.6.3 Fragmentation and duplication of efforts, validation and dissemination problems

It may be said that there is a shortage of forest-related statistics in Iran, both in terms of

the scope of the available data and the quality and reliability of collected data. This can be

easily demonstrated on the basis of the fact that a large proportion of the time and other

resources allocated for forestry studies and the evaluation of forest development projects

are spent on ad hoc data collection. Moreover, as these data collection efforts are in turn

frequently neither particularly well documented nor disseminated the same data must


often be collected again at a later date, often only a few years later, by other agencies or

even by same institute.

Relevant information is often scattered in different units, departments and ministries. For

example, information on forest cover and forest products is held by the FRWOI, while

information on wildlife is the possession of the Department of Environment of Iran. The

forestry sector may be responsible for timber production from natural forests but

information on the export and import of timber is theoretically collected by the Customs

Office. There is no mechanism for the sharing of information and the departments do not

consider information as a public good. Furthermore, the same types of data may be

generated by different systems and may in fact be contradictory and difficult to reconcile.

Even though vast amounts of data are collected, virtually most of them are not in a readily

accessible form or in a form suitable for dissemination. The situation in relation to

systematic forestry data/information management in the country is not well developed and

it can be generally concluded that there is no appropriate national system in place to

handle the collection, processing and dissemination of forest information. To mitigate

these problems, the FRWOI mandated to coordinate, collect, process and disseminate

forestry information, sought recently to develop and establish a national forest information

system.

3.6.4 Irrelevant and unutilised information

Frequently, the information required by decision makers is not available to them. At the

same time, much of the data that has been collected is irrelevant and remains unused.

Appropriate and timely information is particularly important because of the increasing

complexity of forestry and the demands for policy changes being made by numerous

stakeholders.

Data are often collected for the sake of data collection or because of historical precedents.

Little time is spent on selecting the appropriate level of precision, the data collection

method or the updating interval. Survey forms are sometimes poorly designed and even

when questionnaires are returned the data may not be coded for further processing, let

alone subjected to secondary analysis. Efforts are generally focussed on particular sectors


of forestry (usually timber production), which means that data collection for these sectors

is more important than for other sectors of the organisation.

3.6.5 Institutional arrangements

The national forestry information system typically suffers from a lack of clear identity and

a lack of ownership. While the Statistics and Information Organization is charged with the

responsibility for all official statistics, responsibility for forestry statistics is, in many

instances, delegated to the FRWOI, which is often technically ill equipped or financially

not able to assume this responsibility. The role of the FRWOI in data collection and

reporting is very important, but its information systems are becoming less effective, and

the data they contain less accurate and more or less not updated.

3.7 Information requirements of the FRWOI

3.7.1 Introduction

Decision making is perhaps the most crucial role undertaken by top executives and

managers of FRWOI. An understanding of the decision-making process into which

information will be delivered is a critical first step towards producing cost-effective

information (Reynolds and Busby 1996).

The basic input required to make decisions is information. The effectiveness of decision

made depends among others on the quality of the information used. Better the quality of

the information greater the probability to come to the right decision and subsequently

better the chance for the organization to achieve its objectives (Reynolds & Busby 1996).

The responsibility and the functions of the FRWOI in the advancement of the forestry

sector of the country demand them to establish an information system of suitable size,

scope and complexity. The organisation requires access to information ranging from the

lowest level of the organisation hierarchy, i.e. the control offices responsible for

controlling the forest management plan, to the highest level of the organisation and to

other local and international organisations engaged in the advancement of forestry in Iran.

In addition, the information flow should be on a regular and timely basis and should be

able to provide the necessary input for policy development, decision making and daily

operations.


3.7.2 Forestry information users

The information needs of the different decision making groups may be surprisingly

similar, providing substantial scope for efficiency. For example, a senior manager in the

Plantation and Parks Office may require a map showing the distribution of threatened

species in a specific location. This need appears to differ greatly from that of a senior

forest officer wishing to know the sustainability of logging operations in the same

location. However, much of the baseline data required to generate the maps may be the

same. Thus, knowledge of information needs from the earliest stages of an information

project can save costs by pinpointing areas of overlap and ensuring that common baseline

datasets are available. Therefore, the key to the use of forestry information is to focus on

essential information only. In a situation where financial resources are scarce this is,

inevitably, the information required to set and achieve immediate policy and management

goals.

There are many users demanding forestry data and information for many purposes

including planning, monitoring, evaluation, analysis, decision making, research, and so

on. At the organisational level the main users are FRWOI offices, research and training

institutions, international organisations, and the general public. Different users require

forestry data and information not only for different purposes but also to various degrees of

detail and aggregation. Four types of forest information requirement can be identified:

operational management level information needs, provincial management level

information needs, organisational or national management level data needs and data needs

to satisfy international demands.

Operational level data and information needs

The information requirement at the operational level encompasses users requiring detailed

data for the monitoring and control of operations, the preparation of budgets, project

investment identification, etc. In many cases, such users are also producers of data.

Because of their direct involvement with operations or the collection of data they are able

to exercise effective, although often informal quality control of data.


Users categorised in this group include the control offices responsible for forest

management plans, firms and the provincial offices involved in undertaking tasks directly

or indirectly related to the implementation of forestry development projects.

The research institutes, universities and other training institutions will possess data that

supports their research work, development, course curricula, etc.

Provincial management level data and information needs

Provincial level management are mainly the responsibility of controlling and

implementing of the forestry development plans. The primary interest of these offices is to

monitor and control the performance of the forestry plans in operational level and its

needs in terms of resource allocation.

For successful monitoring and performance assessment this user group normally requires

data and information in a comparative format and in the form of a historical series. In

order to satisfy the information needs of this group, statistical data should be organised in

such a way that it combines data generated at the operational level together with data

collected through special surveys and inventories.

Users in this group require data and information for:

• assessment and reformulation of forestry policies,

• preparation of organisational and provincial plans, budget allocation, definition of

norms, standards and specifications,

• overseeing the correct implementation of forestry plans,

• assessment of personnel policy, in terms of recruitment, training and the establishment

of training centres.

Data needs at the organizational and national level

At the national level the primary users of forestry data and information are mainly

planning commissions and all offices closely related to highest executive and legislature

organs of the government.

At this level the volume of data need is smaller, highly selective and aggregated which

usually supposed to be supplement or combined with data from other sectors.


Users in this group require data and information for:

• setting out long term objectives for the forestry sector,

• the definition of policies and measures for the achievement of long term objectives,

• the preparation of national plans and strategies,

• the allocation of financial resources.

Users in this group include organizational Plan, Program and Statistical Office, the High

Forest council, Minister of Jehad - e- Keshavarzi,

Data needs at the international level

International financing institutions including non-governmental organizations, United

Nations and its affiliated organizations such as FAO, and IUFRO require forestry data and

information for:

• Project evaluation and financing,

• Analysis of development gaps and allocation of resources aimed at reducing these

gaps,

• International comparison and experience transfer,

• Planning training programs and

• Undertaking research of every kind

Data and information are of no value unless they reach those who need them, can be easily

understood and are actually used. It is therefore, of crucial importance that collected

forestry data and information is disseminated to targeted users.

Types of information systems to be considered for the forestry sector 36

4. Types of information systems to be considered for the forestry sector

4.1 The fundamentals of information and information systems

Data an extremely valuable resource as it may translate into information needed which is the

life blood of any decision-making system to support decision levels ranging from technical

aspects to policy instruments for sustainable practices (Ribeiro et al. 2003). The availability of

pertinent information is a major concern of management. Consequently, there is a need to

develop an information system to support collection, processing and analysis of data.

The purpose of information system is to collect, store, process and disseminate information.

However, the concept of information is itself not well understood. It is in some sense a

relative concept, rather than an absolute one. Data is relatively raw and information is a

refined form of data which is more useful for human understanding and decision process

(Garg, 2002b). Data are unorganized and unevaluated. For example, in forest inventory the

numerical data are tabulated for two quantities, the height, H, and the diameter, D, trees.

These height and diameter measurements are evaluated only in the sense that, given careful

measurement techniques, we may be relatively sure that they are reliable estimates of the

quantities we intended to measure. But beyond measurement reliability and pair-wise

association, these values have little meaning (Schmoldt and Rauscher 1996).

By contrast, information may be defined as a collection of data that has at least some level of

organization. For example, the graphical display of these data on a Cartesian coordinate

system is also a way of organization data and it aids our understanding due to its visual

nature. Information remains unevaluated in the sense that we don’t know whether to believe

in its validity (TRUTH value) or not. In this example we merely have an empirical

relationship with no support for believing it (Schmoldt and Rauscher 1996).

Information is converted to knowledge when we develop a justified belief in its truth value. In

terms of this height-diameter relationship, justification would consist of some causal or

biological support of our beliefs- some justification that says trees grow in height and girth

simultaneously and corroborating empirical evidence from other populations, using a similar

mathematical relationship, might also be used to justify our belief. Once we have justified true


belief in this height- diameter relationship, then we can use this knowledge to imply similar

relationship for other tree populations.

Data organised into information, which goes into the formation of knowledge, may be likened

to clay formed into bricks used in the construction of a building (Schmoldt and Rauscher

1996).

Even if the concepts of information, data and knowledge are interrelated in some sense, the

relationships are not fully understood. In spite of this, any piece of information to be provided

through given information system will have some of the following attributes (Solvberg and

Kung 1993):

• Relevance is the most important attribute of any piece of information. The evaluation

of other attribute of information depends on the relevancy of the information in

question, with respect to the goal of the organization or the individual who uses the

information.

• Correctness of information refers to the degree to which the information reflects what

is actually happening.

• Accuracy refers to the degree of vagueness in the information. Not every piece of

information has accuracy as a property. For instance, the statement ‘’ cats are

animals’’ is correct but it is meaningless to evaluate the accuracy of the sentence.

• Content concerns the amount of knowledge that the information conveys.

• Originality measures how new or how different the information is with respect to

existing knowledge.

• Obsoleteness refers to the usefulness of the information with respect to the time of

observation. It might be that the system that is observed changes so fast that

information loses its value over time.

Having given a preliminary definition of information, we need to define what is meant by a

system. System as ‘ a set or arrangement of things so related or connected to form a unity or

organization’ or a system is a regular, orderly way of doing something. Fig 4 shows the

system with the four elements of input, processing, output, and feedback (Kanter 1972).


Input Processing Output

Feedback

Figure 4. Different elements of a system (Kanter 1972)

The system part of ‘information system’ represents a way of seeing the set of interacting

components, such as:

• people (for example, analysts, programmers, business users)

• objects (for example, computer hardware devices)

• procedures (for example, those suggested in an information systems development

procedure)

All this must take place within a boundary that separates those components relevant to the

system.

According to Avison and Fitzgerald (1995) systems have also a purpose. For example, many

information systems are designed to provide relevant information to users for decision-

making. Information needs to be presented at the right time, at the appropriate level of detail

and of sufficient accuracy to be of use of its recipient.

An information system is similarly viewed as consisting interrelated subsystem for collecting,

storing, processing, and distributing information. The operation of an information system is

expected to be supported both by machines and by humans. Information systems are non-

deterministic systems where human decision- making plays a central role. Aspects like quality

of data with respect to quality of decision-making are important in information systems.

There are as many proposed definitions for the concept of an information system as there are

for the concept of information (Solvberg and Kung 1993, Avison and Fitzgerald 1995):

• An information system is an institution which is intended to serve the improvement

and support of outside information.

• Information systems are organization’s instrumentation. They inform decision makers

at all levels about those variables that represent the state of the organization (inventory


holding, staff numbers) and about those that represent changes, or rates of change. In

variables affecting the organization (cash flow, production rates)

• A system of information sets needed for decision and signalling in a larger system (of

which it is a subsystem) containing subsystems for collecting, storing, processing and

distribution of information sets.

• An information system is an organization provides facts useful to its members and

clients. This information could concern its customers, suppliers, products, equipment

and so on.

• An information system is a system which assembles, stores, processes and delivers

information relevant to an organization ( or to society), in such a way that the

information is accessible and useful to those who wish to use it, including managers,

staff, clients and citizens. It is a human activity (social) system that may or may not

involve the use of computer systems.

4.2 The types of information systems

As MIS deal largely with managerial applications an appreciation of the theory of

organizations is a necessary prerequisite for the successful application of MIS. In any

organization, three distinct levels of management are described:

• The operational management is largely concerned with the day- to- day operations.

There is less planning in the operating level than in either middle or top management.

It has also the function of directing the use of resources and performance of tasks

according to established procedures. Information required for operational management

tends to be routine, very short-term and is more easily structured. The accuracy and

timeliness of collecting and disseminating information is important at the operational

level. Most of the transaction processing tasks (accounts receivable and payable, etc)

generate data that are directly useful to management at operational level (Kanter

1972).

• Middle management is mainly involved with tactical decisions that have a medium

range impact on the organisation and specify polices, procedures and objectives for the

lower units of organisation. Its function is to acquire and allocate resources and

monitor the performance of sub-organisational units. It requires information that can


support decision making in a structured and sub-structured environment (Kanter

1972).

• Top management’s main focus is on long-term strategic decisions that have far

reaching long-term impact on the organization. It is also responsible for monitoring of

the strategic performance of the organization and its overall direction (Kanter 1972).

Relevant but slightly inaccurate data and information is far better to the strategic

decision than accurate but irrelevant data. However, to goal must be to generate data

that is both accurate and relevant.

A corporate database is required to meet the demand for information for managers at all the

levels. The corporate database is composed of data pertaining to the organization, its

operation, its plans and its environment. Figure 5 shows all internal and external components

and their relationships in a computerized management information system (MIS) (Fong and

Hung 1997).

Generally, decisions are executed based on information generated from the corporate database

and managerial expertise. Higher-level managers set goals to direct operational level

activities, and produce plans which form part of the corporate database. Business transactions

reflect actual results of operational activities and the database will be updated by these

transactions to reflect the current state of the business. Operational level managers query the

database to perform daily operations. Tactical level managers receive reports derived from the

transaction data stored in the database. They compare the actual results shown in these reports

with planned results. Managers at the strategic level need information for modelling and

forecasting. The corporate database supports all levels of information needs for operations,

decision-making and management process.


Figure 5. Organisational pyramid and types of information needed to manage organisation (adapted from Kanter 1972)

There are two major ways to classify information systems. According to Thiel et al. (1999)

the first way is based on the use of the information systems at the different hierarchies of the

business and the other way focused on the different functions of the system (from Thiel et al.

1999 cited by Selassie 2001). In the later case, information systems are categorized according

to three major types:

• Systems for information retrieval- database or management information systems,

• Systems for information processing – expert systems or decision support systems,

• Systems for information transfer – groupware, e-mail, workflow systems.

On the other hand, information systems can be classified into five types based on and

corresponds to the different level of management hierarchy found in a typical organization

(from Thiel et al. 1999 cited by Selassie 2001):

• operative systems (transaction processing systems)

• accounting systems

• reporting systems, (management information systems)

• control and analysis systems (decision support and expert systems)

• strategic decision making and information systems (executive information and support

systems).


Figure 6. Hierarchy of information systems (adapted from Thiel et al. 1999)

Avison and Fitzgerald (1995) classified information systems into four types. These include

transaction processing systems, decision- support systems, expert systems and office

automation systems. Moreover, they also identified other types of information systems that

can be categorized to or variants to the aforementioned major information types. A data

processing system is a rather out-of-date name for transaction processing system and was a

term that covered all standard business computer applications of the 1960s and 1970s, and

most of the manual systems that preceded computer technology. The decision-support system

has a number of variants. These include management information systems, which concentrate

on summary information; executive information systems, which stress the presentation of

information to senior managers, usually provide information from one database source, but

provide it quickly and efficiently; and computer supported cooperative work, which supports

collaborative decision making (and also other work, such as writing, planning and

negotiating). Likewise, intelligent knowledge –based systems are similar to expert systems,

but the term has a wider meaning (Selassie 2001).

4.2.1 Office automation systems (OAS)

These are characterized by repetitive, short term, input output oriented systems used

directly by a large number of end users like clerks, typists, and accountants. A large

number of accounting systems like pay roll, invoicing, billing, inquiry belong to this

category. These systems are more tuned to the generation of information rather than the

use of information. Information support for such systems must be simple, flexible and

user friendly (Garg 2002b).


4.2.2 Transaction processing systems (TPS)

Transaction processing systems, which are probably the most common information

systems, refers to the traditional commercial applications of computers such as invoicing,

billing, order, dispatch, delivery, stores accounting, and so on. Transaction processing

systems which are also called operative information systems form the basis for the

evolutionary development processes of the classic concepts of the management

information systems. Very often they concern on the day-to-day operations of the

organization and aimed to increase the efficiency of transaction processes (Selassie,

2001). Many transaction processing systems also use very large processing of databases

by hundreds of users using and employing equipment distributed over dozens of locations

spread over a vast geographical area (Garg 2002b).

4.2.3 Management information system (MIS)

Management information (reporting) system is the dominant type of information system

in forestry development projects. Traditionally information from management information

system presented on hard copies. While the conceptual MIS does not in principal require

computers, any meaningful MIS today is a computer-based system (Garg 2002a).

Figure 7. Three components of management information systems (Garg 2002a)

Unlike transaction processing systems, which focus on improving transaction processing

efficiency, management information systems concentrate on summary information to

improve the effectiveness of decision making processes, especially those of the middle

level managers within an organisation. Management information systems are basically a

reporting system intended to present information on both internal business operations and

the external business environment.


Logical foundation of MIS

Any meaningful MIS is built on four logical foundations identified by Davis et al. in 1985

and illustrated in Fig 8 (cited by Garg 2002a).

• Computing science: major MIS systems are built on computational devices that focus

on database management, systems analysis and computer networking

• Theory of organizations and organizational behaviour: MIS has been developed

principally for by organizations and therefore concentrates on issues such as the structure,

socio–economic impact, competition and the cultural environment within which work

takes place.

• Operations research and management science: mathematical and statistical

techniques in the form of linear programming, and sensitivity analysis are being

increasingly used by mangers in decision-making.

• Information theory: issues such as analytical quantification of information content of

a message, information content and filter, and error detection and control have significant

relationships to MIS.

Figure 8. The foundation of MIS (Garg 2002a)

MIS

Computer Science

Operations Research &

Management Science

Theory of

Organizations

Information Theory

DBMS, file structure, hardware, software, storage, etc.

Behavior, structure,

competition, business,

socio-economic

impact, etc.

Sensitivity analysis, linear

programming etc.

Content of data,

information filter, etc.


4.2.4 Decision support systems (DSS)

Management information systems are not very effective to enable managers to make

decisions. First they provide information to managers only on pre-defined formats but

they lack tools to support decision-making processes of managers. These drawbacks of

management information systems lead to search for a better system that would better

satisfy decision-making activity of managers. These problems can be overcome by

decision-support systems (Selassie 2001).

Decision support systems are intended to help individual managers in their decision

making capabilities. Such systems need access to the large information generated by

office automation and transaction processing systems (Garg 2002b). Such systems may

use the whole range of facts about the organization, or part of the organisation, or

sometimes relate to aspects external to the organisation, that is, its environment, to

provide information to aid the decision maker. This system is designed to enable

managers to retrieve information, to use analytical decision modelling tools and

specialized database that will help them to make decisions (Avison and Fitzgerald 1995).

Figure 9. Conceptual scheme of a decision support system1

1 http://www.mcrit.com/ASSEMBLING/assemb_central/WhatESS.htm


4.2.5 Executive support systems (ESS)

An ESS (or in more general terms a decision support systems, DSS) is a software system

under control of one of many decision makers that assists in their activity of decision

making by providing and organised set of tools intended to impart structure to portions of

the decision making situation and to improve the ultimate effectiveness of the decision

outcome.

These systems are meant to be used directly by senior managers to provide support to

decisions in the strategic management categories. The information needed would be

largely external, unstructured and even uncertain. Access to external database, technology

information like patent records, technical reports by consultants and consulting

organisations, market reports by market intelligence agencies, confidential information

regarding competitors, speculative information about market, source of financial

information, likely government policies etc. belong to the information that must support

executive decision. Executive support systems therefore provide the highest levels of

challenge for the information systems design. Tools of artificial intelligence (AI) and

expert systems (ES) are often used to cope with some of the complexities of executive

decision making (Garg 2002b). The circle in figure 9 represents the domain area of a

typical executive support system.

4.2.6 Expert systems

Artificial intelligence (AI) has a big role to play in data management so as to support

information systems for forestry applications. It will potentially be capable of storing,

managing and organising large amounts of spatial data. One recent trend in AI is the

development of the so-called expert system for solving specific problems (Ashbindu

Singh 1987).

Expert systems attempt to simulate the role of human experts. It is a general term for

special software systems that preserve the knowledge of human experts and reason with it.

Their usefulness is derived from the reasoning ability of the system to use its knowledge

base of the particular domain to provide solutions or guidance to problem solvers in

particular situations. An expert system might be used, for example, to diagnose the

reasons for failure in business or technical process. Expert systems (ES) have been widely


used from technical a medical to financial, teaching, and administrative applications

(Avison and Fitzgerald 1995). The use of this technology for monitoring changes in forest

cover using multi-temporal satellite data has been successfully demonstrated (Ashbindu

Singh 1987).

In recent years, expert systems have played an important role in information systems.

Their technology has been used in the more advances information systems, such as

executive information systems and executive support systems.

4.2.7 Knowledge management systems (KMS)

A Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a distributed hypermedia system for

managing knowledge in organisations.

Knowledge management systems attempt to capture available expertise and knowledge

(as opposed to skills) within the organisation in an easily retrieval and re-usable form, for

current and future use. One of the most critical components of knowledge management

systems is the identification and capturing of new knowledge and keeping the knowledge

base updated.

A knowledge system provides assistance and support in decision making - often in the

shape of a computer program - that contains expert knowledge within a subject area

(Iwarsson and Johansson 2001).

Knowledge systems can be used, for example, to:

• give advice or to provide support in decision-making - what is the best thing to do in

this situation?

• accumulate knowledge - the system is always supplied with the latest research results;

• place diagnoses and make searches for errors; and

• make prognoses.

Research has shown that an effect of building knowledge systems is that participating

experts have often developed into better experts having completed a project. For the first

time, they might have seen their knowledge in a structured presentation, and identified

gaps in knowledge, etc.


4.2.8 Other information systems

There are also other types of information systems. But according to Avison and Ftizgerald

(1995) most of them are variants to one or the other major types. For instance, information

retrieval systems, which usually provide information from one database source, but

provide it quickly and efficiently, and computer supported co-operative system, which

supports collaborative decision making can be considered as variants to executive

information systems. A variant to expert system in intelligent knowledge-based systems

but the term has a wider meaning, for example, covering machine translation of natural

languages.

English speaking area German-speaking area

OAS – Office Automation System Büroautomationssytem

Bürokommunikationssystem

TPS – Transaction Processing System Transaktionssysteme Operative Systeme Administrationssysteme

MSS – Management Support System MUS- Managementunterstützungssystem

MRS – Management Reporting System

MIS – Management Information Systems

MIS- Managementinformationssystem

Berichts –und Kontrollsystem

Computergestütztesinformationssystem

Betriebs - Wirtschaftsinformatik

DSS- Decision Support System EUS- Entscheidungsunterstützungssystem

XPS – Expert System ES- Expertensystem

XSS- Expert Support System Wissensbasiertes EUS

EIS – Executive Information system

ESS- Executive Support System

FIS – Führungsinformationssystem

CIS – Chefinformationssystem

VIS - Vorstandsinformationssystem

Table 4. Different terms of computer - based information systems (Susallek 1998)

4.3 Selecting different information system technologies in the forestry sector

4.3.1 Introduction

The structure of the existing management in the forestry sector determines the set-up,

organisation and operation of management information systems. As with other

organisations, forestry organisations have a three level pyramid-like hierarchy of


management and operation. These are operational, tactical and strategic managerial and

operational levels, each of which demands different information systems designed to meet

the specific information needs of users at the given management level. However, high

levels of expertise and resources are also required to establish and run concurrently

different types of information system suiting the specific types of user in the management

hierarchy of the forestry sector.

Most authorities on forestry information systems recognise three types of information

need:

• information for strategic planning and analysis,

• information for tactical (medium and short term) planning and

• information for operational management and control.

Each of these has its own requirements, although the technologies overlap to some extent.

4.3.2 Existing forestry information system technologies for strategic planning and analysis

What kinds of information and information technology can help in making strategic

decisions? The following paragraphs provide a list which probably applies to nearly all

forestry organizations.

• Simulation models

A simulation model is a physical system that is modelled as a set of mathematical

equations and/or algorithmic procedures that capture the fundamental characteristics and

behaviour of a system.1

These are useful not so much for forecasting what is likely to happen, but rather for

making projections of the potential consequences of futures that might happen. If a

company can see that bankruptcy is a probable outcome of its current practices, then it

might well consider this question more seriously than it would otherwise.

Models have been constructed in forest management for a host of management and

research objectives. Forest management decision making is dependent on accurate

1 (http://www.course.com/downloads/computerscience/invitationcpp/keyterms12.htm)


forecasting of growth and yield. While growth and yield forecasts enter into virtually all

decisions, the primary uses of models can be categorised as: inventory updating,

management planning, evaluation of silvicultural alternatives and harvest scheduling

(Amaro et al. 2003).

According to Monserud (2003) six classes of forest model exist, i.e.: forest yield models,

ecological gap models (population succession), ecological compartment models (resources

fluxes), vegetation distribution models, process/mechanistic models and hybrid models.

The potential consequences of different operations on the forest can be forecasted by

using the relevant simulator developed based on these models.

4.3.3 Existing forestry information system technologies for tactical (medium and short term) planning

Most of what we normally think of as forest planning is really tactical planning (Dykstra

1997). Even though foresters are accustomed to thinking in terms of one or more timber

rotation periods, their plans typically concentrate on five or ten years into the immediate

future.

What kinds of information technology can contribute to better tactical planning in

forestry? The easy answer is that most of the "traditional" information sources, such as

maps and inventories, as well as nearly all of new crop of information systems, are

focused squarely on tactical planning. Nearly all forestry organizations would probably

benefit, most of them in substantial ways, from the information technologies described in

the following paragraphs.

• Remote sensing imagery

Aerial photography remains, as it has been for more than a generation, a fundamental

tool for capturing forestry data remotely. Aerial photographs can be used with relatively

inexpensive equipment, together with field sampling, to produce quickly and with

satisfactory accuracy maps showing vegetative types, soils, streams and lakes,

infrastructure and topography. The technology is well understood and has been fully

integrated into many forestry organizations.


Satellite imagery is well suited to the classification of digital data into broad land cover

classes and to the detection of changes in forest area or condition over time. It is no

substitute for aerial photographs, however, because the image resolution is much lower.

Furthermore, the analysis of satellite imagery is a relatively specialised field, requiring a

considerable investment in computer hardware and software and specially trained

personnel. Like aerial photograph interpretation, it requires field verification.

• Geographic information systems

Computerized geographic information systems (GIS) represent an important development

in information technology. A GIS is a computer hardware and software system designed

to organize, store, retrieve, analyse, display and publish spatially referenced data.

Although most GIS are capable of producing high-quality maps, their capabilities go far

beyond this. The key to the importance of GIS, in fact, lies in their advanced analytical

capabilities which enable managers to analyse complex situations rapidly, sometimes in

entirely new ways. As an example, with GIS it is possible to "overlay" map layers

representing timber classes, soil types, and topography so that a map can be produced

which shows all areas of mature timber on fragile soils where the ground slope exceeds

40%. As this "derived" map layer resides in the computer system, its area can be quickly

computed. Inventory information can then be combined with the map data to estimate the

reduction in the allowable annual harvest volume that would result if this area were

removed from the allowable cut base (Dykstra 1997). GIS represents a tremendously

powerful tool that has the potential to enhance greatly the capabilities of forestry

organizations in tactical planning. To achieve this potential, the organization must be

prepared to commit substantial resources in terms of both personnel and funding.

GIS will be useful for forestry analysis, only if the foresters use it. This means that all

professional forestry staff (including top-level managers) should receive at least

"awareness" training in GIS, and those who will use the system to extract information and

carry out analyses should receive additional, more technical training. Sufficient hardware

must also be provided so that each professional who will be using the GIS has convenient

access to it.


• Global positioning systems

A recent development in information technology that has managed to capture the

imagination of foresters around the world is the Navistar global positioning system (GPS).

GPS is an all-weather navigation and position-fixing system based on radio signals

transmitted by satellites launched and maintained by the United States Department of

Defense. This network comprises a fleet of satellites which, together, provide position-

fixing capabilities almost anywhere on earth, day or night. One important application of

GPS is to provide data for GIS. In fact, the system makes it possible to collect certain

kinds of spatially referenced data that it would otherwise probably not be economically

feasible to obtain (Dykstra 1997).

4.3.4 Existing technologies of forestry information systems for operational management and control

As important as they are for strategic and tactical planning, advances in information

technology are also changing the way forestry organizations manage their day-today

operations. As with planning technologies, information systems for operational

management and control are of many different types and they are used in different ways

by different organizations. Some of the more common information systems currently in

use or under development include the following:

• Electronic data recorders

Electronic data recorders (EDRs) are basically hand-held computers developed for

recording field data electronically. Many are available with software written specifically

to enable the collection and preliminary analysis of forest inventory data. These EDRs

consist of a keypad, screen and memory for recording and storing data. They must

generally have some means (typically a serial port) of transferring data to a computer for

incorporation into the organisation’s permanent database (which might, for example, be a

GIS) (Dykstra 1997). Those used in forestry must be rugged so that they can withstand

exposure to rain, hot and cold temperatures and rough handling.


• On-board computers

With the advent of timber processors and cut-to-length harvesting machines, it is

becoming more common for such equipment to include on-board computers which can

help decide on the optimal crosscutting strategy for individual stems. In the future, it is

likely that on-board computers will be connected through radio transmission links to a

central computer at the mill. This will permit crosscutting to satisfy order requirements,

rather than simply considering each stem independently, and will also permit crosscutting

rules to be changed at intervals during the day as new information on product orders

becomes available (Dykstra 1997).

• Manual crosscutting by computer

In places where trees are large and the topography is rugged, such as the Pacific

Northwest of the United States, manual felling and crosscutting still predominates. Even

here, through hand-held computers, technology is now available that permits crosscutting

decisions to be rapidly optimized. Such practices can routinely increase log values by 10%

to 15% as compared with conventional crosscutting methods (from Garland et al. 1989

cited by Dykstra 1997).

• Truck-mounted GPS

Some forestry organizations are experimenting with the use of GPS to help improve the

efficiency of truck scheduling and routing. Trucks equipped with both GPS and automatic

radio-transmitting equipment to send the GPS data to a central receiving point make it

possible for transportation equipment to be tracked in real time on a display map of the

operating area. The feasibility of such systems depends to a considerable: extent on the

availability of reliable radio communications. Such systems have perhaps been

implemented most extensively in the Nordic countries (Dykstra 1997).

• Real time data transmissions

In an effort to reduce log inventories and improve order responsiveness, some forestry

organizations are experimenting with the transmission of production and transport data

from the production site to the mill and the transmission of order requirements from the

mill to the production site. This is usually done by radio at intervals during the day. The


intention eventually is to use automated transmission systems which would require little

or no human intervention. Theoretically, it should be possible to maintain almost no log

inventory at the mill, and to harvest and crosscut trees in response to specific orders. This

will require more reliable radio transmission capabilities than are currently available in

most countries (Dykstra 1997).

The following list provides a summary of the information systems that may be used in the

forestry sector:

• Office automation systems,

• Forest inventory systems,

• Geographic information systems (GIS)

• Use of computers in planning and decision making (DSS)

• GPRS (General package-oriented radio service), a package-oriented transmission

service in the range of the portable radio is used. Most new mobile telephones support

GPRS for example as data communication service for the view from Wireless

Application Protocol (WAP) sides. The WAP is a secure specification that allows

users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices such as mobile

phones, pagers, two-way radios, smart-phones and communicators. Multimedia

Messaging service is based likewise on GPRS.1 Applications of these technologies in

forestry are increasingly used. For example; Public data access to forestry data using

WAP and wireless internet, mobile controlling of forestry operation activities, mobile

forestry data updating inside the forestry organization and so on.

4.4 Factors influencing information system development within the forestry sector

4.4.1 System characters and system environment

Information systems are built in order to provide information services that enable tasks to

be preformed in other systems and contexts. Information systems, therefore, must be

planed in a total context, taking all relevant actors into account. Only in this way can a

sufficiently wide framework be provided to enable the development of information

systems with enough desirable features (Solvberg and Kung 1993).

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPRS


Information system development methods must to some extent be holistic and all relevant

aspects have to be considered, be they of a technical, sociological or political nature

(Solvberg and Kung 1993). Likewise system development for forestry sector of

developing countries can be affected by internal and external factors. The objective of

system, the functions the system intend to support, resource endowment situations

necessary to operate the system and the characteristics of forestry projects and programs

and environment in which the system to operate affect the nature of the system and

methods required to develop the system and its implementation in forestry sector.

Figure 10. Factors influencing system development in forestry sector

System objective

The development of integrated management information system is intended to improve

the decision and decision-making process and monitoring capacity of top and middle level

management of the forestry sector. Moreover, the system should be simple and flexible to

be operated in environments where:

New problems may arise that may need a new set of information

• The organization implementation plan itself may change as a result of external

factors, for example, new policy decisions, insufficient resource, unpredictable

failures and events, etc.


• The emphasis of information need will shift during implementation period from

control over input and activity implementation to effect and impact evaluation,

these situation demands to use software that can allow to structure information in the form

and format that is appropriate to support decision- making processes of senior decision-

making personnel in the organization.

Functions of the system

The functions of the supposed system to perform are important factors that determine the

success of the proposed system. The functional aspect of an information system can only

be sorted out relative to the needs of the system’s environment (Solvberg and Kung 1993).

Therefore, the system should be designed in line with the functions of the management

that the systems are intended to support. Based on the description of the management

functions of the FRWOI, the systems at organization level should provide information that

should be able:

• To specify FRWOI’s objectives and plan which supposed to translate higher

political authorities wishes

• To develop appropriate activities and delivery systems and to determine the

required input and output,

• To make sound decisions with regard to resource (man-power, finance, etc.)

allocation and utilization,

• To prepare realistic work plans and schedules, keeping in view of the available

resource and staff capabilities,

• To maintain detailed records of physical progress of forestry plans

• To supervise the performance of individuals and various units of the organization

• To monitor extension project/program performance so that relevant adjustments on

ongoing or planned activities can be made in time, and

• To provide periodic reports to supervisory units of organization and public and

international organizations.

In short, it must support the management functions of planning, implementation,

monitoring and evaluation.


Resource situation

Resource situation is one of the most important subject that affect system development

and implementation. It includes costs and operational characteristics of computers, other

technical devices and people. Hence system development should consider differences in

technical and human resources efficiency and ability. It is also important to anticipate the

evolution or the future of the organization (how to look like and what it wants to be).

These factors are more evident in the forestry sector of developing countries where

resources are scarce even for primary functions. In these countries many development

projects and programs experience scarcity of resources. Moreover, many of them are

faced with lack of technical skills required to conceptualize and design systems. It is also

difficult to recruit professionals with the necessary skills and initiative. Even if they are

available, it is more or less impossible to keep them in the projects due to the long-time

problem of salary structures prevalent in the public sector compared to the private sector.

More often, the skills and experience to use hardware and software to operate systems are

not good enough to ensure a sustainable system operation. It is important to include

training programs as a component of systems design to equip potential users with the

necessary skills to operate the systems.

System environment

Organizations are open systems. They are not closed and self-contained and therefore the

relationship between the organization and its environment is important. They will

exchange information with the environment, both influencing the environment and being

influenced by it. The system, which we call the organization, will be affected by, for

example, policies of the government, competitors, suppliers and customers, and unless

these are taken into account, predictions regarding the organization will be incorrect

(Avison and Fitzgerald, 1995). Therefore, the system to be developed should be:

• compatible to any existing system and situations (implementation plans, forestry

system, system to support project management, procedures for project monitoring

and evaluation and reporting),

• able to maximize a common use of the scare resources available to the

organization


• designed to be flexible to accommodate unpredictable decisions to resources cut,

transfer etc. by supervising and funding agencies,

• designed in accordance with the available power supply and other important

facilities, for example, those that can be used for online data transfer,

• designed taking into account the characteristics of the potential system users.

These include mainly the technical capabilities of the potential users and their

level of motivation, and the incentives available to help sustain and improve this

motivation. These factors are also important during system introduction and in the

post-system implementation phase.

4.4.2 Aspects of system development

A system consists of a set of elements that relate and interact in one way or another to

achieve a given objective or to perform a given task. This is also true for information

systems. These elements are also reflected during system development phases and thus

affect the process of system development. There are various system perspectives to be

considered during information system development (Selassie, 2001).

According to Kuron (1993), there are four system development aspects or perspectives:

They are the system content perspective, the user perspective, the technological

perspective and the organisational perspective.

• System content perspective

Information systems are built to provide information. The system content perspective of

information development therefore concerns to provide adequate information both in

terms of quantity and quality. The information contained in the system should improve the

quality and speed of business processes and enable to make appropriate decisions and thus

to deliver value to the institutions.

The content perspective is about the completeness, consistency and accuracy of the

information to be processed and disseminate. The system content should enable to support

management functions of planning, monitoring and evaluation. It should also be taken into

account the needs of management at various hierarchies of the organization and

supervisory agencies.


The system content should cover information on the following four broadly classified

groups:

Basic data: data describing pre-project intervention situations in forestry projects. The

data:

• include topography maps and forest cover maps,

• are mainly required for project problem analysis, design and the formulation of

forestry programmes.

Input data: data required for the implementation of forestry programmes and plans,

including data on:

• stand volume, inventory,

• information about finance, transport and manpower, describing the capacity of the

organisation to realise its objectives.

Operational data: output data derived from the organisation activities and forestry

projects. They comprise data on:

• forest management plan activities, timber products, felling licences, plantations,

etc.

Such data will be used to monitor the implementation of projects, supervise the

performance of executives and to provide periodic reports to the supervisory bodies.

External data: data originating primarily outside of the forest organisation. This can

be information on government policy in relation to forestry plans, the import and

export of forest products, market demand for timber products, the supply and price of

timber products, etc.

• Users’ perspective

System users are at the centre of system development and thus users’ perspective is an

important factor that can influence system development. It concerns the art and way of

presenting information to be produced by the proposed integrated management

information system. The factors should be considered in users’ perspectives of system

development:


User friendliness, Relevance, Timeliness and regularity, Aggregation versus detail,

Presentation forms (tables, graphs, text, etc.)

User friendliness

The proposed information system should be user friendly and comfortable. It should

have a consistent interface that can facilitate easy and quick navigation and

familiarization to the system. The information in demand should be found easily and

the system should provide it quickly.

Relevance

Relevance is the most important factor for users. Users will join or login into the

system to search information that exactly meets their demand either for decision-

making or other purposes. Therefore adequate attention should be given to ensure that

the system provides relevant information.

Timeliness and regularity

Timeliness is a contextual system-related dimension as it focuses on the computing

resources needed to make data promptly available when needed by decision-makers or

other users (Ribeiro, et al. 2003). According to Selassie (2001) the time dimension of

information is an important element of the system quality. This is because any

information is basically time sensitive. Therefore the system to be developed should

be enable potential users’ to get information at the time when the information is

needed (timeliness) to support decision-making (right frequency). The system should

be designed to provide up-to-date (most recent) but also information about the past

and future (forecasted data) when appropriate.


System content perspectives

Completeness, Accuracy, Consistency Users’ perspectives

User friendliness, Relevance, Aggregation versus detail, Timeliness& regularity, Presentation forms (table, graphic, text etc.)

Technological perspectives

Module structure, Flexibility, Privacy and security, Software and network Compatibility and standardization, Databank and its management

Organizational Perspectives

Structure of information users, Organization and level of communication network, Organization and information department

Table 5. Aspects of an integrated information system development

Level of data aggregation

Level of data aggregation will vary so as to be appropriate for a particular type of user.

The level of detail and aggregation varies directly with the level of management.

Information from internal and external sources and especially information on critical

success factors should be processed and presented taking into account this difference

of need. This can be handled during system design using drill-down and hierarchy

method.

Information presentation format

Information can be presented either in text, graph, table etc or a mixture of one or

more of these forms. The more the form presenting a piece of information the better

will be its acceptance and use. In general management the top level of the organization

requires information in summary form and mostly in graph and/or table forms. As this

is an important aspect of system users’ perspectives, it should get appropriate attention

during system specification.

• Technological perspective

The technological perspective of an integrated management information system for a

typical provincial general natural resource office has two aspects. It depends on users need


and the organization of the information system and the activities (information collection,

processing and communication) it comprises.

However the central question remains the technology to be adapted should enable to

provide information on internal and external critical success factors in acceptable forms

and formats. According to Kuron (1993), the following factors should be considered in

system technology perspectives:

Module structure, flexibility, software and network, compatibility and standardization,

databank and its management, privacy and security, module structure.

Module structure

The proposed integrated management information system should be structured and

built in modular mode based on the needs of the organization and its users.

Flexibility

The system should base on flexible and adaptable technologies. The hardware, system

and application software and data management techniques should use flexible

technologies that can adapt easily to changing information needs. This should be

determined during system specification.

Software and network

Software use should be standardized in all departments. It is also recommendable to

use a local area network, which facilitate fast and efficient communication and

information exchange throughout the organization.

Compatibility and standardization

Information exchange should be standardized and compatible both within the

organization and across partner institutions. Electronic information exchange is

important in this endeavour. It demands to standardize the use of hardware and

software technologies and to network computers through area- wide-network.

Financial constraints and infrastructure problems limit the progress of electronic

information exchange in most forestry sector of developing countries. However, the

decline in the price of computers and continuous improvement in and better access to


information technologies has opened the door for most forestry sectors to adopt these

technologies. In spite of this, the progress is still very slow.

Database and its management

The system, which designed to present internal and external information, will be the

database system. It can be designed at organization-wide level to be administered

centrally or decentralized to department level. However, this should be decided during

system specification.

Privacy and security

Electronic data processing and exchange has the risk of losing information to

unwanted users. This is very important especially if the information in question is on

personal or sensitive issues. The system should incorporate techniques (Passwords),

which can protect information privacy and system safety.

• Organizational perspective

Adequate organization is a major prerequisite for a successful system development and

implementation. It is also equally important as the content, users and technological issues.

In this regard the following points should be considered:

• structure of information users,

• communication and information (users) network (intra and inter- organizational

communication and support),

• organization of information department and system support.

Structure of information users

The structure of management existing in the forestry sector determines the set-up and

operation of information systems and use.

The structure of management of Iranian forestry sector has a three level vertical

hierarchy which correspond to the country’s political structure:

Each organisational, provincial and municipal level hierarchy has its own top

management to operational level hierarchy. This in turn requires that information


systems be designed to address these differences and the specific needs of each level.

However, the management information systems should also be designed with

consideration to the wider perspective and the system environment in which it

operates.

Figure 11. Typical management structure in Iranian forestry sector

Information (users) network (intra and inter - organizational communication and support)

The tasks of information generation, processing, dissemination and documentation

involve both human and organizational interactions and network. Adequate

information network is a prerequisite to establish and sustain an efficient organization-

wide information system. This network involves interaction of people, organizations,

information and information technologies. In this regard, it is important to analyze and

improve existing information network (relationship, cooperation and hierarchy) used

to provide forest organization services. Moreover, users should regularly discuss

existing problems and possibilities to improve the system.


It is the strength of this network and cooperation that guarantees the best use of the

system and its sustainable operation and future improvement. The elements (members)

of the network and their responsibilities should be explicitly identified and defined.

Organization of information department and system support means

The organization of the department in charge of information management plays an

important role for efficient operation of the system and for delivery of adequate

service to system users. The system can be organized in a centralized or decentralized

way. The form of organization (centralized versus decentralized information service

unit) is an important issue to be discussed especially when the system faces problems

for on-time processing and optimum distribution of information.

The department in charge of information management should continuously discuss and

collect comments about its service from all users. It should standardize information

system of the organization by minimizing any irregularities or inconsistency in the

system. But it should be also able to recognize the difference among various users and

provide service which considers this difference.

It is important to use a combination of media to optimize a wider dissemination of

information.

The procedure for the development of a forest management information system 66

5. The procedure for the development of a forest management information system

An integrated management information system should be explained based on system theory.

System theory is helpful for clarifying the structure of a complex organization and its

information and communication system. Information systems as any other system contain a

set of elements which relate and interact in one a way or another to collect, process,

repackage, store, transfer and present information (from Schwarze J.1995, cited by Selassie

2001). A computer supported information system consists of:

• hardware and software

• rules and concepts (on organization etc.)

• people (users)

• management for system operation, control and maintenance, and

• data

Organizations require information systems to help analyze their business, along with their

environment, and formulate and check that they achieve their goals. The information system

may help the organization to achieve improved efficiency of its operations and effectiveness

through better managerial decisions.

Before describing a model procedure used to develop an integrated management information

system the methods used for information requirement analysis are explained.

5.1 Information requirement analysis

Introduction

Information requirement is a dynamic value. This dynamic is very important to be included in

planning information systems. On the one hand the dynamics of information needs depends

on the level of knowledge the society and on the other hand depends on the achieved steps of

current concrete tasks like problem solution process.

The information need can be defined as amount of information that is considered by a

responsible person as necessary and sufficient information in a certain point of time for the

solution of a task. The information requirement defines the sum of objectified information

that in fact is necessary for implementing a certain task (Feghhi 1998).


There is almost always a difference among the amount of information supply, information

needs and information demand (Fig 12).

The reasons for this difference can be explained by the incapability of users to analyse the

comprehensiveness of the information requirement, the variability of information requirement

or the inefficiency of information facilities.

Figure12. The proportion of information requirement, information supply and information demand (adapted from Koreimann 1974, Feghhi 1998)

The purpose of information requirement analysis is to identify the information flow within the

organization and to determine the different information needs, ranging from operation or

routine activities to effectively implementation of management decisions (Solvberg and Kung

1993). Information requirements analysis entails a detailed study to be conducted to determine

users’ requirements for the new system. It is usually performed simultaneously with a review

of the existing or traditional systems if the organization has already started operations. The

Information supply

Information requirement

1

4

2 3

7 6 5

Information demand

1= information, the information needed but neither demanded nor supplied

2= information, the supplied information but not demanded

3= information, the demanded information but not supplied

4= information, the supplied and demanded information and are necessary

5= information, the supplied and demanded but are not necessary

6= information, the supplied but are neither demanded nor necessary

7= information, the demanded but are neither supplied nor necessary


review of the traditional systems is intended to determine which of the features specified in

the new system are already present in the existing system.

Information requirement analysis starts with the investigation of system outputs. First, the

information needs of the organisation must be established. Analysing the operational

information needs, by some action initial analysis method, may do this and by starting with an

analysis of decision processes, etc. One determines which outputs the information system

should provide. Next, by working backwards through information archive – updating,

intermediate processing, etc., to the creation of the information sources – an understanding of

the structure of the information flow will be obtained (Solvberg and Kung 1993).

Many formal methods have been developed to support information requirement analysis.

There is no unique method to include all factors of information requirements. Therefore, it is

necessary to use a multi-method procedure to information requirement analysis. Which

methods should be combined depends on purpose of the system development.

Like all other analysis plans, the analysis of information requirements can be done based on

two procedures, namely:

• the inductive method (bottom-up analysis)

• the deductive method (top-down analysis)

Küpper 1995 (cited by Feghhi 1998) proposed a clear systematisation of different methods of

information requirement analysis for operative decisions. He distinguished the methods first

according to information sources, then determined whether information requirement should be

analysed inductively or deductively.

Method of analysis Information sources

Inductive analysis method

Deductive analysis method

Operational document Documents analysis -

Operational data gathering Technical data analysis Organization analysis

-

Information user Questioning - Functions and objective of enterprise

Deductive – logical analysis

Planning model of enterprise - Model analysis

Theoretical planning model - Model analysis

Table 6. Methods of information requirement investigation (Feghhi 1998)


Using the inductive method the information within the system (e.g., forest organisation) that

is actually available and used or transmitted is investigated. Sources of information for the

inductive method include operational documents, the results of operational data collection and

information users. The following inductive analysis methods are worth considering:

In the document analysis the plans and documents that one decision maker allocated for

implementing a task are analysed.

Technical data analysis appraises the data ascertained and used for certain processes and

areas.

Organisation analysis concerns the actual state of the current tasks and activities of an

enterprise. What information is used for which particular task is analysed.

Through questioning the information users provide information about subjective information

requirements.

In this study document analysis and questioning methods were the analysis methods used

for the derivation of subjective information requirements (Appendix 1).

Interviewing and questionnaires techniques

Interviewing is the most commonly used and normally useful information requirement

analysis technique. We can interview to collect information from individuals face-to-face.

There can be several objectives to using interviewing, such as finding out required

information, verifying required information, clarifying required information, getting the end

user involved, identifying requirements, and gathering ideas and opinions.

However using the interviewing technique requires good communication skills for dealing

effectively with people who have different values, priorities, opinions, motivations, and

personalities.

There are two types of interview i.e. unstructured and structured

Unstructured interview are conducted with only a general objective in mind and with few, if

any, specific questions. The interviewer counts on the interviewee to provide a framework and

direction to the interview. This type of interview frequently loses focus and, for this reason, it

often does not work well for database analysis and design.


In the case of structured interviews the interviewer has a specific set of questions to ask the

interviewee. Depending on the interviewee’s responses, the interviewer will direct additional

questions for clarification or expansion ( Connolly and Begg 2001).

Open-ended questions allow the interviewee to respond in any way that seems appropriate

(see appendix1).

Close-ended questions restrict answers to either specific choices or short, direct responses

(see appendix1).

Questionnaires

Another information requirement analysis technique is to conduct surveys through

questionnaires. Questionnaires are a highly structured method of data collection in

respondents are requested to ‘’fill in the blanks’ on a form. This can be a valuable data

collection tool in itself, or as a guide to facilitate data gathering in interviews (Connolly and

Begg 2001).

Questionnaires are special purpose documents that allow facts to be gathered from a large

number of people while maintaining some control over their responses. When dealing with a

large audience, no other fact – finding technique can tabulate the same facts as efficiently.

There are two types of questions that can be asked in a questionnaire, namely free-format and

fixed-format. Free-format questions offer the respondent greater freedom in providing the

answers.

Examples of free-format questions are;

• What are the data on forest and natural resources that the office collects?

• What survey instruments are being used to collect such data?

• What reports do you currently receive and how are they used? (see appendix

Some rules should be followed in relation to the questions posed, for example:

• The questions should be simple,

• The question should be short formulated

• The question should be formulated in a neutral way

• The question should be related to one issue (Feghhi 1998).


Fixed format questions require specific responses from individuals. Given any question, the

respondent must choose from the available answers. This makes the results much easier to

tabulate.

5.2 System development processes

5.2.1 Introduction to system development

Every information system has a functional aspect, a technical aspect and an operational

aspect (Fig 13) (Solvberg and Kung 1993). What is the system to do? How shall things be

done? Who shall do it? The what –aspect of an information system can only be sorted out

relative to needs of the system’s environment, the how-aspect depends on the type of

system must be analysed relative to available technical solutions and the who-aspect

includes different people who are involved in building a system (e.g. programmers,

system analysts, business analysts etc.) as well as costs and operational characteristics of

computers, datasets, other technical devices. The various technical and human resources

have different abilities, capabilities, costs and reliabilities.

Figure 13. Three aspects of an information system (Solvberg and Kung 1993)

5.2.2 Methods of system development

Modern Information system development has got its root from electronic data processing

of the 60’s. The primary goal of electronic data processing (EDP) in the 60’s and 70’s was

automation of existing business operation in organizations (Fong and Hung 1997).

However it was only during 1970’s that well accepted formal methodology to develop

data processing systems came into existence. These early methodologies are named

differently; conventional systems analysis, traditional system analysis, the system

development life-cycle or waterfall model. The following steps are common in most of the

conventional methods (Fig 14).

What? The functional aspect

How? The technical aspect

Who? The operational aspect


Figure 14. Development processes in waterfall model (Hawryszkiewycz 2001)

Development processes are also known as the system life cycle or problem solving

cycle, or sometimes the system development cycle (Hawryszkiewycz 2001).

Most software teams still use a waterfall or linear processes for development projects,

where they complete each phase in a strict sequence of requirement, then analysis and

design, then implementation/ integration, and then testing.

Such approaches leave key team members idle for extended periods of time and defer

testing until the end of the project lifecycle, when problems tend to be tough and

expensive to resolve (Hawryszkiewycz 2001).

Waterfall or linear cycle processes

• Concept definition

Many people consider concept formation to be the most important phase of system

development. It provides a broad statement of user requirements in user world terms. The

requirements state what the users expect the system to do and thus set the direction for the

whole project. The resources to be made available to the project are also often specified in

this phase.

Part of the concept formation phase is feasibility study, which propose one or more

conceptual solutions to the problem set for the project. Three things must be considered in

the feasibility study; Technical feasibility, Operational feasibility, Economic feasibility.

Technical feasibility, this evaluation determines whether the technology needed for the

proposed system is available and how it can be integrated within the organization.

Development processes

Concept Definition 1

System Specification

2

Problem Definition Feasibility Analysis Analysis Requirements

System Design 3

Architectural Design

Detailed Design

System Development

4

Construction Testing


Operational feasibility, operational feasibility covers two aspects. One is a technical

performance aspect and the other is acceptance within the organization. Technical

performance includes determining whether the system can provide the right information

for the organization’s personnel and whether the system can be organized so that it always

delivers this information at the right place and in time.

Economic feasibility, this evaluation looks at the financial aspects of the project. It

determines whether the investment needed to implement the system will be recovered.

• Developing the system specification

During this phase it is necessary to find out more about the system problems and what

users require of any new or changed system. This phase is usually characterized by the

following activities:

• producing a detail analysis model describing how the current system works and

what it does, usually in subject world terms.

• using the statement of requirements and the more detailed system analysis to state

what is needed from the new system by a requirements model in user terms.

• producing a detailed model in subject terms of what the new system will do and

how it will work, here called the design model, which is expressed in system

terms.

• producing a high-level description of computer system requirements using system

terms.

• System design

This phase produce a design specification for the new system. In this phase designer must

specify the interfaces provided to users and the business procedures. They must specify

the databases and system programs and select the equipment needed to implement the

system. System design usually proceeds in two steps, logical design or what the system

will do and the physical design or how the system will do it.

• System development and construction

This phase is also often broken up into two smaller phases: development and

implementation. The individual system components are built during the development

period. Programs are written and tested and user interfaces are developed and tried by

users. The database is initialized with data.


During implementation, the components built during development are put into operational

use. Usually this means that the new and old systems are run in parallel for some time.

One important part of construction is testing. It is necessary to test all modules to make

sure they work without any errors once they are put into operation.

• Post- installation review

After the system has been installed and used for some time, a review is conducted to

investigate whether the system operates in a way it intended to.

The post- installation review usually takes place about a year or less after the system is

implemented, when everything is fresh in the minds of users. It evaluates the new system

to see whether it has indeed satisfied the goals set for it. The system is examined to see

whether the benefits expected of it has been realized. This evaluation then sets guidelines

for decision making in future projects.

• Maintenance

System maintenance aims to ensure the continued efficient running of the system.

Maintenance is necessary to eliminate errors in the system during its working life and to

tune the system to any variations in its working environment. There is always some errors

detected that must be corrected. These corrections may involve all aspects of modification

from changing system hardware and software requirement to major modification on the

existing system. System maintenance can be described as a process of monitoring,

evaluation and making required corrections to the system in operation (from Parker and

Case 1993 cited by Selassie 2001).

Rational unified process method (RUP)

There is other software development approach like Rational Unified Process (RUP). In

contrast the waterfall (linear) approach, the RUP uses an iterative approach, that is, a

sequence of incremental steps or iterations. Each iteration includes some, or most, of

development disciplines (requirements analysis, design, implementation, and so on). Each

iteration has a well-defined set of objectives and produces a partial working

implementation of the final system.

As shown in Fig 15 the RUP is organized along two dimensions: the dynamic aspect

(horizontal) expresses cycles, phases, iterations, and milestones and the static aspect

(vertical) expresses activities disciplines, artefacts, and roles.


Phases

Disciplines

Business modelling

Requirements

Analysis &design

Implementation

Test

Deployment

Configuration & change management

Environment

Iterations

Figure 15. Two dimensions of the RUP (Kroll and Kruchten 2004)

According to Kroll and Kruchten (2004) different approaches of development processes

can be compared based on two dimensions that are discussed below and shown in Fig 16.

Low ceremony / High ceremony, on the horizontal axis. Low ceremony produces

minimum supporting documentation and has little formalism in the working procedure;

High ceremony has comprehensive supporting documentation and traceability maintained

among artefacts, change control boards, and so on.

Waterfall/Iterative, on the vertical axis waterfall is a linear approach with late integration

and testing; Iterative is a risk-driven development approach with early implementation of

an architecture and early integration and testing.

Inception Elaboration Construction Transition

Initial Elab1 Elab2 Const1 Const2 Const 3 Tran Tran2


Figure 16. Process map for processes comparison (Kroll and Kruchten 2004)

5.3 Database design

5.3.1 Introduction

The database and its history

According to Connolly and Begg (2001), database is a shared collection of logically

related data and a description of this data, designed to meet the information needs of an

organization. The database is a single, large repository of data which can be used

simultaneously by many departments and users. The database holds not only the

organization’s operational data but also a description of this data. For this reason, a

database is also defined as a self –describing collection of integrated records. The

description of data is known as the system catalogue (or data dictionary or meta-data the

data about data of database).

Since the 1970s, database systems have been gradually replacing file-based systems as

part of an organization’s information systems (IS) infrastructure. At the same time there

has been a growing recognition that data is an important corporate resource that should be

treated with respect, like all other organizational resources.

The database is now the underlying framework of the information system, and has

fundamentally changed the way many organizations operate as well as is now such an

integral part of our day-to-day life that often we are not aware we are using one. For

example purchases from the supermarket, purchases using your credit card, booking a

Waterfall Few risks, sequential,

late integration and testing

Low Ceremony Little documentation Light process

High Ceremony Well-documented Traceability

Risk- driven Continuous integration and testing

Iterative


holiday at the travel agents, using the local library and using the internet (Connolly and

Begg 2001).

Database design lifecycle

A computer-based information system includes a database, database software, application

software, computer hardware, and personnel using and developing the system (Connolly

and Begg 2001).

The database is a fundamental component of an information system, and its development

and usage should be viewed from the perspective of the wider requirements of the

organization. Therefore, the lifecycle of an organization’s information system is

inherently linked to the lifecycle of the database system that support it. The stages of the

database application lifecycle are shown in Fig 17.

5.3.2 Overview of the database design methodology

After having planned a database system in the preliminary and the detailed study, the

building of the system starts with the design of the database. Three main types model of

database management system (DBMS) are hierarchic, networked and relational. The

procedure described in the following refers to a relational database, as the relational

database management system has become the common data processing software in use

today. In the relational model, all data is logically structured within relations that are

physically represented as a table. The relational database is built around relational model

designed by E.F. Codd at IBM in 1970 (Connolly and Begg, 2001). Database design is

made up of three main phases, namely conceptual, logical, and physical design.


Database design

Figure 17. The stages of the database application lifecycle (Connolly and Begg 2001)

Database planning

System definition

Requirements collection and

analysis

Conceptual database design

Logical database design

Physical database design

DBMS selection (optional)

Implementation

Data conversion and loading

Testing

Operational maintenance

Prototyping (optional)

Application design


5.3.2.1 Conceptual database design

The objective of conceptual database design is to build a local conceptual data model of

an enterprise or organization for each specific view.

During analysis, a number of user views may have been identified and depending on the

amount of overlap between these views, some user views may have been combined

together to form a collective view, which is given an appropriate name.

Each local conceptual data model comprises:

Entity types; Relationship types; Attributes and attribute domains; Primary keys and

alternate keys. The conceptual data model is supported by documentation, including a data

dictionary, which is produced throughout the development of the model.

• Identification of entity types

The first step in building a local conceptual data model is to define the main objects

that the users are interested in.

All interesting topics or objects on which information is needed are to be examined,

and a decision made on whether to incorporate them in the DBS or not. Usually most

of these objects appear in the existing form sheets, statistics and reports. All objects of

the same kind form a so-called entity type.

For example, an object could be a specific defined area, or parcel, within the forest as

a whole. Together all of the existing parcels form the object type ‘parcel’. Another

example of an object type might be ‘forestry plans’ or ‘district’.

One method of identifying entities is to examine the user requirements specified. From

this specification, we identify nouns or phrases mentioned (for example, district ID,

district name, GNRO ID, GNRO name, GNRO address, parcel or plot ID, etc. An

alternative way of identifying entities is to look for objects that have an existence in

their own right. For example, a ‘district’ is an entity because districts exist whether we

know their names or not, as do areas and localities. If possible, the users should assist

with this activity.


• Identification of all entity attributes

Entities or objects have certain attributes, about which information is stored. This

attributes are to be defined in detail.

The values of the attributes (the data elements or variables) are to be given for each

entity. Each entity as an ‘occurrence’ of object type has to get key attribute as a

unique identification.

An object type ‘entity set’ for which each occurrence (object or entity) is definitely

identified is called a ‘relation’.

If an object can only be identified by a combination of attributes, these are referred to

as ‘partially identifying’ attributes.

For example, in the case of the object type ‘parcel’ with the single parcel of land as an

object or entity, the attributes could be area, species, timber output, burnt area, planted

area, etc. The attributes of ‘fire’ alternatively are time of fire, weather conditions,

location, damage, etc. The key attribute given each parcel might be the name of the

parcel, or preferably a parcel identification ID (as the name of parcel might appear

twice). Subsequently, the values (variables) for all attributes of the object type ‘parcel’

can be stored in the database system parcel by parcel.

• Removal of homonyms and synonyms

Frequently the names of attributes used normally are not clearly defined. Therefore,

homonyms must be given different names and synonyms can be joined to one

attribute. For example, in forest inventory standing trees can be distinguished as

botanical species. In forest harvesting the felled trees are often put together in classes

which can have the same name.

• Identification of repeated attributes within one entity type

Often one or more groups of attributes appear repeatedly within one object type

(relation). It is necessary to find out which attributes belong to such a group, which

attribute is the key attribute, and whether there are connections between these groups.

These groups of attributes are sometimes called ‘multiple fields’. In a relational


database these multiple fields form separate relations. For example, within one district

various species can be planted, each with attributes such as quantity, age, cost, etc.

This group of attributes forms a multiple field, with the species as the key attribute.

The multiple fields will be repeated for every species planted in this parcel.

• Determine of attribute domains

The objective of this step is to determine domains for all the attributes in the model. A

domain is pools of values from which one or more attribute draw their values. For

example we may define:

• The attribute domain of valid parcel_ID as being a 9 character variable length

string.

• The possible values for stand disturbance by wind or snow etc from surv_ stand

status entity as being either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (please see CD).

A fully developed data model specifies the domain for each attribute and includes:

• The allowable set of values for the attribute; sizes and formats of attributes.

• As attribute domains are identified, a record of their names and characteristics is

kept in the data dictionary.

• Determine candidate and primary key attributes

This step is concerned with identifying the candidate key(s) for an entity and then

selecting one to be the primary key. A candidate key is a minimal set of attributes of

an entity that uniquely identifies each occurrence of the entity for example district_ ID

from ‘district’ entity. We may identify more than one candidate keys, in which case

we must choose one to be the primary key, the remaining candidate keys are called

alternate keys.

When choosing a primary key from among the candidate keys, use the following

guidelines to help make the selection:

• The candidate key with the minimal set of attributes;

• The candidate key that is least likely to have its values changed

• The candidate key with fewest characters (for those with textual attribute)


• The candidate key with smallest maximum value (for those with numerical

attribute

• The candidate key that is easiest to use from the users’ point of view.

• Removal of redundancy within the various relations

The same information can occur in several relations (object or entity types). It is one

of the advantages of a database system, that information (in principle) is stored only at

one place in order to avoid double updating, tending to mistakes and inconsistent

redundancy. It is to be decided in which relation this information should be stored.

For example, the relation ‘fire’ could be information about the districts, in which the

fire took place (area of district, species of district, etc) even if several fires took place

in the same district. On the other hand, the relation ‘district’ could contain for each

district, information on fire (as time of fire, weather conditions, etc.) which affected

several districts

• Document entity types and their attributes

As entity types are identified, assign them names that are meaningful and obvious to

the user. Record the names and descriptions of entities in a data dictionary. If possible,

document the expected number of occurrences of each entity. If an entity is known by

different names, the names are referred to as synonyms or aliases, which are also

recorded in the data dictionary.

Attributes should also be assigned names that are meaningful to the user as they are

identified. The following information should be recorded for each attribute:

• Attribute name and description

• Data type and length

• Any aliases that the attributes is known by:

• Whether the attribute is composite and if so, the simple attributes that make up the

composite attribute;

• Whether the attribute is multi-valued;

• Whether the attribute is derived and, if so how it should be computed;

• Any default value for the attribute

• Record the identification of primary and any alternate keys in the data dictionary.


• Define of the relationship types

When we identify entities, one method is to look for nouns in the requirements

specified by users. We can use the grammar of the requirements specification to

identify relationships. Typically, relationships are indicated by verbs or verbal

expressions. Fig 18 provides an example:

GNRO Implement Surveys

Every Survey has many plots

Figure 18. Examples of different relationships types

The fact that requirements specification records these relationships suggests that they

are important to the organization, and should be included in the model.

In most instances, the relationships are binary; in the other words, the relationships

exist between exactly two entity types. It must be taken care to ensure that all the

relationships that are either explicit or implicit in the users’ requirement specification

are detected. For all object types (relations) it has to be checked, whether there are


relationships between them. The attributes that connect the object types are to be

determined. It is to be clarified, whether the connecting attribute is unique in the both

relations or only in one relation or is multiple in both relations.

For example, the object type ‘fire’ is connected to ‘district’ as each fire takes place at

a certain locality. The connecting attribute could be the district ID. The attribute

district ID is of course unique in ‘district’ but is a multiple entry in ‘fire’ as several

fires can occur in one district. In terms of database theory, the result of steps till now

is an ‘entity relationship diagram’ of the analysed unit. To visualise a complex system

we use entity-relationship (ER) diagrams to represent entities and how they relate to

one another more easily (Fig 19).

Figure 19. An example of entity – relationship (ER) diagram

• Check that each entity participates in at least one relationship

Generally, an entity cannot be modelled unrelated to any other entity otherwise when

the entity is mapped to a relation there would be no way to navigate to that relation.


• Document relationship types

As relationship types are identified, they are assigned names that are meaningful and

obvious to the user and relationship descriptions and multiplicity constraints are also

recorded in the data dictionary.

• Potential problems

When identifying the entities, relationships, and attributes for the view, it is not

uncommon for it to become apparent that one or more entities, relationships, or

attributes have been omitted from the original selection.

As there are generally many more attributes then entities and relationships, it may be

useful to first produce a list of all attributes given in the requirements specification. As

an attribute is associated with a particular entity or relationship, remove the attribute

from the list.

One must also be aware of cases where attributes appear to be associated with more

than one entity or relationship type as indicated by the following:

Several entities that can be represented as a single entity were identified. For example,

we may have identified entities Violat_article43 and Violat_repeating44 and

Violat_article44 all with the attributes VIOLAT_LIVESTOCKNUM, VIOLAT_DATE,

VIOLAT_LOCAL, VIOLAT_STATLOCAL; which can be represented as single entity

Violation case with the attributes VIOLAT_LIVESTOCKNUM, VIOLAT_DATE,

VIOLATLOCAL, VIOLAT_STATLOCAL and VIOLAT_TYPECD ( the values 2, 5 or

6). On the other hand, it may be that these entities share many attributes but there are

also attributes or relationships that are unique to each entity. In this case, we must

decide whether we want to generalize the entities into a single entity such as

VIOLAT_43, Violat_article44 and Violat_repeating44, or leave them as specialized

entities representing distinct violation type.


5.3.2.2 Logical database design for the relational model

The logical database design for the relational model is the process of constructing a model

of the information used in an enterprise based on a specific data model, but independent of

a particular DBMS and other physical considerations.

Objective

The objective is to build a local logical data model from a local conceptual data

model representing a particular view of the enterprise and then to validate this model

to ensure it is structurally correct (using the technique of normalisation) and to ensure

it supports the required transactions.

• Remove features not compatible with the relational model (optional step)

The objectives of this step are to:

• remove many-to-many (*:*) binary relationship types;

• remove many-to-many (*:*) recursive relationship types;

• remove complex relationship types;

• remove multi-valued attributes.

A multi-valued attribute holds multiple values for a single entity. If a multi-valued

attribute is present in conceptual data model, we could decompose this attribute to

identify an entity. For example, in the ‘GNRO’ view to represent the situation where a

single general natural resource office has up to three telephone numbers, the Tel_No

attribute of the ‘GNRO’ entity has been defined as being a multi-valued attribute, we

can remove this multi-valued attribute and identify a new entity is called Telephone

with the Tel_No attribute now is represented as a single (primary key) attribute and a

new 1: n relationship called provide.

• Derive relations for local logical data model

To create relations for local logical data model to represent the entities, relationships,

and attributes that have been identified.

In this step, relations were derived for the local logical data model to represent the

entities, relationships, and attributes defined in the view. The composition of each


relation was described using a database definition language (DBDL) for relational

databases. Using the DBDL, the name of the relation was specified first, followed by a

list of the relation’s simple attributes enclosed in brackets. The primary key and any

alternate and foreign key(s) of the relation were then identified. Any derived attributes

were also listed together with how each one was calculated. How relations were

derived from the possible structures present in the data model was then described.

• Validate relations using normalization

The objective is to validate the relations in the local logical data model using the

technique of normalization.

Normalization is used to improve the model so that it satisfies various constraints that

avoid unnecessary duplication of data. Normalization ensures that the resultant model

is a closer model of the enterprise that it represents, it is consistent, and has minimal

redundancy and maximum stability.

Normalization is often performed as a series of tests on a relation to determine

whether it satisfies or violates the requirements of a given normal form. Three normal

forms were initially proposed called first (1NF), second (2NF), and third (3NF). For

more information it suggested to the relevant books about database design.

• Definition of the periods of validity of the data elements

Some data elements are valid for a long time (e.g. the name and number of parcel).

Others or can change at a fixed day (area of parcel) or refer to a certain period

(planting in a particular year) or a certain event (information on a fire). It is also

necessary to define how long a specific set of data should be stored and kept available.

• Definition of the flow of information

In this step the input and volume of data is to be defined: How is the flow of data from

place of origin (e.g. in the forest) to the database in the computer? What data go from

where to where? How often? Who should enter the data? How much data will have to

be transfer from where to where? For the forestry sector in Iran maybe it needs to


reform some forms for the input of data (reports from field level and general office

level to the organizational level).

In this study it is proposed that the central IFMIS (Iranian forest management

information system) may be established at forest deputy in Chalous city and each

provincial GNRO should be equipped with required computer software and hardware

system and the same structure of database management system. Despite the repetition,

it is worth reiterating that the equipment acquired at the GNRO level must be

compatible with that at the central IFMIS in Chalous, so that portability and

transportability of data is achieved.

• Definition of plausibility check

As a lot of mistakes can occur during data input, comprehensive plausibility checks

should be performed before entering mass data into the DBS. The incorrect data have

to be corrected so that the database remains clean. An example of a plausibility check

might be: is the area planted greater than the area of the parcel?

• Definition of the functions and output of the database system

The main functions and main output of the system is to be defined. Which

combinations and connections of information are desired? Which output (screens,

reports) is necessary? for which users, etc.

• Review local logical data model with user

Review the local logical data model with the user to ensure that the local logical data

model and supporting documentation that describes the model are a true representation

of the view. The local logical data model for a view should now be complete and fully

documented at the end of the step logical database design methodology we build a

global logical data model by merging together the individual local logical data models

produced for each view.

5.3.2.3 Physical design of the database system

The logical design and the definition of the flow of information are independent from

specific hard- and software. The physical design reduces the logical model to the specific


features of the computer system (hard- and software). It prepares rules for the

programming.

Whereas logical database design is concerned with the what, physical database design is

concerned with the how. It requires different skills that are often found with different

people. In particular, the physical database designer must know how the computer system

hosting the DBMS operates, and must be fully aware of the functionality of the target

DBMS. For example, the designer will need to know:

• how to create base relations;

• whether the system supports the definition of primary keys, foreign keys, and alternate

keys;

• whether the system supports the definition of required data (that is, whether the system

allows attributes to be defined as not null)

• whether the system supports the definition of domains

• whether the system supports relational integrity constraints

• whether the system supports the definition of enterprise constraints.

The three activities of physical design include:

1. Design base relations to decide how to represent the base relations identified in

the global logical data model in the target DBMS

For each relation identified in the global logical data model, we have a definition

consisting of:

• the name of the relation

• a list of simple attributes in brackets

• the primary key and where appropriate, alternate keys (AK) and foreign keys

(FK)

• a list of any derived attributes and how they should be computed

• referential integrity constraints for any foreign keys identified.

From the data dictionary, we also have for each attribute:

• its domain, consisting of data type, length, and any constraints on the domain:

• an optional default value for the attribute

• whether the attribute can hold nulls?


2. Design representation of derived data to decide how to represent in the global

logical data model in the target DBMS

Attributes whose value can be found by examining the values of the other attributes

are known as derived or calculated attributes. For example, the following are all

derived attributes:

- total volume of produced log for every felling licence

- total violation case in a general natural resource office and so on.

Often derived attributes do not appear in the logical data model but are documented in

the data dictionary. From a physical database design perspective, whether a derived

attributes is stored in the database or calculated every time it is needed is a trade off.

The designer should calculate the additional cost to store the derived data and keep it

consistent with operational data from which it is derived and the cost to calculate it

each time it is required.

3. Design enterprise for the target DBMS

• Definition of access paths

A DBMS provides access to all information of the database. But in order to facilitate

and speed up access to often and commonly used data, the usual access paths and the

information needed should be defined: frequent queries to the DBS can be pre-

formulated and taken into account, when defining the DB- files. These definitions can

be done out of the definition stated in the ‘flow of information’.

For example it is necessary to know whether fire statistics are always only used to get

fire statistics information the data then to be indexed on ‘fires’ entity (thus containing

mainly information on the fire itself as weather conditions, area burnt, etc). Or should

there also be an additional index, for example, a ‘district’ index providing the answer

to the question ‘which fire caused what damage and in which parcel?


• Definition of naming conventions

As a database system usually becomes rather voluminous with a lot of variables and

files, definition of naming conventions for file names, variable names etc. can assist

structured proceeding in organizing and programming of the database.

Naming conventions depend on the software used. When there are for example 8

characters available to name files the first 2 characters could describe the object type,

the next one the subgroup of data elements, the next 2 the year of data and the last

character the type of file (e.g. temporary and permanent files. analogous definitions

can be provided for the names the variables (attributes).

• Definition of database files and file organizations

One of the main objectives of physical database design is to store data in an efficient

way.

The logical data model must be transformed to match the features of the hardware and

software with regard to the requested input and output.

The relations- as obtained in logical design- will be split or combined to files. The

objects (the occurrences of each relation/ the rows of the table) will be the records in

these files, the attributes fields. The relationships between files, as stated in conceptual

design will be realized by inserting the same key attributes in the corresponding

records of both files. By this step the final structure of the database is defined.

For example the relation ‘district’ should be split into several files, according to

duration of validity and according to sub-object types with information closely

connected to each other: one file for basic information (area, name, etc.), files for

information on species information and so on.

On the other hand, it can be useful to use redundant information in one file, in order to

speed up access times or to facilitate programming. But one should be aware of the

danger on introducing inconsistencies and mistakes.


• Definition of internal flow of data in the database system

There must be defined input files (without a plausibility check), corrected files (after a

plausibility check), current files (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc), final files with

information for one year and backup files for all files.

• Documentation

Each step should be documented in order to facilitate later improvements and changes

of the database system. This is more important as new staff that was not involved in

the original design of the database system, should be able to do this work.

A good and well tried way of documentation for a DB-design is the installation of a

data dictionary (DD), in which all object types and their attributes are designed in

detail. A DD can accompany the whole process of DB-Design from the selection of

objects until the physical definition of database system files and definition of internal

flow of data. Each manipulation of attributes, of relationships, of files, of the input and

output, of the plausibility which the attributes must meet can be described here (see

Appendix 2).

• System technology requirement and analysis of transactions, response time and

estimate disk space requirements

The system is composed of various system components that have the ability to

function on stand-alone bases and also as an element of an integrated system. A given

system component integrates various modules constructed with a well-define interface.

The modules have various degree of detail designed to meet the need and interest of

different users.

The system technology requirement design is intended to provide an overview of the

technology required by the individual modules to perform their respective tasks. The

model describes the factors critical to determine the technology requirement of the

proposed system. The following factors are important to determine the technology

requirement:

• type and volume of data to be processed

• data transaction rate

• data transfer method


• processing facilities

• output management facilities

To carry out physical database design effectively, it is necessary to have knowledge of

the transactions or queries that will run on the database. This includes both qualitative

and quantitative information. This is the number of transactions that can be processed

in a give time interval. In some systems, such as airline reservations, high transaction

throughout is critical to the overall success of the system.

This is the elapsed time for the completion of a single transaction. From a user’s point

of view, we want to minimize response time as much as possible. However, there are

some factors that influence response time that the designer may have no control over,

such as system loading or communication times.

The object of this step is to estimate the amount of disk space that is required to

support the database implementation on secondary storage. Estimating the disk usage

is highly dependent on the target DBMS and the hardware used to support the

database. In general, the estimate is based on the size of each tuple and the number of

tuples in the relation. The latter estimate should be a maximum number, but it may

also be worth considering how the relation will grow and modifying the resulting disk

size by this growth factor to determine the potential size of the database in the future.

5.3.2.4 Design security mechanisms and organization of data privacy and data security

It is important to organize which persons are allowed to use / to alter data, where the

copies of what data will be stored who is allowed to change programs and how

unauthorized persons can be kept off.

As the data stored are of great importance and as it is difficult to recover lost data,

accidental or even intentional loss of data must be avoided. A database represents an

essential corporate resource and so security of this resource is extremely important.

During the requirements collection and analysis stage of the database application

lifecycle, specific security requirements should have been documented in the system

requirements specification. Some systems offer different security facilities than others.

Relational DBMS’s generally provide two types of database security; System security and


data security. System security covers access and use of the database at the system level,

such as a user name and password. Data security covers access and use of database objects

(such as relations and views) and the actions that users can have on the objects. Again the

design of access rules is dependent on the target DBMS.

The development a model of integrated forest management information system in Iran 95

6. The development a model of integrated forest management information system in Iran

6.1 General conditions of natural and human resources in the GNRO of Mazandaran province (Noo –shahr)

The total area of this general office is about 850,000 ha, extending from the city of Ramsar to

the city of Royan in the western division of the province Mazandaran (Fig 20). Based on one

study by FRWOI in 1986, the extent of the natural resources within this area – comprising

forest and pasture – is about 617,063 ha. The area of pasture is 296,665 ha and that of forest

320,398 ha.

The forest area of this extent can be divided into 3 categories as following

• the commercial and productive forests or the dense forests are containing more than

180,000 ha

• the degraded forests cover about 110,000ha

• the conservational and protection forests cover about 30,398 ha, 9.5% of total forest

area.

As much as 85% of the forest cover contains the following dominant species: Fagus

orientalis, Carpinus betulus, Quercus castaneaefolia, Alnus spp. and Acer spp. The remaining

15% hosts other species such as Tilia spp., Ulmus spp., Parrotia persica, Diospyrus lotus,

Zelkova carpinifolia, Sorbus torminalis and Gelditschia caspica.

For 143,060 ha a forest management plan has been provided. About 27,000 ha of these areas

were considered as conservation and protection forests till 1999.

The total production of wood in the forest cover of this GNRO was about 147,072 m³ in 2003.

The permanent staff of the general office numbers about 760, comprising professional

foresters, forestry college graduates and forest labourers.


Figure20. The geographic area of GNRO of Noo-shahr in northern Iran (FRWOI, FTO 2003)

6.2 Problem definition and objectives

Information is a vital ingredient in making gainful decisions. There is no economic or social

activity that can effectively function without accurate, relevant and reliable information. What

is lacking in the forestry sector in Iran in relative term is not forest information but its

management and the corresponding capacity to use it efficiently.

The Iranian forestry sector has recognized that information is an essential element of

development process and flow of reliable and relevant information is the pace maker of

progress. Effective information systems play a major role in facilitating organizational

performance and achieving the goals and objectives.

Gorgan

Northern forests of Iran

Rasht

Noo-shahr Sari

Gorgan


The forestry sector in Iran has encountered the following information-related problems in the

implementation of its development programs and projects:

• limited technical capacity to identify, manage and use critical success factors and

information

• difficulty to summarize, structure and present / display information especially those

relevant for top management

• lack of standardization or defined form of generating output and summary analysis

• inefficient in handling, searching and retrieving data/information whenever required

• inefficient (limited access or too late) flow of data / information between users in

various departments inside and outside the organization.

In order to solve these problems one possible solution is the establishment of an electronic

information system and database. Any new initiatives should take advantage of the new

developments made in the information technology and communications sector in recent years;

changes which have revolutionised the way people communicate, exchange and manage

(store, retrieve, update and deliver) information.

• Objectives

A forestry database and information system could provide the FRWOI tools necessary for

strategic and policy decisions, enabling them to answer ad hoc enquiries, provide the

means for monitoring development trends and provide means of managing day to day

activities. To meet these aims, the establishment of a well designed information system is

necessary, and it must be able to meet the users’ expectations and demands. However, it

should not be a ‘once off’ job, but a long term process and basic component of the

FRWOI’s management tasks and incorporated into both its short and long term plans.

The purpose of the present study is to develop a model of an integrated computer-based

management information system for the FRWOI generally and the General Natural

Resource Office in Noo-shahr in particular.

The main objectives of study:

� Analysis the present condition of forest information flow in forestry sector of the

Mazandaran province in Iran and identification of the gaps in data transfer and

information


� Analysis of information requirements of the FRWOI

� Design a database model and forest management information system for managing


� Construction and testing of a database model

The system will contain many features of an executive information system. For example

• is an automated way to deliver information especially to upper level of management in

a form easy to manipulate and make them very easy to access

• gives top management the possibility to ‘’navigate’’ through the different layers of

information to analyse the causes of any deviations from the plan

• can summarise, structure and display information in text, tabular and graphics forms

or in any combination of the display alternatives.

• The risks associated with the project

At the end of inception, one should have a rough idea of what risks are present, especially

in the areas of acquisition of technology and reusable assets, such as architectural

framework, packaged software, and so on. The risks of this project can be summarised in

the following points;

Budget risk, it should be determined how much the project will cost and how long it

will take to complete the project. For this regard, economic feasibility of project must

be considered.

Economic feasibility determines whether it is worthwhile to invest the money in the

proposed project or whether something else should be done with it.

To carry out an economic feasibility study, it is necessary to place actual money

values against any purchases or activities needed to implement the project. It is also

necessary to place money values against any benefits that will accrue from a new

system created by the project. Such calculations are often described as cost-benefit

analysis (Hawaryszkiewycz 2001).


Cost-benefit analysis

Cost-benefit analysis usually includes two steps: producing the estimates of costs and

benefits, and determining whether the project is worthwhile once these cost are

ascertained.

The goal is to produce a list of what is required to implement the system and a list of

the new system’s benefits (Hawaryszkiewycz 2001).

Cost-benefit analysis is always clouded by both tangible and intangible items.

Tangible items are those to which direct values can be attached (e.g. the purchase of

equipment, time spend by people who are involved in the project, insurance costs, or

the cost of borrowing money and so on).

Tangible costs often associated with computer system development they include the

following:

• Equipment cost for the new system. Various items of computing equipment as

well as items such as accommodation cost of furniture are included here.

• Personnel costs. These include personnel needed to develop the new system

and those who will subsequently run the system when it is established.

Analysts, designers, and programmers will be needed to build the system. Also

included are any costs incurred to train system users.

• Material costs. These include stationery, manual production, and other

documentation costs

• Conversion costs. The costs of designing new forms and procedures and of the

parallel running of existing and new systems are included here.

• Training costs. These include both training users of the new system and any

training required for developers who may be required to use new technologies.

• Other costs. Sometimes consultant’s costs are included here. Together with

management overheads, secretarial support and travel budgets.


The values of intangible items, on the other hand, cannot be precisely determined and

are made by subjective judgement. For example, how much is saved by completing a

project earlier or providing new information to decision makers?

The sum value of costs of items needed to implement the system is known as the cost

of the system. The sum value of the saving made is known as the benefit of the new

system. Once we agree on the costs and benefits we can evaluate whether the project is

economically viable.

The cost estimates are usually used to set the project budget. Often it is convenient to

divide these costs into projects phases to give management an idea of when funds and

personnel will be needed.

On the other side of the evaluation are the benefits of the project. These can also range

from the tangible to intangible. Tangible benefits include those benefits that can be

measured in actual currency terms. Such benefit can include reduced production costs

through the introduction of new technologies, or reduced processing costs through the

uses of computers.

Intangible benefits cannot be measured. For example, what is the benefit of better

decision making through computer support or the benefit of shorter time for retrieving

of required information and so on.

Determining whether a project is worthwhile?

The costs and benefits are used to determine whether a project is economically

feasible. There are two ways to do this: the payback method and the present value

method.

The payback method defines the time required to recover the money spent on a

project. The idea of the present value method is to determine how much money it is

worthwhile investing now in order to receive a given return in some years’ time. The

answer obviously depends on the interest rate used in the evaluation.


Performance risk- for example, collecting, deriving, entering of required information

and selecting an unsuitable contractor to performance the project or un-coordination

between the contractor and employer (in this case FRWOI).

Bottlenecks and some solutions

The creation of a data base for FRWOI is no simple task. There are many data that are

not standardised in all GNROs and are found to be inconsistent in structure some

times within a GNRO itself and more so between the GNROs. Some forms like

violation cases form or monthly progress report of forestry plans are not uniform.

Therefore, these forms should be standardised and uniformed.

6.3 Procedures used for information requirement analysis and the results

6.3.1 Introduction

The proposed management information system was developed following the analysis of

the existing system, which provided the basis for the design, with the creation of a new

structure where appropriate.

The development of a professional information system should follow clear-cut procedures.

The following procedures were followed in the present study:

• analysis of the conditions and situations at the GNRO and FRWOI potentially

relevant to the development and implementation of the proposed system,

• description of the approach to system design. This included a description of the

information requirement analysis and database design.

The procedures used for the information requirement analysis combined and integrated the

results of the document analysis and the survey procedure (interview and questionnaire).

In general, it incorporated procedures designed to identify and analyse the information

needs of both top management and users at lower levels primarily occupied with the

transactional and operational activities of the FRWOI. The procedures combined the

following activities:

• situation analysis to determine the objectives and strategies of the FRWOI, which in

turn helped to set the objectives and scope of the study (problem analysis). Literature

review, expert discussion, and interviews and observation were used for situation

analysis,


• assessment of the system environment, including information generators and users,

current reporting methods, system support facilities and factors which affect system

implementation and smooth transformation from the existing to the proposed system,

• the FRWOI information requirement analysis using inductive methods,

• determination of the information requirement (integration of results from the above

methods) and obtaining of approval from potential users, and

• evaluation of the requirement analysis and the setting of the tasks to be performed by

the proposed information system (Fig 21).

The results of the document analysis and the survey were combined to define a

comprehensive information requirement for the FRWOI. Potential users and top

management were asked whether the results represented their information needs and

provided a clear picture of the organisation’s information requirement. The information

architecture was then defined. The purpose of this design was to illustrate the information

structure required to support decision making processes by the FRWOI executives and the

routine activities of the information system users.

The methods employed to accomplish the aforementioned tasks were an introductory

discussion, personal observation, literature and documents review, interviews and

questionnaires. The introductory discussion and meeting were conducted to prompt the

participation of potential users, and to explain the objectives of the study. The literature

review was carried out to identify problems that possibly remained unidentified over the

course of the discussions and to obtain details on the problems that were revealed in the

discussions. The study of documents was also helpful to further clarify the activities

carried out by the FRWOI and the requirements of the new information system. The

literature review was instrumental to the formulation of the questions posed in both the

questionnaire and the interviews to determine the gaps in the existing information and

information flow. The personal observation was a helpful means of identifying areas of

weakness in the existing system.


Figure 21. Procedure to information requirement analysis

6.3.2 Results of the interviews, questionnaires and document analysis

Interviews were conducted with officials from the different levels of the FRWOI (see

appendix 1). Those interviewed from the study region had a wide range of responsibilities

and positions in the provincial and organizational offices. They included planning and

information officers and staff from different offices such as PPO, HTIO, FTO, supervisors

of the forest management plans and so on. All the interviews were recorded by a tape

cassette recorder for a later and exact analysis. Different offices at each level of the

organisation were studied in relation to their data collection, organising, input and

maintenance activities. The type and amount of data collected were noted during

interviews with personnel. The transfer of data and the flow of information from the field

level (control offices of forest management plans) to respective units of the GNRO was

evaluated, from the general office to the respective offices of the FRWOI, and vice versa.

• Field level (Control office level)

The supervisors or controllers of the forest management plans in the field are the starting

point from which the information stems, flowing from there to the upper levels of the

organisation. They, as representatives of the general office, control all of the activities

carried out by contractors or executives operating in the area covered by forest

management plans. The control of supervisors is based on booklets of the forest

Setting the objectives and scope of the study (problem analysis )

Situation analysis

Clear organizational information requirement (Integrate document analysis and interview)

Prototype construction (database design)

Test and evaluation of the prototype

Final system

Problem

Ok

No

Ok


management plans. In the booklets different activities and operations such as, forestry,

harvesting, silviculture, stand tending, re-forestation, construction of roads, and so on

were anticipated.

Files refer to data and information that are gathered and kept at the respective office in the

general offices or control offices. Once these files are sent out in compliance with a

directive or following a procedure, they become reports. In other words, reports are sent

out and received and when they are archived they become files. The data and information

collected at different levels are shown in the following tables.

Data and information

• All information about harvesting operations (marking, re-measurement, sorting of timber products, transfer licence, clean certification)

• List of felling licensees • Information about re-forestation and stand tending operations

• List of workers and contractors Reports

• Monthly timber productions and disposition report (25th) • Monthly reforestation and stand tending operations report (25th) • Monthly physical progress of the forestry plan report(25th) • Quarterly physical progress of the forestry plan report (25th)

• Monthly protection and conservation report by the natural resource offices to the general office (5th)

Table 7. Data and information at the field level

• The general office level

Almost all information held at field office level can be found in the general offices, in

slightly greater detail. The controllers of the forest management plans regularly report on

the progress of the plans to the FTO in the general office and the reports are then recorded

in the computer office. In Table 8 the existing information and reports that are sent from

the GNRO are listed.

• The organizational level

Provincial GNROs report the progress of implemented activities to respective offices in

the FRWOI monthly. Each division holds this information separately. The Plan, Program

and Statistic Office at the end of each fiscal year compiles necessary information for

making composite annual report to forward to the Ministry of Jahad – e - Keshavarzi and

the national planning commission. In Table 9, the information and reports administered at


the organization level are shown and in Table 10 the relationship of data classes, their

generators and report frequency are shown.


• Data and information on forestry operations such as physical progress of forest management Plans, volume of wood products, plantations

• Data and information on forest protection activities Such as confiscated logs, fire, pests, cases filed in court, deployment of forest guards

• List of felling licensees • Information about reforestation and stand tending operations • List of employees, workers and contractors • Information about rural community and their livestock in the forest area • Information about forest management plans and Integrated resource management plan

• Maps of the management plan areas and other areas Reports

• Monthly(10th), quarterly, annual disposition and production report • Monthly 10th), quarterly annual physical progress of the forestry plan report • Monthly (10th), quarterly, annual forest protection report • Monthly(10th), quarterly, annual reforestation and plantations report • Monthly revenue report

Table 8. Data and information at the general office


• History of the plantation and parks office (PPO) activities / projects / programs ( in computer and excel table )

• History of the harvesting and timber industries office (HTIO) activities ( from 1997 in annual booklet)

• History of the forecasting of the forest wood products ( from 1980 in booklet) • The conservation and protection office activities • Information on different working management plans and their executives, their facilities,

personnel, ( booklet) • The forest management plans booklets for the northern forest • Maps on the various projects/ activities and the maps of forest cover for the northern forest. • History of the organization operations from 1995 (annual booklet)

Reports

• Quarterly, annual re-forestation and plantations report to the plan, program and statistic office (PPSO)

• Quarterly, annual, timber production report from HTIO to PPSO • Quarterly, annual, HTIO revenue report to PPSO • Quarterly, annual, protection and conservation activities to PPSO • Annual organization operations report • Occasionally reports of different offices

Table 9. Data, information, reports in FRWOI level


Data/Report Generators (Departments or offices)

Data Class

Report frequency

Control

offices

Forestry

technical office

Plantation

and parks office

Harvesting and

Tim

ber industry office

Conservation and

protection office

Adm

inistration and finance office

Program

, plan and statistic office

Natural resource

offices

Manpower administration (Workers and contractors)

Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly, on- demand

*

Finance management

Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly,

*

Forestry plans (every ten years ,Continuously)

*

Information on harvesting operations (Marking, felling licences, … Stand tending operations

Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly on- demand

* * *

plantation Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly

* *

Information on Protection and conservation

Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly on- demand

* *

Information on Forest products revenue

Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly

*

Information on various projects/activities

Quarterly, Yearly on- demand

* * * * * *

Information on organization operation

Yearly

*

Table 10. The relationship of data classes, their generators and report frequency

6.3.3 Current status of information technology

Information processing and exchange have been significantly improved and automated

with the help of computers and other information technologies which are under

continuous improvement. This advancement and the spread of technology have lead many


to refer to this time as the information/digital age. But this is not reflected in the situation

in the forestry sector of Iran. Nevertheless, the computer market in Iran is well developed

and almost all major software and hardware products are available, information exchange

through electronic media in forestry sector is still in its infancy. There are also many

private and governmental institutes providing different training courses, even

programming courses in several programming languages in Iran.

The FRWOI has recently started to automate its data processing and information

dissemination processes. Encouraging progress has been evident in recent times. The full

computerization of information processing and exchange to and from all information

generators and users by means of the networking of computers using both LAN (local area

network) and WAN (wide area network) and application software are currently top of the

FRWOI current agenda. A master plan for the construction of a database within the

FRWOI in Chalous exists. There is also another national master plan, entitled TKFA, for

the development of information and communication technology nationally. The master

plan applies to all governmental organisations, including the FRWOI. Recently a primary

study was conducted on the technical and financial issues involved in the computerization

of forestry data and information processing and dissemination processes.

Almost all top and middle level staff within the FRWOI (also general offices) possess at

least some basic knowledge of personal computers and popular office software (word,

excel). However, the organisation does not have well trained computer and information

technology professionals who can undertake system analyses, systems design, software

development, database administration and other technical tasks. The training and

employment of computer and information technology professionals and the upgrading of

the skills of management and other staff through continuous training is one of the areas

that can contribute to improved performance.

• Hardware in use

The hardware available within the organisation and the general offices is mostly Pentium

III 800 and IV 2.4 GB. More up to date and efficient hardware has also been acquired

recently. Currently there are a total of 70 PCs in use in the GNRO of Noo-shahr. There are

various printers of different types and capacity.


• Software in use

Many different software applications are also in use within the organisation and the

general offices. Word processing software, excel and other useful programmes for

statistical analysis and graphics are also available. There is also GIS software for

providing maps and GIS analysis. Report preparation and other transactions are currently

mostly handled by MS Office software available in the general offices. There is also a

forestry system (FS) in the GNRO of Noo-shahr used for the analysis and retrieval of

information relating to marked trees and the provision of felling licences. Work on the

system began in 1990. There are some constraints to working with the system. The first is

that the system was designed with only the marked crop trees in mind, whereas many

other routine tasks cannot be accomplished. Another problem is the aged system’s lack of

power resulting in long processing times and an inability to cope with large volumes of

information.

• Network and communication

There is no network communication (online communication) between the offices of the

GNROs, except the Financial and Administrative Office. Fortunately, all offices within

the GNRO and the FRWOI possess the basic hardware necessary for network

communication. Listed in the following table are the basic characteristics of the hardware

network in the GNRO and the FRWOI1

Network Topologies

Width Band

Transport Protocols

Node Server Computers

GNRO

(Noo-shahr)

Bus 10/100 IPX 25 Pentium IV 70

FRWOI (Chalous)

Star 10/100 TCP/IP 110 Pentium IV 50

Table 11. Basic characteristics of hardware network in GNRO and FRWOI

1 Nazmavaran consultant engineering firm, unpublished, 2004.


6.3.4 Analysis of the current information flow of the forestry sector in Iran

• Data flow diagram

This study made use of work flow processes and the data flow diagram approach

following the three most important components of data and information management

for forestry – processes, files and flow, as shown in Fig 22. Processes show what

systems do. Each process has one or more data inputs and produces one or more

outputs. Each process has a unique name and number (Hawryszkiewycz 2001). Figure

22 shows a work flow process used to provide a forest management plan. The term

work flow is used because there is a defined flow of information and defined actions

to be taken at different points of this flow. A data flow diagram (DFD) shows how

data flows within a system. DFDs may be established at different levels of an

organisation, depending on the requirements of the task (Hawryszkiewycz 2001). The

input and output files are shown by the corresponding arrows, and also indicate the

flow of data. In this case, the starting point of this process is the application for the

determination of a specific site by the FRWOI’s FTO.

• Mechanisms used to ensure vertical flow of data:

Data on the production of forest products are obtained from periodic reports provided

by license and permit holders monitored by regional and field offices. Administrative

recording systems are most commonly used for official forest statistics.

The flow of data was characterised by a general model, the vertical data flow model. It

had the following features:

Data flows from the lowest (field control office) to the highest (FRWOI) level and

instructions based on the information generated flows in the reverse direction.

The lower levels record or collect data, which serve as source of all kinds of

information about forestry plans.

Data processing takes place in the units located at the medium (GNRO) and highest

(FRWOI) level; lower levels are rarely involved in data processing but may be asked

to verify data. Information is most often used to monitor performance.


Figure 22. Workflow processes for provision of a forest management plan

The highest level is the authority responsible for licensing and regulating forest –based

activities at the lower levels.

To better understand the flow of data from the field level to the organisational level, it

is helpful to describe the steps involved in the logging process in the Iranian forestry

sector.


The logging procedure

Prior to harvesting the selected crop trees are measured and marked individually and

some specifications of the crop trees such as tree number, species, diameter and height

are recorded on a special form. A copy of the completed form is kept in the control

office and a copy is sent to the FTO in the GNRO. Once the record is inputted into the

‘Forestry system’, the information can be analysed to determine the volume of the

marked crop trees. A felling licence must then be issued. The process is complex and

time consuming, especially in cases where the volume of crop trees exceeds 150 m³

because a one-year contract must be concluded to pay the price of timber products. A

copy of the felling licence with a list of the crop trees is sent to different offices (FTO,

HTIO, PPO) within the FRWOI in Chalous. A detailed copy is also sent to the

contractor or executive forest management plan and a copy is kept in FTO of the

GNRO. The information relating to felling licences has been stored in excel tables

since 1983, supplementary to the hard copies.

After the contractor or executive receives the felling licence, he can fell the marked

crop trees. These are then re-measured. The next step is stripping and sorting. A

felling licence may include several phases of stripping and sorting based on the type of

wood product (logs, lumber, fire wood). Once completed, the extraction and transport

of forest products from the forest can take place. The plan controller must submit the

transport licence. The licence is submitted in five copies: two for the truck driver, one

kept on file in the control office, one is sent to the general office and the final copy is

submitted to the plan contractor or executive. The presence in the field of the plan

controller at each juncture is essential and there is also a special form to be filled out

for each step for the recording of all pertinent information. Almost all steps in the

logging process go through the same procedure as was outlined for the marking of

crop trees. The last step is the submission by the supervisor of a certification of proper

conduct after all wood products have been extracted from the forest. This certification

is forwarded to the contractor or executive and a group of inspectors from the general

office accompanied by the plan controller then visit the site to confirm that the correct

procedures have been adhered to.

Unfortunately, this process is very cumbersome in practice and excessive manpower

and time is required to obtain the desired results. Fig 23 shows the work flow process


involved in the processing of a felling licence. As was mentioned previously, DFDs

may be established at different levels of an organisation.

Figure 23. Work flow process from the recording of marked trees to receipt of a felling licence

Existing information systems within the forestry sector should provide information to

various users within the FRWOI and to outside users. With respect to internal users,

the system is supposed to support users and executives in relation to:

• improving their implementation, monitoring, supervising and control capacities,


• discharging their decision making responsibilities,

• discharging their evaluation responsibilities (an assessment of the relevance,

performance and impact of various projects and programmes with respect to their

stated objectives) and

• discharging their responsibilities in relation to the provision of data to the national

forest information system.

The system is built upon experience. It is highly structured and less flexible in terms of

satisfying user demands especially, those at top levels. The level of operation of the

organization (organizational hierarchy) has an effect on the set-up, structure and

operation of the existing system. The system is composed of three sub-systems or

operational hierarchies.

However the type and scope of information demanded by the respective subsystems

varies as they have different users (Fig 24).

Figure 24. FRWOI, three hierarchical levels of information exchange


• Reporting methods

Reporting systems are the most established form of management information system

in the Noo-shahr general office, as in the other general offices. The reporting method

can be categorised according to three types: formal (periodic) progress reports,

exception (or problem diagnostic) reports and demand reports. However, these reports

are not explicitly identified by the FRWOI.

Formal periodic progress reports are prepared in accordance with pre-

designed formats. Their purpose is to inform the managers of the general office

and their supervisors within the FRWOI on the status of the various forestry

management programmes and projects, and on activities undertaken during the

period under review. They are supposed to provide information about the

ongoing forest management plans and tasks completed and those still in

progress.

Exception reports are supposed to be produced during project implementation

when certain parameters fall below expected levels.

On-demand reports are generated when an office director requests particular

information to support a decision making process. The nature and scope of on

demand reports differs greatly depending on the coverage of the information

required. This also affects the length of time taken from when the request is

made to submission of the report. Some reports are produced instantaneously,

whereas others require much more time.

• Gaps in data transfer and information flow

The information systems existing within the Iranian forestry sector are typically

classified as management reporting systems. They are general in nature and built

primarily to serve the average user (operational and middle level staff) within the

FRWOI. They are poorly designed when it comes to meeting the requirements and

expectations of different internal users, and external users even more so. They include

thousands of data entities and elements in relation to harvesting, plantations,


inventories, forest products, socio-economic issues and office resources (manpower,

finance, transport and other properties).

The system is centrally administered in the sense that data from all field offices are

collected regularly and kept in centrally administered computers or filing cabinets at

provincial and organizational level.

Reports are submitted via fax, post, telephone or by hand, and are kept in filing

cabinets in numerous offices and some statistical information is stored in excel tables.

Although almost all of the organizational and provincial offices have a computer some

staff members are not familiar with how to use them. There are not enough training

facilitates available for staffs to improve their qualifications. As was stated previously,

there is no computer network in place for the transfer of reports or information.

Processed data is disseminated to various users in the form of reports. The system is

predominantly paper-based.

Occasionally, an office in the FRWOI headquarters or the general office must report

the same information to different divisions and in different formats. The preparation of

essentially identical reports in different formats is a waste of both time and money.

Sometimes the submission of reports is delayed as the forestry officers responsible

have not accorded the data and information an especially high priority. They are less

concerned about the accuracy and the comprehensiveness of the data and information.

There appear to be no gaps within the existing, cumbersome reporting system because

the reporting system is followed studiously.

• Major weaknesses in the current management of forest information in FRWOI

According to the findings of this study, the management information system employed

by the forestry sector does not satisfy the information needs of the FRWOI, hampering

the management functions of the organisation. In general, the system suffers from a

multitude of weakness that can be categorised on the basis of content, efficiency, and

organisational and operational weakness.


Content weakness

• inaccurate and incomplete information in some reports

• too detail, rigidity and more routine nature of reports

• inadequate forms and formats for the presentation of information

• delays in the transfer of information, often excessive delays

• inconsistency and slow update of information.

The reporting system is geared towards lower or operational levels of

management. It lacks the capacity for aggregation and the flexibility required by

top management, thereby hampering their ability to draw on information necessary

for decision making within a changing environment.

Efficiency shortcomings

As a result of FRWOI inability to coordinate and manage data resources, the same

data is sometimes collected independently by different branches within the

organisation or other agencies. Alternatively, in the case of other potentially vital

information no one assumes responsibility for its collection.

The system is manual. However, the current national forest information system

project is supposed to tackle problems associated with the sluggishness, lack of

accuracy and the high levels of irrelevance of the present reporting system.

Preparation of reports with little consideration of the decision needs of

management at various hierarchies. As a result some times executives at higher

levels receive the same information with the same excessive details as lower level

staffs or executives. Consequently, much time is wasted for sorting and extracting

relevant information or report is simply discarded.

The forms and formats used for the dissemination of information are often

inadequate. There is no common/standardised format for reporting information to

different offices or levels so presumably they are getting reports in different format

any way.


Organizational and operational shortcomings

There is a tendency to collect large quantities of data. Although this might be

viewed as a positive phenomenon, data collected without any specific purpose in

mind are of limited use and may often be a liability rather than an asset to the

organisation. Such data are neither fully analysed nor put to effective use. Nor are

they amenable to incorporation in subsequent evaluations.

Information for internal management use and that collected for supervisory and

funding agencies are collected and processed similarly. They are comparable in

terms of content but with some minor differences in the degree of aggregation.

There are few or no mechanisms in place to conduct systematic verification or

validity tests to check the quality and accuracy of data collected. This has a

negative effect on the decisions or plans prepared using the data if the data proves

inaccurate.

Although management information systems are specialised structures requiring

special skills and need continuous development, little or no effort is made to train

or to update the skills of staff engaged in or required to work with forest

management information systems. There is lack of adequate resources and logistics

necessary to run forest MIS efficiently, especially at field and sometimes even at

provincial level. At the same time, the available forest MIS equipment is also

inefficiently used (such as computers).

• Problems associated with reports and reporting system

Data generation and collection

The absence of standardised and comprehensive information dissemination formats

coupled with inappropriate principles and methods of data collection and processing

lead to:

• ambiguous or/and inconclusive definition of the data requirement

• a shortage of data, especially for evaluation purposes

• a lack of checks and cross checks for the data collected


• poor communication between data collectors, processors and users.

Data processing, dissemination and communication

• monotonous presentation of data

• inefficient handling of data, difficulties obtaining even available data

• inefficient sharing and flow of data/information and communication between

data/report generators and users.

Data use and retrieval

• Limited technical and institutional capacity to use, locate, store, and retrieve

data

• Lack of skill and sometimes interest to use and communicate even available

data

• Inefficient and uncoordinated use of information technologies and media

(computer, telephone).

Summary of the above problems

The major problems associated with reports and the reporting systems in the FRWOI

are summarised in the following:

• Contents problems

• Layout problems, i.e., monotonous way of presenting data

• Inadequate technical and material capacity to identify critical information

requirements and to establish a comprehensive system which can meet both short-

and long-term needs and sustain in changing situations and needs

• Interpretation problems

• Time problems (to send and receive reports at appropriate time)

• Problems in updating data/information

• Poor (or below expectation) communication

• Incompleteness of reports

• Lack of consistency and comprehensiveness

• Problems or lack of uniformity in reports and reporting formats (in spatial and

time-series terms) especially with respect to long-term needs.


All these contribute for poor utilization of reports and low users’ interest and

confidence even to use available data and information.

6.4 Prototype database

6.4.1 System modules

The results of the system specification were used to construct the prototype of the

proposed system to provide the information necessary to support decision making

processes by the top management of the FRWOI and the planning and monitoring

activities of the middle level users (GNRO). The present forest management information

system was designed in line with the aforementioned objectives and procedures. Microsoft

Access 2000 was used to develop and manage the database. Data to be used for

report/information generation can be stored updated and altered in the database

constructed using Access. It was adopted because the relational database management

system has become the common data processing software in use nowadays and Microsoft

Access is the most widely used relational DBMS for the Microsoft Windows

environment. Microsoft Access doesn’t load software components that aren’t required for

all databases, such as Visual Basic for Applications and Data Access objects until they are

needed. This shortens the time it takes a database to load, improving its overall

performance (Chandurkar and Sudeshna 2003). When a table, query or form is saved,

Microsoft Access saves any sort order that has been specified and automatically reapplies

it each time that object is opened. If a new form or report is based on a table or query that

has a sort order (increasing, decreasing or alphabetical order) saved with it, the form or

report inherits the sort order. Each time the form or report is opened Microsoft Access

automatically reapplies the sort order. Standard query language (SQL) in MS Access can

also be used to retrieve different information and to produce and display information in

different report formats.

The forest management information system designed for the GNRO of Noo-shahr

comprises four system components. These four system components consist of about thirty

interrelated modules, each of which can function as an element of an integrated

information system. They are:


1. Survey system component

1.1 General survey information

1.2 Plot information

1.3 Stand status information

1.4 Trees information

1.5 Regeneration information

1.6 Witness trees1 information

2. Harvesting system component

2.1 Forestry plan information

2.1.1 Information on the progress of forestry plan

2.1.2 Information on forestry plans incomes

2.1.3 Information on forecasted products of forestry plans

2.1.4 Marked trees information

2.1.5 Felling licence information

2.1.6 Information on the re-measuring of trees

2.1.7 Timber assortment information

2.1.8 Information on forest products extraction conditions

2.1.9 Information on contracted firms

3. Plantation system component

3.1 Plantation information

3.2 Forest nursery information

3.3 Forest park information

3.4 Forest reserve information

3.5 Seed orchard information

4. Information on violation cases2 system component

4.1 Article cases 11, 42, 43, 46, 49, 50, 55, 690, 3 (7), Arrest case 42, 48

4.2 Arrested case, timber wood forest products in control stations

4.3 Arrested case, non-timber forest products in control stations

4.4 Fire information

1 witness tress, the two trees in each sample plot that the height should be measured in addition to other parameters 2 Violation cases, comprise different violation and illegal uses from forest and other natural resources


Figure 25. System home page

The prototype consists of different screens with different type of information. The first

screen is the system homepage. It has a welcome message and consists of four main

options for selecting different components system and three another options one for

closing the system and the other one for opening different useful links page and the last

one for opening the report page as it shows in Fig 25.

6.4.2 Survey system module

The survey system component consists of six interrelated forms representing different

surveys, plots, stand statuses, trees information, regeneration information and witness tree

information, as shown in Fig 26. The main objective of the component is to store forest

inventory information, which is the basic information required for the provision of forest

management plans. This system component allows new surveys to be added to the system.


The source of data for the module will be the forest inventories carried out by FRWOI’s

Forestry Technical Office every ten years. Through the spatial information in this system

component – such as watersheds, district and parcel IDs, as well as the coordinates and

codes of the sample plots – the survey information can be inserted or transferred to the

GIS component. Therefore, different forest maps such as species distribution maps, maps

of forest type, maps of stand damage, stock maps, etc., can be generated by using the GIS

component.

6.4.3 Harvesting system module

Sufficient comprehensive information about different harvesting operations is important

for the successful implementation of forest management plans and projects.

The operation of the harvesting module is supported by several subsystems. The major

objective of the module is to keep top management in the GNRO and FRWOI informed of

the progress of forest management plans and the activities of different contractors or

executives in forest management plan areas.

The harvesting module represents the information covered within the forest management

plans: progress of the commitments laid down in forest management plans, incomes,

forecasted products, marked trees, felling licences, re-measurement of trees, timber

assortments, extraction conditions for timber products, contracted firms (see Fig 27 to 32).

The data for this module is to be collected from the different forest management plan

progress reports sent by the control offices to the GNROs. As can be seen from Fig 27

showing the main page of this module, the information on the different operations planned

for each district and the operations completed within each year of the forestry plan can be

entered and stored. This helps the manager compare the forecasted harvesting operations

with what has actually been done. This subsystem module can also be a useful tool for

ensuring that all of the commitments made by different contractors operating in the area,

and incorporated within the management plan, are fulfilled. On the right side of the page

are several links to other subsystems within the module.

Fig 28 shows the mask for the page relating information concerning the process of

marking crop trees for harvesting, the first step in the harvesting process (see section

6.3.4). The information stored and processed by this subsystem includes the spatial


(location as either a parcel or district ID, forestry plan, harvesting year and so on) and

species information pertaining to crop trees (species name, tree type (industrial or fire

wood trees), dbh, height).

The felling licence subsystem (Fig 29) will store summary of marked crop trees

information (tree species to be cut) and the information relating to the felling licences

(felling licence number, date of felling, date of expiry of felling licence, location and so

on) permitting contractors to cut trees.

Fig 30 shows the re-measurement subsystem. This subsystem module was designed to

provide information on the re-measurement process as another important step within the

harvesting process, and concerns the re-measurement of crop trees after felling. The re-

measurement of felled trees provides more accurate information on the volumes of crop

trees by dividing them into several sections, each of which is numbered and measured.

This information should be stored to allow for comparison of the quantities of industrial

and fire wood trees felled.

The timber assortment subsystem module (Fig 31) was designed to store information on

the location of timber assortments (parcel, district, forestry plan name), harvesting year,

timber assortment type (logs or other wood products, and so on) and information on the

timber products produced (species name, product type, length, diameter, width).

The extraction of the assortments products upon the felling and re-measurement of trees is

the last part of the harvesting process. When all of the products are extracted from the

forest then the supervisors of the forest management plans can provide the contractors a

certificate. This certificate confirms that the contractors fulfilled all of their commitments.

Therefore, the extraction condition of the assortments produced subsystem module is an

important module designed to store the information on products transported from the

forest and the conditions for their transport, as outlined in every felling licence. As Fig 32

shows, general information is stored in this subsystem module (felling licence number,

district ID, forestry plan name, and report date), in addition to the extraction conditions

(produced log, transported from the forest), transport conditions (log volume, lumber

volume, bolster volume, sawn wood volume, tunnel wood volume, fire wood volume,

charcoal).


6.4.4 Plantation system module

The first page of the plantation system component (Fig 33) consists of five options for

different certificates: plantation certificate, forest nursery, forest parks, seed orchard and

forest reserve certificate.

The plantation certificate module is designed to facilitate the recording, processing, use

and retrieval of plantation information. Given that there is not enough detailed information

about the planted area in northern Iran, and as there is no information on the mortality of

plantations this subsystem is another useful tool storing and processing the information

required in relation to plantations and their mortality. As Fig 34 shows, the plantation

subsystem includes general information about the locality of the plantation, topography

information (slope, aspect, coordinates, altitude, soil condition, date of plantation) and

species information (species, distance, n/ha, %/ha, number of bare root planted species,

number of container planted species, species age, seed provenance) for every plantation.

The spatial information contained in this subsystem module facilitates insertion of the

information stored in the module in GIS. With the help of the GIS component, different

maps can be created, such as maps of the species distribution of plantations or plantation

areas, and so on.

In fact, by using the spatial information or special IDs and codes of other subsystems

within this system module – forest nursery, forest parks, seed orchard and forest reserve –

each subsystem can be connected to the GIS component to generate the different maps

required.


Figure 26. Survey page1

Figure 26. Survey page2


Figure 27. Starting page for the forestry plans component of the system

Figure 28. Marked trees information page


Figure 29. Felling licence information page

Figure 30. Information on re-measurement of trees page


Figure 31. Timber assortment information page

Figure 32. Extraction conditions of produced products information page


Figure 33. Starting page for plantation component

Figure 34. Plantation information page


Figure 35. Forest nursery information page

Figure 36. Forest parks information page


6.4.5 Violation cases system module

One of the major problems facing the forest Conservation and Protection Office of the

FRWOI is preventing the illegal use of the forests and other natural resources. Complete

information concerning different violations can help management to better control and

combat these problems. The purpose of this module is to provide comprehensive

information about illegal forest use and other natural resources. The data for this module

will derive principally from monthly reports compiled by the natural resource offices

(NROs) and submitted to the GNROs. This module system is divided into four main sub-

modules (Fig 37 to 39).

Figure 37 shows the first page of the system module. In this page firstly can be entered the

general information for each violation case (ID_case, NRO name, GNRO name, file

number, violation article type, date, local, status of local, name of violator). Then base on

the type of violation, optional extra information may be added for example, for the case of

arrest case42 special information consist of number of timber, timber volume, fire wood

volume, charcoal weight.

Figure 37. Starting page for violation cases component


Figure 38. The page for violation cases of arrested TWP in control stations

Figure 39. The fire information page


6.4.6 Creating reports and making an enquiry

The IFMIS allows the user to generate reports for different subsystems. Both tabular (Fig

40-42) and graphic reports (Fig 43) can be generated using this module. These reports can

be created from information contained in only one table or from a query of different

tables. For example, the information contained in Fig 42 was extracted from a query of

different tables such as marked trees, re-measurement and timber assortment table (see

appendix 2). This report can help the user to compare the industrial wood and fire wood

volumes produced by marked trees prior to cutting and assortments produced after cutting

for each felling licence. One of the important advantages of a database is the extraction of

only the relevant information from one or more tables containing a huge volume of

information by using a query. This advantage can save time spent on the retrieval of

information. Various commonly asked questions can also be pre-designed to get an

efficient and quick response.

Figure 40. An example of forestry plan commitments report


Figure 41. An example of marking trees information report

1 Figure 42. An example of felling licence information report

1 MARK IND WOOD = Volume of Industrial marked trees, MARK F WOOD= Volume of Fuel wood marked trees, RE MEASUR IND WOOD= Volume of Industrial re-measured trees, RE MEASUR F WOOD= Volume of Fuel wood re-measured trees


Figure 43. An example of graphic report produced by MS Access

6.4.7 GIS and its application in forestry sector in Iran

What is a GIS?

A geographic information or geographical information system (GIS) is a system for

creating, storing, analyzing and managing spatial data and associated attributes. In the

strictest sense, it is a computer system capable of integrating, storing, editing,

analyzing, sharing, and displaying geographically-referenced information1.

GIS Components

A GIS is an integrated system that consists of hardware, software, data, and users.

These components interact to address spatial questions that can be used to facilitate

more efficient decision-making processes. Overall, the components of a GIS are

dynamic. Advancements in technological developments in GIS computer hardware,

1 http://www.rst2.edu/ties/GENTOOLS/what_gis.html

es Diagram of total basal area in different diameter classes


software, and data acquisition techniques compel users to pursue additional training to

develop the necessary technical skills that will support the use of a GIS to its fullest

potential1.

GIS applications in natural resources

Since its inception, GIS technology has been strongly associated with the mapping and

management of natural resources. Although GIS continues to be used for automating

the making of forest maps, attention is largely focused on developing and using the

modelling capabilities of GIS software to analyse natural resource issues and concerns.

In forestry, some models simply automate the calculation of timber yields, help select

timber for either harvest or conservation, or analyse potential forest-management

alternatives. Within this decade, GIS will be used increasingly to interface with

predictive models, providing forest managers with a critical tool to aid in the analysis

and comparison of integrated resource- management alternatives.

GIS application in the Iranian forestry sector

There is a small GIS unit within the Forest Technical Office of the FRWOI, as well as

the general office. This unit mainly caters for mapping needs and data management for

watershed management projects. The use of GIS in forest management in Iran began

in 1991 (Rassaneh 2003). From 1998 to 2001 a study on the use of GIS as a supporting

system for providing forest management plans was carried out. This study established

a fixed sample plot grid for 103 watersheds in the northern forests area. It also

included different spatial layers (shape files representing watersheds, districts, parcels,

roads, boundaries and villages in the forest). A GIS database is available in Arc View

format. There are digital maps of forest cover, and the location of sample plots are also

indicated on the maps.

Unfortunately there are not enough computer specialists to maintain and upgrade the

GIS database, although some GIS encoding is pursued through the geo-referencing of

important GPS points. Generally, spatial data are unavailable, poorly maintained,

outdated or incorrect. Spatial information is not defined in a consistent manner and is,

therefore, of low quality. Data are not archived in such a way that they are available

1 http://www.rst2.edu/ties/GENTOOLS/comp_gis.html


for later use. Despite its availability, the existing application of GIS lacks an analytical

form. The main reasons for this are:

• the poor understanding on the basic concepts and principles of GIS,

• insufficient training for personnel,

• a shortage of funds required for the establishment of a comprehensive GIS

system.

The potential benefits of integration GIS into the IFMIS

Providing a framework for the integration of GIS exists, remote sensing information

inputted into the IFMIS can aid in the decision making process, helping solve

problems caused by the non-availability of spatial information. It can serve as a spatial

decision support system via the analysis of spatial forest data presented in map-based

formats.

• Forest monitoring

The northern forests of Iran are monitored through ground-based surveys with a

certain degree of field sampling. Two types of information are collected, spatial

and point/plot related information. By employing the emerging remote sensing and

GIS technology, the spatial maps of forest cover can be prepared using satellite

data and changes to forest cover can be evaluated at regular intervals. All of the

data can be stored in the GIS for decision making purposes.

• Forest protection and damage

The Iranian forests are currently undergoing rapid change and degradation as a

consequence of various human activities (illegal harvesting, grazing) and natural

disturbances (fire). The information with regard to various forms of damage can be

incorporated in the GIS and used to determine the areas where containment of the

damage has the highest priority. One such example might be a decision support

system for predicting fires and simulating the damage they cause.


• Forest conservation

Forest conservation is also an important potential function of the GIS component

of the IFMIS, necessary for the preservation of the rich habitats and biodiversity of

the northern forests of Iran. The spatial information relating to national parks,

biosphere reserves, forest parks, etc., can be integrated into the GIS and the data

used to assist conservation planning. However, the data characterising the physical

and biological conditions and structures of these areas first need to be inventoried

and integrated into the GIS.

• Forest growing stock assessment

The availability of remote sensing, GIS and GPS technology for the localisation of

plots has contributed greatly to forest inventory and the assessment of growing

stock. The integration of growth models into the GIS represents a vitally important

future task for the Iranian forestry sector. A forest inventory data analysis system

can be developed by incorporating forest inventory data contained in the IFMIS

into the GIS. The information contained within the survey system module can be

transferred into GIS on the basis of the spatial information, such as watershed,

district and parcel IDs, as well as the coordinates of plots.

Therefore, the system has the potential to provide spatial data and maps of forest

cover, forest type, species composition, stand volumes and other stand attributes.

• Forest management plans

Approximately one million hectares of the northern forest of Iran are managed

according to the prescriptions detailed in management plans, normally prepared for

a period of ten years. A major part of the content of the management plans

concerns spatial and non-spatial data, which can be fully digitised and incorporated

into GIS. The synthesis of forest operations according to their locations, objectives

and results organised in the database and linked to the maps enhances the capacity

to understand productive regions and to plan further silvicultural treatments.


For example, the harvesting module system in the IFMIS can be readily

incorporated into GIS – on the basis of the spatial information such as parcel,

district and forestry plan IDs – to create different harvesting operation maps.

Conclusion and recommendations 140

7. Conclusion and recommendations

7.1 Conclusion

Progress in the development of forestry depends on several frequently interrelated factors.

These factors comprise infrastructure, research, policy, etc. However, the priorities attached to

each of these factors differ sharply from country to country. The problems associated with all

of these factors cannot be adequately addressed and translated into useful policies and

executable projects and programmes without sufficient information and information

management. An economic activity cannot be implemented effectively or function correctly

without relevant, timely, accurate and reliable information.

Forestry database and information systems can provide management with the tools necessary

for strategic and policy decisions, enabling it to answer ad hoc inquiries, providing the means

to monitor development trends, compare plans and results, and to manage the data required

for day to day activities. Forest management information systems should, therefore, be the

basic component at the heart of any forest organisation and must be incorporated into both its

short and long term plans.

The organised development of an integrated forestry information system is a complex and

long term job, and requires careful analysis and design before implementation. A major

component of the analysis is a detailed study of the information requirements of the

organisation in question. There are numerous sets of people involved in the development of

information systems within an organisation: managers, system users, the computer

programmers who implement the systems, etc.

The identification of the information to be processed, disseminated and documented is the

cornerstone of any new information management initiative and the development of an

information system. It ensures that the organisation collects and manages only that

information which is useful for the success of its operations. It makes sure that the collection

of irrelevant information is avoided, thereby lowering the costs of management. An

information requirement analysis is based on a systematic approach and methods. The

interviewing and questionnaire methods are the most common and popular formal methods

used to identify the information requirement of an organisation. These methods help to

identify information useful to the organisation’s management, and to determine what


information they use in the current systems, and how it is used. The approach also involves

determining what information personnel feel is lacking, and which if provided would allow

them to better perform their jobs. There are two important aspects to understanding user

requirements:

Understanding the flow of documentation within an organisation; documents represent the

basic data available within an organisation and it is therefore essential to know from where

they originate and how they flow.

Understanding the rules used to process data; very often the rules are complex and transmitted

verbally, leading to misunderstandings.

Information system design is the next step in the development of an information system.

There are different types of information systems, however, any one of which may be better

suited to a particular user at a particular level of the management hierarchy of an organisation.

Traditionally, management information systems were believed to serve all users in an

organisation equally. This is one of the reasons why in the present study an attempt was made

to develop an integrated forest management information system (IFMIS) incorporating many

features typical of an executive information system.

The effects of using an IFMIS can be direct and indirect, measurable and ‘un-measurable’.

The most significant directly measurable effects are increased production and better quality,

together with greater opportunities for predicting, planning and controlling processes within

the forestry sector. The direct and measurable effects are:

• less administrative and routine work,

• saving on space and equipment,

• elimination of conventional documentation,

• less data redundancy,

• lower stock costs,

• shorter time and increased quality of data and information processing

The proposed IFMIS will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of decision making

processes by top management and the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation

activities of middle level and operational level management of the FRWOI by:


• Introducing flexibility in information structure including reporting form and format,

• Providing the possibility to ‘navigate’ the layers of the information hierarchy. This

allows users to determine the underlying contents of the information and to analyse

any deviations from the management plan, to draw on data from a wide range of

internal and external databases, to re-group them and to run different types of analyses

on the spot. Users can utilise this capability to pre-programme analytical routines

which can perform ad hoc comparisons of actual results with plan data, of current

results with those of the previous year, etc.

• Increasing the efficiency of data communication and monitoring. This will improve

the overall productivity in the organisation and reduce the costs of communication,

such as the cost of phone calls, paper and so on. This is due to the electronic nature of

data processing and the online transfer mechanism provided by the system and intranet

facilities on which the system can be based.

• Promoting a ‘culture’ of shared attention to key areas of the success of failure of

forestry projects and other information. It enables all departments to access the same

data concurrently.

The prototype method was used to design the system. It is a participatory method promoting

user involvement and facilitating the production of an early version of the system. Prototyping

allows potential users to interact with the initial version on a trial and error basis until the

final version of the system has evolved.

Potential users at the FRWOI tested the prototype, highlighting weaknesses and suggesting

improvement possibilities. They commended its performance and recommended it be

developed into a fully operational system.

7.1.1 System technology requirement and proposed data flow

The volume of data and the transaction rate for the proposed system are high.

Furthermore, many people will use the FRWOI database concurrently. The database has

been designed to handle all of the FRWOI’s data requirements and its many branch

offices. The system, therefore, demands technology that can handle a large database with

many concurrent users.


A broad decision to be made concerns whether to adopt batch or online facilities. In online

systems, the user communicates with the computer directly through a terminal or

workstation. In a batch system, transactions are collected, inputted into the computer and

processed together when the output is produced. This is then passed on to the appropriate

user. Considerable time may elapse between the original input and the response (Avison

and Fitzgerald 1995). Taking into consideration the current situation at the FRWOI, a

batch system is recommended (Fig 44). However, once enough experience has been

gained an online system should be introduced.

Figure 44. Proposed organizational network in information generation and use in FRWOI

A system providing various processing facilities can produce outputs in various formats.

Outputs (reports) can be presented as text, graphs and tables, or as a combination of the

aforementioned. The diverse functions of the FRWOI mean that a system is required that

can produce output reports in various forms and formats suiting different users. The MS

Access database can also be connected to the system so as to facilitate the transfer of data

to statistics and GIS programmes for the provision of the required output.

Most of the data to be included in the first phase of the IFMIS database is expected to be

provided by the GNROs, with a considerable amount of this data contained in supervisor


reports. The available raw data from the supervisors can be transferred directly onto

computer by the supervisors themselves. To achieve this, the supervisors or control offices

need to be equipped with the relevant computer hardware and software. From the GNROs

the processed data can be transferred to the central database in Chalous by an off-line

connection or by means of different computer compatible media such as floppy discs and

CDs. The advantages of this alternative are that it is time effective and it solves

operational problems in relation to data consistency and validation because the central

IFMIS does not need to be contacted to resolve the problem each time an inconsistency is

noticed in the raw data. It is, therefore, advisable that data entry should take place at

control office level or at the GNRO level. The GNROs are also to be responsible for

providing data for the update of the database from time to time. The FRWOI computer

centre in Chalous may be entrusted with the task of creating the database, editing the

‘data’, updating the national forest information database, and most importantly of all,

developing the software required for the retrieval of information from the database when

queries are made by different users. In fact, with the use of IFMIS it should be mentioned

that the hierarchy of data flow from the first point namely control offices to the

organizational level would not be changed what can change is the time of data flow and

the quick accessibility and retrieval of required information.

7.1.2 Transferability of the system and procedure

The transferability of the prototype and the methods used to develop it further are a

function of the objectives and activities of the system development. Moreover, the type

and level of information technology to be used for information processing and

dissemination should be standardised. The greater the similarities in these factors between

the Noo-shahr GNRO and the other GNROs, the higher the probability that the system

and the procedures followed in its development will be transferred.

The method used to develop the prototype (integrated forest management information

system) for the Noo-shahr GNRO is new to the FRWOI. There is not much prior

knowledge or experience of the design of an IFMIS that can meet exclusively the

demands of the top management of the organisation. Therefore, the prototyping method

used in this study to produce an appropriate model can be used to design a system for the


whole FRWOI and in a situation where system users have failed to define their

requirements.

The aforementioned factors justify the transferability of the methods and procedures used

to develop the prototype. The prototype itself can be changed easily to accommodate

different operating systems used in other GNROs.

7.1.3 Factors affecting implementation and operation sustainability of the system

Technical and institutional capacities are the two major factors determining the successful

implementation and operational sustainability of the system to be evolved from the

present prototype.

Technical Capacity

• Manpower

The problem with manpower is in most cases related to the very low pay for computer

professionals. The hiring and retention of skilled information technology professionals

requires greater monetary incentives than are currently being paid by government

institutions. The problem is worsened by the demand for the very same skilled

individuals within the growing private sector. It is time that the government addresses

the issue so that problems associated with skilled manpower can be solved before it is

too late. This is supported by the fact that there is not a single computer science

professional within the FRWOI trained in database design or networking.

• Training

Due to the low level of information and computer literacy in the FRWOI, the capacity

to identify critical success factors and design an executive information system is

generally low. The level of knowledge in relation to the use of hardware and software

is also low despite the limited and slow improvements registered recently.

Upgrading the skills of both management and workers through continuous training

would undoubtedly contribute to better performance. IFMIS cannot be implemented

and maintained unless driven by user requirements, which are themselves a result of

continuous and relentless training. Personnel able to act as trouble shooters in the

event of small but critical and frequent problems are also insufficient. According to the


findings of this study, the main types of training required relate mainly to the

following:

• data collection and collation techniques,

• manual data validation, basic to advanced general computer training,

• client server database management systems,

• web page design and maintenance,

• network administration and maintenance.

Most of aforementioned training is relevant for junior and senior technical staff in the

data management and processing department. However, senior management and

decision makers – the principle users of the executive information system – also

require special training. This training will promote future improvement. Users at

middle and lower management level engaged in routine operations also need training

in basic computer use and the proposed IFMIS prototype.

Institutional capacity

Institutional capacity refers to the ability of an organisation to operate and sustain the

system under its present structure and administration guidelines. A sustainable

organisational structure must be in place to allow the system to operate effectively.

The legal and institutional framework with respect to data collection, processing and

dissemination between the general offices and the FRWOI, as well as other institutes

involved in collecting forestry data, should be critically reviewed and established to

avoid the duplication of work and the wasting of resources. The FRWOI can serve as

focal point for the implementation of the system but should be properly structured and

staffed to meet fully the tasks delegated to it.

Operational sustainability refers to the structures and operational guidelines put in

place to enhance the continuous operation of the system. Capacity building should be

an ongoing process and a component of system development efforts. This should be

based on continuous business process re-engineering, the improvement of the

technical capacities of personnel and the modification of the institutional structure

based on the results of the business process re-engineering and the improvements

made.


User benefit is critical to the sustainability of any new system. The system should

meet user requirements at all levels and at all times. This is paramount to its

sustainability. The quality of the system should be high in order to maintain user

interest in accessing and using the information. The quality of data, the ease of

connectivity and accessibility are also key factors in the sustainability of the system.

Inter-institutional linkage and cooperation is also important for a sustainable system.

All general offices participating in the system – whether through data collection,

processing, use or documentation and dissemination – have a well defined charter

clearly stating their responsibilities, and defining how they can coordinate their

activities and fulfil their responsibilities.

Finally, it is necessary that all involved realise and take cognisance of that fact that the

complete implementation of all aspects of an integrated IFMIS can span around 10 to

15 years, depending on the size of the forest organisation (staff resources, equipment,

data creation and its periodic updating and validation, training, maintenance and

repair, upgrades and software support).

7.2 Recommendations

7.2.1 Collecting useful information and construction of a metadata database

Traditionally, forestry statistics and information covered an extensive area of what is

today considered sustainable forest management. In developing a comprehensive system

of information collection, the most critical questions are:

• what information is required for decisions by different stakeholders and at various

levels?

• what is the precision of the information required to support decision making?

• how can access to information be ensured for a wide range of potential users?

• how to find out what information is available?

A metadata information system is needed to answer some of these questions.


Metadata information system

Metadata are data about data. Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular

set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted. Metadata is essential for

understanding information stored in data warehouses1.

Metadata is particularly important in relation to providing information on what

information is accessible and from where and how it can be accessed. Metadata also

include technical information, for example, the exchange format, exchange medium,

software and hardware used, and so on.

Often such metadata are defined in one metadata database. The metadata database should

provide sufficient and detailed information so that the actual information sought is

accessible and may be correctly used. It should facilitate both information exchange and

experience exchange. It serves as a source of information letting users know where

information suiting their purposes is available. One important feature of the performance

of metadata is a problem oriented access on information that means access must originate

in needed content of information and it should not set technical characteristics in

foreground. The Metadata information system can be constructed for both non-spatial and

spatial data set.

The quality characteristics of information ascertained should be stored as a metadata

component of a metadata database. Metadata should answer the following questions:

• To what does the information pertain?

• When and where was the information collected?

• To what area does the information refer to?

• Who provided the information and for what purpose?

• Who has access to the information?

• Where is the information stored?

• In what format is the information available?

1 http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/m/metadata.html


• What is the quality of the information?

• Who can provide the information?

• What is the cost of obtaining the information? (Feghhi, 1998)

The construction of a metadata information system is another important task facing the

forestry sector in Iran. If completed, it will be an especial help to forest researchers

wishing to find out quickly just what information already exists.

7.2.3 Increase co-ordination and collaboration

Co-ordination and collaboration between the different sectors involved in forest

information are essential to streamline information systems and to provide comprehensive

information at the national level.

In order to increase and enhance co-ordination and collaboration, thereby ensuring the

provision of a comprehensive public good, i.e., information, it is recommended that the

following should be done:

• Partnership developed between all forestry stakeholders, with an exchange of

information and a sharing of responsibilities.

• Increased co-operation to avoid duplication, which is essential particularly where there

is a shortage of funds.

• Development of standard and cost-effective guidelines and methodologies for data

collection, processing and dissemination.

• Development of efficient information networks to facilitate the flow of information.

Summary 150

Summary

The size and diversity of activities carried out by the Forest, Rangeland & Watershed

Organization of Iran results in the production and reproduction of huge volumes of data and

documents. It is difficult to provide reports suited to the particular needs of a specific user and

in turn for the user to retrieve from the reports the information required for decision making,

research, and so on. What is lacking in the Iranian forestry sector is not so much forestry

information but its management (the capacity to systematically process, store, retrieve,

disseminate and document forestry information) and the corresponding capacity to use this

information efficiently.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for the forestry sector in Iran to organise this huge

collection of information and the dissemination activities under a unifying umbrella and work

out mechanisms for information exchange and generation. Unless this is done, information

collection and utilisation in the forestry sector will fail to support any specific planning and

management objectives. The best possible solution to these problems is an electronic database

and information system.

The aim of the present study was to introduce a computer-based management information

system for the provincial General Natural Resource Office (GNRO) in Noo-shahr in particular

and the Forest, Range & Watershed Organisation of Iran (FRWOI) generally. The two main

objectives were:

Analysis of the present conditions of forest information flow in the forestry sector of

Mazandaran province in Iran and identification of the gaps in data transfer and information

Analysis of information requirement

Design of a database model and forest management information system for managing of


Construction and testing of the database model

The first step in the development of a forest management information system is an

information requirement analysis. The procedures used for information requirement analysis

Summary 151

combined document analysis and questioning (interview and questionnaire). The procedures

combined the following activities:

• Situation analysis to determine the objectives and strategies of the FRWOI, which in

turn helped to set the objectives and scope of the study (problem analysis). Literature

review, expert discussion, and interview and observation were used for the situation

analysis

• Assessment of the system environment including information generators and users,

current reporting methods, system support facilities and factors affecting system

implementation and smooth transformation from the existing to the proposed new

system

• Determination of the information requirement (integration of results obtained using

the above methods) and getting the approval of potential users.

The methods employed to accomplish the aforementioned tasks were introductory

discussions, personal observation, literature review, interviews and questionnaires. The

introductory discussion and meting were conducted to prompt the participation of potential

users, and to explain the objectives of the study. The literature review was carried out to

identify problems that might not have been revealed during the discussions and to get details

on the problems that were discussed. The study of the existing documentation was also

helpful in further clarifying the activities carried out and the issues in relation to the present

information system. Finding the gaps in the information and information flow was

instrumental to formulating questions for the questionnaire and interviews. Observation

helped identify weaknesses in the existing system.

The results of the literature review and questioning were combined in a comprehensive

evaluation of the FRWOI’s information requirement. Potential users and top management

were asked whether the outcome addressed their information needs and produced a clear

representation of the organisation’s information requirement.

The next step in the development of an integrated forest management information system was

database design. The results of the system specification were used to construct a prototype of

the proposed system. MS Access 2000 was used to develop and manage the database. Data

used for report/information generation were stored, updated and altered in the database.

Summary 152

The prototype of the forest management information system designed for the GNRO of Noo-

shahr comprised four system components. These four system components (survey, harvesting,

plantation and violation cases) consisted of more than thirty interrelated modules working as

an element of an integrated system.

The main objective of the survey component system is to store forest inventory information,

that is, the basic information required for the provision of the forest management plans. The

various forest maps required, such as species distribution maps, forest type maps, stand

damage maps, stand stock maps, etc., can be generated using the GIS component.

The harvesting module contains information pertaining to forestry plans (progress, incomes,

forecasted products, marked trees information, felling licence information, re-measuring trees

information, timber assortment information, extraction conditions), contractors.

The plantation certificate module is designed to facilitate the recording, processing, use and

retrieval of plantation information. The spatial information in this subsystem module allows

for the incorporation of the information stored in the module in GIS. With the help of the GIS

component different maps can be created, such as species distribution maps, plantation area

maps, and so on.

The purpose of violation cases module is to provide comprehensive information on violation

cases, which represent a major challenge for the forest conservation and protection division of

the FRWOI. The division is trying to prevent the illegal use of forests and other natural

resources. Management can better control and combat these problems if they have complete

information concerning the different violations.

In view of the current situation at the FRWOI a batch system was deemed the most

appropriate foundation for the management information system. However, once enough

experience has been gained an online system should be introduced. Most of the data to be

included in the first phase of the Iranian forest management information system (IFMIS)

database is expected to be provided by the GNROs, by the supervisor reports in particular.

The implementation of IFMIS will not alter the hierarchy of data flow, from the control

offices to the organisational level. What will change, however, is the speed of data flow, and

the ready accessibility and retrieval of the required information.

Summary 153

The proposed IFMIS will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of decision making by top

management and the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation activities of

middle and operational level management of the FRWOI through:

• Introducing flexibility to the information structure, including reporting forms and formats.

• Providing the possibility to ‘navigate’ the layers of the information hierarchy (drill-down

effects). This allows users to determine the underlying contents of the information and to

analyse any deviations from the management plan, to draw on data from a wide range of

internal and external databases, to re-group them and to run different types of analyses on

the spot. Users can utilise this capability to pre-programme analytical routines which can

perform ad hoc comparisons of actual results with plan data, of current results with those

of the previous year, etc.

• Increasing the efficiency of data communication and monitoring. This will improve the

overall productivity in the organisation and reduce the costs of communication, such as

the cost of phone calls, paper and so on. This is due to the electronic nature of data

processing and the online transfer mechanism provided by the system and intranet

facilities on which the system can be based.

• Promoting a ‘culture’ of shared attention to key areas of the success or failure of forestry

projects and other information. It enables all departments to access the same data

concurrently.

Zusammenfassung 154

Zusammenfassung

Der Umfang und die Vielfalt der Aktivitäten der iranischen Organisation für Forst, Weide- &

Wassereinzugsgebiete führt zur Erzeugung und Wiedererzeugung äußerst großer

Datenmengen und unzähliger Dokumente. Es ist schwierig, Berichte bereit zu stellen, welche

speziell die Anforderungen eines bestimmten Nutzers erfüllen, was es diesem Nutzer

wiederum erschwert, die für Entscheidungsprozesse, Forschung und andere Zwecke

benötigten Informationen aus den Berichten zu ziehen. Im iranischen Forstsektor mangelt es

weniger an forstlichen Informationen, sondern vielmehr an Informationsverwaltung (die

Fähigkeit forstliche Daten systematisch zu bearbeiten, zu speichern, abzurufen,

weiterzuverteilen und zu dokumentieren) und der entsprechenden Kapazität, die vorhandenen

Informationen effizient zu nutzen.

Folglich besteht im iranischen Forstsektor der dringende Bedarf, die große Datenansammlung

und die Informationsverteilung zentral zu verwalten und Mechanismen für den

Informationsaustausch und die Datengenerierung auszuarbeiten. Ohne dies kann das

Zusammentragen und die Nutzung von Daten keinen Beitrag zu spezifischen Planungs- und

Bewirtschaftungszielen im Forstsektor leisten. Die bestmögliche Lösung dieser Probleme ist

ein elektronisches Datenbank- und Informationssystem.

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es ein Computergestütztes Informationssystem auf

Provinzebene speziell für das Generalbüro für natürliche Ressourcen (GNRO) in Noo-shahr

ebenso wie für die Organisation für Forst, Weide- & Wassereinzugsgebiete (FRWOI)

allgemein zu entwickeln. Die zwei übergeordneten Ziele waren:

Die Evaluierung des aktuellen Informationsflusses innerhalb des Forstsektors in der

iranischen Provinz Mazandaran und die Identifizierung von Informationslücken und

Schwachstellen beim Datenaustausch.

Die Entwicklung einer modularen Datenbank und eines Forstinformationssystems für die

Informationsverwaltung auf regionaler Ebene.

Der erste Schritt in der Entwicklung eines Forstinformationssystems ist die Analyse der

Informationen, die für ein solches System erforderlich sind. Hierfür wurden Inhaltsanalysen

Zusammenfassung 155

sowie mündliche und schriftliche Befragungen durchgeführt. Die Vorgehensweise beinhaltete

die folgenden Arbeitsschritte:

• Situationsanalyse zur Bestimmung der Ziele und Strategien der FRWOI, was

dabei half, die Zielsetzung und den Rahmen der Studie festzulegen

(Problemanalyse). Für die Situationsanalyse wurden Literaturrecherche,

Expertengespräche, Interviews und Beobachtungen eingesetzt,

• Untersuchung der Systemumgebung, inklusive der Informationsquellen und –

Nutzer, aktuelle Berichterstattungsmethoden sowie unterstützende

Gegebenheiten und Faktoren, welche die Umsetzung und den fließenden

Übergang vom bestehenden zum neu vorgeschlagenen System beeinflussen,

• Feststellung der erforderlichen Informationen (Integration der gewonnenen

Daten) und Erlangung der Akzeptanz potentieller Nutzer.

Die einleitenden Gespräche und Treffen dienten dazu, potentielle Nutzer für die Teilnahme

zu gewinnen sowie zur Erläuterung der Forschungsziele. Die Literaturrecherche stellt eine

weiterführende Problemanalyse dar, um Problempunkte, welche während der Gespräche nicht

genannt wurden, zu identifizieren und mehr Details über die genannten Probleme zu erfahren.

Die Untersuchung vorliegender Dokumente half darüber hinaus, laufende Tätigkeiten und

Angelegenheiten bezüglich des bestehenden Informationssystems besser zu verstehen. Für die

Formulierung der Fragebogen- und Interviewfragen war es notwendig, die

Informationslücken und die Schwachstellen des Informationsaustausches zu kennen. Die

Identifizierung von Schwachstellen im bestehenden System wurde außerdem durch eigene

Beobachtungen unterstützt.

Die Ergebnisse der Literaturrecherche und der Befragungen wurden zusammengefasst und

flossen in eine umfassende Analyse der Informationen ein, welche für die FRWOI notwendig

sind. Potentielle Nutzer und die Verwaltungsspitze wurden daraufhin befragt, ob die

ermittelten Inhalte Ihren Informationsanforderungen entsprechen, was ein deutliches

Spiegelbild der Informationen, die für die Organisation erforderlich sind, hervorbrachte.

Zusammenfassung 156

Der nächste Schritt in der Entwicklung des integrativen Forstinformationssystems war der

Aufbau der Datenbank. Die Ergebnisse der Systemanforderungsanalyse wurden dazu genutzt,

einen Prototyp für das geplante System zu empfehlen. Für die Entwicklung und Verwaltung

der Datenbank wurde MS Access 2000 eingesetzt. Informationsdaten wurden in der

Datenbank gespeichert, aktualisiert und verändert. Der Prototyp des Forstinformationssystems

für die GNRO in Noo-shahr setzt sich aus vier Systemkomponenten zusammen. Diese vier

Komponenten (Inventur, Ernte, Pflanzung und gesetzliche Verstöße) beinhalteten mehr als

dreißig miteinander verbundene Module, die als Elemente in einem integrativen System

fungierten.

Das Hauptziel der Erfassung ist es, die Forstinventurdaten, welche als Basisinformation für

die Forstbewirtschaftungspläne dienen, festzuhalten. In Verbindung mit GIS gibt es

verschiedene Möglichkeiten und Fähigkeiten dieser Systemkomponente; diverse notwendige

Forstkarten, welche Aufschluss über die Artenzusammensetzung, den Waldtyp,

Bestandesschäden oder den Bestandesvorrat geben, können mit GIS hergestellt werden.

Die Erntekomponente spiegelt die Forstplanungsinformationen wider (Umsetzung der

Forstplanung, Ertragsinformationen, erwartete Produkte, gekennzeichnete Bäume,

Einschlagslizenzen, Wiedervermessung von Bäumen, Holzsortimente, Nutzungsbedingungen

für Holzprodukte, ausführende Firmen).

Das Pflanzungsmodul ist so konzipiert, dass es die Aufnahme, Bearbeitung, Nutzung und das

Abfragen von Pflanzdaten ermöglicht. Die räumlichen Informationen in einem

untergeordneten Modul eröffnen die Möglichkeit, gespeicherte Daten ins GIS zu übertragen.

Mit der Hilfe von GIS können diverse Karten hergestellt werden, zum Beispiel über die

Artenzusammensetzung innerhalb der Plantage oder über die Pflanzverteilung.

Der Zweck des vierten Moduls, das sich mit gesetzlichen Verstößen beschäftigt, ist das

Zusammentragen umfassender Informationen über Verstöße, da diese ein gravierendes

Problem für den Waldschutz und die für den Schutz zuständige Abteilung der iranischen

FRWOI darstellen. Die Abteilung ist darum bemüht, gesetzliche Verstöße in Bezug auf den

Wald und andere natürliche Ressourcen zu verhindern. Wenn ausführliche Informationen zu

Verstößen vorliegen, kann dieses Modul für die Verwaltungsspitze ein nützliches Instrument

sein, um Verstöße besser kontrollieren und bekämpfen zu können.

Zusammenfassung 157

Unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen Situation der FRWOI kann zunächst ein Batch System

vorgeschlagen werden. Wenn genügend Erfahrung gesammelt worden ist, sollte jedoch ein

Online-System eingeführt werden. Im Hinblick auf den Datenfluss muss erwähnt werden,

dass die meisten Daten in der Startphase der (Iranische Forstmanagement

Informationssystem) IFMIS -Datenbank von den GNROs übernommen werden und ein

beachtlicher Teil zudem aus Berichten der zuständigen Aufsichtsperson für Forstliche

Planung stammen wird. Tatsächlich wird es so sein, dass sich die Hierarchie des Datenflusses

von der Kontrollebene zur ausführenden Ebene nicht ändern wird. Was sich ändern kann ist

die zeitliche Variable des Datenflusses, der schnelle Zugang und die rasche Abrufbarkeit

benötigter Informationen.

IFMIS wird die Effizienz und Effektivität von Entscheidungen seitens der FRWOI

Verwaltungsspitze ebenso wie die Planung, die Umsetzung, die Monitoring und die

Auswertungsaktivitäten auf mittlerer und ausführender Ebene folgendermaßen verbessern:

• größere Flexibilität hinsichtlich der Informationsstruktur, inklusive

Berichtsformulare und Formate.

• Die Möglichkeit, die verschiedenen Informationsebenen durchzugehen (sich

sozusagen nach unten durchzubohren). Den Nutzern wird somit ermöglicht, die zu

Grunde liegenden Informationsgehalte auszumachen und jegliche Abweichungen

vom Bewirtschaftungsplan zu analysieren, Daten aus internen und externen

Datenbanken zu ziehen, sie umzugruppieren und verschiedene Analysen

umgehend durchzuführen. Nutzer sind in der Lage, analytische Vorgänge vorab

zu programmieren, so dass Vergleiche zwischen aktuellen Daten und denen aus

dem Vorjahr möglich sind, etc.

• Verbesserte Effizienz des Datenaustausches und der Monitoring. Dies wird auf

Grund der elektronischen Datenübertragung und -verarbeitung innerhalb des

Systems und der Intranet-Infrastruktur die allgemeine Produktivität der

Organisation verbessern und Kommunikationskosten für Telefonate oder

Schreiben verringern.

• Unterstützung einer „Kultur“ gemeinsamen Interesses für Schlüsselbereiche, die

den Erfolg oder das Scheitern forstlicher Projekte und anderer Informationen

Zusammenfassung 158

ausmachen. Es ermöglicht allen Abteilungen simultanen Zugang zu den gleichen

Daten.

References 159

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Appendix 1: Questionnaire 163

Appendix 1: Questionnaire

Overview of National Statistics Collection Processes

Agency with primary responsibility for collecting/collating forestry statistics:

Forest, Range &Watershed Organisation of Iran

Data collection/collation responsibilities: (check topics as appropriate):

Collect

Collate

not collected

don't know

National forest inventory

*

Separate plantation forest inventory

*

Round-wood removals

*

Production of wood products

*

Import/Export of wood products (volume)

*

Value statistics for imports/exports

*

Production/consumption of fire-wood/charcoal

*

Production of national wood supply forecasts

*

Forestry employment statistics

*

Forest product price statistics

*

Non-wood forest products

*

Others:

Remarks:


No. staff employed in collection/collation of statistics: Other principal agencies involved in forestry statistics collection: Agency(ies): Collects:

Forestry technichal office 1996

Forestry technichal office 1985

Yakko Pöyry Firm 1974

Description of forest inventories/surveys

Country: Iran Reference year: 1958,1973,1974,1985,1996

Title of inventory: National forest inventory

Type of inventory: Field and aerial photos

Field / aerial photos / satellite images / ... Brief summary of methodologies used

Reporting level

Country coverage North Forests (partial)

National / sub-national Complete / partial

Map output No , Only statistical information

yes / no (also indicate format: analogue /digital)


Vegetation types included Yes / No Natural forests * Plantations * All forests * Other wooded land * Forest biodiversity * Forest ownership * Wood supply potential * Additional information included Yes / No Area by forest formation * Volume * Biomass * Forest naturalness * Remarks:

Principal deficiencies and gaps in national forest inventory system:


Other forest resources and land-use data

National, Sub- natl. Not collected, don't know

Extent of forest type in protected area * Classification (e.g. IUCN) * Forest health surveys completed * Data compiled on annual forest fire damage * Data compiled on other annual forestland * clearing Remarks:

Principal deficiencies and gaps in forest resources and land-use change:

Trees outside forests Data surveyed for trees outside forests: National, Sub- natl., not collected, don't know

Inventory of trees outside forests * Wood production from trees outside forests * Studies of urban trees *


Remarks:

Principal deficiencies and gaps in trees outside forests data collection:

Wood energy Data available/surveyed for wood energy:

National, Sub- natl, not collected, don't know

Wood-fuel consumption Sources/availability of wood-fuels Forests * Trees outside forests * Wood processing residues * Other (specify) Charcoal Production * Agencies collecting wood-fuels data: Agency Data


Methodologies for estimating national consumption:

Methodologies for estimating fuelwood availability:

Principal deficiencies and gaps in Wood Energy data collection:

Non-wood forest products

PLANTS: FOOD: Fruits, fresh, dried, preserved, prepared: Edible seeds/nuts: Culinary, aromatic herbs: Mushrooms (fresh or preserved): Ecotourism

There is no data or information about non-timber forest products for northern forest of Iran except one study to introduce the potential of NTFPs in this forests

Data collected


Forest plantations Data available/surveyed for forest plantations: National, Sub- national, not collected, don't know

Total area of plantations * Total area by species * Total area by age-class * Total area by ownership All the forest plantation are national Annual new planting * Seedling production * Annual plantation harvest (volume) * Mortality rates * Survey of diseases and pests * Survey of aerial impacts of fire * Plantation wood flow forecasts * Wood flows predict saw log/pulpwood diff. * Yield tables for major species * Surveys of non-forest species * Other plantation data collected:

Principal deficiencies and gaps in plantation information systems:


Wood supply potential Data available/surveyed necessary to assess wood supply:

National, Sub- natl., not collected, don't know

Natural forest area available for wood supply * Legally protected areas * Inaccessible areas (physical) * Uneconomic areas (location or yields) * Information differentiated by forest type? YES / NO Harvesting intensity by forest type * Cutting cycles by forest type * Recovered fibre production * Non-wood fibre production * Total annual harvest (volume) * Annual harvest by species (volume) * Forest impact assessments * Future wood supply modeling completed * Remarks:

Key deficiencies and gaps in assessing potential wood supplies:


Other data supporting sustainable forest management (from Criteria & Indicators Processes) Indicate whether data are collected in any form:

National, Sub- natl., not collected, don't know

Monitoring of population levels of rare or * endangered forest-dependent species Area of land with significant soil erosion * Area of forestland managed for protective functions * Monitoring of stream flow in forested * catchments Monitoring of levels of forest organic matter * Monitoring of water quality in forest areas * (pH, dissolved oxygen, etc) Preliminary work on estimating forest contribution * to carbon budgets Area of forestland managed for tourism * Area of forest land used for subsistence or * by forest dwellers Other data...................... Other data...................... Other data...................... Databases and referencing systems Forestry data handling capacities: Yes / No Formalised national Forest Information System * Centralised database for national forestry statistics * Integrated set of databases containing national forestry statistics * Discrete and unlinked set of databases *


Other

GIS based forest-mapping system * Formal information sharing network between institutions * Data collection processes standardised between states / provinces * Means of information dissemination: National Other Forestry Agency Agencies Publications * Website Other Remarks:

Key deficiencies and gaps in databases and referencing systems:


Analysis of forest data and information flow in forestry sector of Iran Name: Office: Position: Date:

1- What are the data on forest and natural resources that the office collects?

- What survey instruments are being used to collect such data? - Who collects the data? - After data gathering, where does the data go? - Do the recipients refer to the data from time to time? - Are there data and information gathered in the field that the recipients consider to be unnecessary / insignificant? If so, what are these data?

2- What are the types of report that department requires from the office? - What are the reports that the office prepares? - Who makes the report?


- When and where are the reports submitted? - Does the office submit the reports on time? If not, why? - How does the office communicate with other offices? 3- Has a system of communications been adapted? If so what are the advantages of the system? - With regard to forest and natural resources is there a database that the office maintains? - What are the problems encountered in terms of data and information management? How are these problems managed? - In terms of data and information management, what activities are conducted by the office? - How can other agencies / offices, institutions have access to the data and information? 4- Are any refresher courses / training events conducted for the technical employees of the office?


5- Are the current policies that the central office implements reflective of the state of the forest? - Does the office strictly implement / follow all policies of the organisation? Please furnish suggestions to improve the current situation in data and information flow in the Organisation Different staff and officers that could be interviewed from different units Forestry technical office Supervisors of forest management plans (control office) Forest harvesting and wood industry office Forest protection and conservation office Plantation and parks office Planning officers at different offices

List of those were interviewed Name Position Office

1 Ahi Supervisor of Forest management plan Provincial Forestry Technical Office (control

office)

2 J.Eshagh Supervisor of Forest management plan Provincial Forestry Technical Office(control

office)

3 Ahangaran Deputy of forest coservation and

protection office Provincial Conservation and Protection Office

4 Rezaii Forestry technical officer Provincial Forestry Technical office

5 M.Nazari Forest plantation and parks officer Provincial Forest Plantation and Parks Office

6 J.alikhah Forestry technical officer Provincial Forestry Technichal Office

7 M.Vahid Forestry technical officer Provincial Forestry Technichal Office

8 Gholizade Statistics and Planning officer Harvesting and Timber Industries Office

,Organizational Office

9 Ahlaii Harvesting and Timber industries

officer Harvesting and Timber Industries Office


10 J.latifi Harvesting and Timber industries

officer Harvesting and Timber Industries Office


11 Hosseinpor Statistics and planning officer Harvesting and Timber industries office,

Organizational office

12 Resaneh GIS officer Forestry Technichal Office , Organizational Office

13 Naiimhasani Statistics and Planning officer Plantation and Parks Office , Organizational Office

14 Hedayati Head of plantation and parks office Plantation and Parks Office, Organizational Office


These questions refer to policy and implementing and regulation on forest and natural resources, What are the responsibilities and accountabilities of each responsible office / unit? What, if any, are the conflicts in terms of responsibilities? Do assignments / reassignments of personnel occur? What is the reporting procedure? Is there an aggregation and disaggregation of data and information from the field offices to the higher levels of management and vice versa? These questions refer to data and information being surveyed / collected / monitored What are the key result areas or priority activities in your area of jurisdiction? What is the format of reports? Is there a central repository of files in the region, province or FRWO offices? These questions refer to direction of file along the processes concerned. What are the lines of communication in terms of reporting? What are the reporting procedures? What is the frequency of reporting? What is the general route of reports? How would you rate the present information system (in organization wide) in terms of: - Organizational set-up ----------------------------------- ( 1,2,3,4,5) - Accuracy-------------------------------------------------- ( 1,2,3,4,5) - Relevancy--------------------------------------------- --- ( 1,2,3,4,5) - Timeliness------------------------------------------- ---- ( 1,2,3,4,5) - Consistency--------------------------------------------- ( 1,2,3,4,5) - Ease of use ------------------------------------------------ ( 1,2,3,4,5) 1= very good 2= Good 3= Satisfactory 4= Fair 5= Not good

Appendix 2: Data dictionary 177

Appendix 2: Data dictionary

• In the Appendix2 are shown some examples of data dictionary to see complete data dictionary and entities of each table please see the database CD

List of variables (Data Dictionary) The list contains a description, where the data come from, where and how often they are used, how long it should be kept or updated, etc. A list like this is usually called a data dictionary.

In the data dictionary each variable is represented by: Fieldname (short name of variable or suggested systematic abbreviation for the variable, could be used in programming. Full name of variable as now used in the forms. Frequency at: variable can be processed by /at the following places/levels:

GNRO= GENERAL NATURAL RESOURCE OFFICE NRO = NATURAL RESOURCE OFFICE UNR = NATURAL RESOURCE UNITE CO = CONTROL OFFICE of FORESTRY PLAN PFO = PROVINCIAL FOREST OFFICER FS = FOREST SURVEYER OFO = ORGANIZATIONAL FOREST OFFICER OFCO= ORGANIZATIONAL FOREST CONSERVATION OFFICE

The places /levels where the variable is produced or used are marked by one of the following letters. The letters says at the same time how often this variable can occur: d = can occur every day w = can occur every week f = can occur every fortnight m = can occur every month q = can occur every quarter y = can occur every year o = once a year but immediately after completion of work t = two or more times per year, but immediately after completion of work p = permanent. This data normally doesn’t change. Years: the information should be kept ….years

Information occurs in forms: the variable is used or summed up in the forms mentioned. When no form is mentioned this is a suggested additional variable.

Type: type of variable N = Numeric

TE = TEXT

D = Date

Length: length of variable (field) in bytes. The first column gives the total length. Length should be calculated sparingly. But big enough to hold the longest number possible after having summed up all forests. Remarks are given for each group of variables if necessary.


Table: SURVEY

Table: SURV_PLOT

Table: SURV_REGENERATION

Table: SURV_SPECIES


Beziehungen

SURV_SPECIESSURV_REGENERATION

SURV_SPECIES SURV_REGENERATIO

SP_CD SURV_SPCD

Attributes: Nicht Erzwungen RelationshipType: 1:n

SURV_SPECIESSURV_TREE

SURV_SPECIES SURV_TREE SP_CD 1 ∞ SURV_SPCD

Attributes: Erzwungen RelationshipType: 1:n

SURV_SPECIESSURV_WITNESS TREES

SURV_SPECIES SURV_WITNESS SP_CD 1 ∞ SURV_SPCD

Attributes: Erzwungen RelationshipType: 1:n


Table: SURV_STAND STATUS

Table: SURV_TREE

Table: SURV_ WITNESS TREES


TABLE: FP_FELL_LICENCE GENERAL INFO

TABLE: FP_FELL_ LICENCE SPECIES INFO


TABLE: FP_PROCESS MARKING TREES GENERAL INFO

TABLE: FP_PROCESS MARKING TREES SPECIES INFO


TABLE: FP_PROCESS _RE_MEASURING GENERAL INFO

TABLE; FP_PROCESS _RE_MEASURING TREES SPECIES INFO


TABLE; FP_PROCESS TIMBER ASSORTMENT GENERAL INFO

TABLE; FP_PROCESS TIMBER ASSORTMENT PRODUCTS INFO

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