THE USE OF GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC STUDIES NRI Socio-economic Series 4 P Daplyn, J Cropley, S Treagust and A Gordon NATURAL RESOURCES INSTITUTE Overseas Development Administration ©Crown copyright 1994 TheNatural Resources Institute (NRI) is an internationally recognized centre of expertise on the natural resources of developing countries. It forms an integral part of the British Government's overseas aid programme. Its principal aim is to alleviate poverty and hardship in developing countries by increasing the productivity of their renewable natural resources. NRI' s main fields of expertise are resource assessment and farming systems, integrated pest management, food science and crop utilization. NRI carries out research and surveys; develops pilot-scale plant, machinery and processes; identifies, prepares, manages and executes projects; provides advice and training; and publishes scientific and development material. Short extracts of material from this publication may be reproduced in any non-advertising, non-profit-making context provided that the source is acknowledged as follows: Daplyn, P., Cropley, J., Treagust, S. and Gordon, A (1994) The Use of Geographical Information Systems in Socio-economic Studies, NRI Socio-economic Series4. Chatham, UK: Natural Resources Institute. Permission for commercial reproduction should be sought No charge is made for single copies of this publication sent from: to governmental and educational establishments, research institutions and non-profit-making organizations working The Head, Publishing and Publicity Services, in countries eligible for British Government Aid. Free copies Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, cannot be addressed to individuals by name but only under Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, United Kingdom. their official titles. Please quote SES4 when ordering. Natural Resources Institute ISBN: 0 85954 372-2 This publication is printed on chlorine-free paper ISSN: 0967-0548 Price: £ 5.00 ii Other titles in the NRI Socio-economic Series Needs Assessment for Agricultural Development: Practical Issues in Informal Data Collection (SESl) Commercialization for Non-timber Forest Products in Amazonia (SES2) The Allocation of Labour to Perennial Crops: Decision-making by African Smallholders (SES3) Gender Issues in Integrated Pest Management in African Agriculture (SESS) Indigenous Agroforestry in Latin America: a Blueprint for Sustainable Agriculture? (SES6) (Please contact Publishing and Publicity Services at NRI for forthcoming titles in this series) iii Contents FOREWORD vi Marketing patterns 18 Landholding practices SUMMARY vi 19 Intensity of cultivation 19 INTRODUCTION 1 Tree establishment/ removal 19 OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH OF STUDY 1 APPENDIX 2- CASE STUDIES ON DATA A V AILABILITY FOR SELECTED GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2 RELATIONSHIPS 20 Relationships between variables 3 Rural non-farming activities 20 Remote sensing 3 Food processing 23 Country information 4 Fish processing 23 Data compatibility 5 Market orientation and marketing patterns 24 IDENTIFICATION OF RELATIONSHIPS 6 Development of a conceptual matrix 6 OUTLINE OF RELATIONSHIPS 8 Selection of relationships for further attention 9 Market orientation 9 Marketing patterns 10 Crop processing 10 CASE STUDIES 10 CONCLUSIONS 12 RECOMMENDATIONS 14 REFERENCES 15 APPENDIX 1-DATA REQUIRED TO MEASURE VARIABLES IN HYPOTHETICAL RELATIONSHIPS 16 Livestock density 16 Non-farm activities 16 Use of purchased inputs 16 Conservation-related activities 17 Crop processing 17 Market orientation 18 V Foreword Summary This series is based upon work carried out under the Geographical information systems (GIS) have found socio-economic research programme at NRI. Its purpose wide and growing applications, as digital remote­ is to provide an easily accessible medium for current sensing data and computer technology have become research findings. Whilst it is hoped that the series will more sophisticated, more easily available and less be of interest to those concerned with development expensive. NRl recently undertook preliminary research issues worldwide, it may be of particular relevance to into potential socio-economic applications of GIS. people working in developing countries. The feasibility of utilizing spatial data, available in The topics covered by the series are quite diverse, GIS, to model socio-economic relationships was but principally relate to applied and adaptive research examined. It included the following steps: activity and findings. Some papers are largely descriptive, others concentrate on analytical issues, or (a) identification of hypothetical relationships between relate to research methodologies. socio-economic variables and location-specific variables; The aim is to present material in as straightforward (b) investigation of data sets that might permit the a fashion as possible so that it can reach a wide socio-economic variables to be modelled as a function audience. We are interested in the views and opinions of the spatial phenomena; and of readers and welcome any feedback to this series. (c) a critical assessment of the prospects for modelling socio-economic relationships utilizing GIS data. AlanMarter Socio-economic Research Programme A number of general issues concerning the availability of suitable data sets, which can constitute a serious constraint to GIS applications were highlighted in the case studies. Recommendations are made concerning how data could be made more amenable to this type of appliction, and the criteria that should be applied in assessing the feasibility of projects involving the use of GIS in socio­ economic studies. vi Introduction Objectives and approach of study Resource assessment represents an integral part of the process of development in the natural resources sector. Originally based on the collection of data through laborious The increasing availability of location-specific data, and field-based surveys, resource assessment has broadened of the facilities for managing and manipulating them in in recent years with the addition of two new technologies GIS, suggests an ever-increasing capacity and facility for - satellite-borne remote sensors and geographical utilizing such data in modelling aspects of the socio-eco­ information systems (GIS). nomic environment. This prospect excites considerable Thus in the last decade a revolution has occurred enthusiasm, given the practical and methodological diffi­ in the ease with which complex data sets describing the culties of collecting data in the field. It also merits a full physical environment can be collected, stored, modelled and structured examination of whether, and to what extent, and interpreted. The advent of increasingly powerful, the striking advantages of this approach to modelling inexpensive micro-computers has made the use of such are realizable in practice. This study was conceived to carry technologies more widely available to users in developing out just such an examination. countries. The first step was to consider the characteristics, Much of the data available describe physical capacities and potential of a GIS, and how these relate to characteristics such as climate, topography, soil the task of modelling socio-economic relationships. classification and so on. These data enable the assessment The next step was to identify some of the likely rela­ of the resource potential of different regions. Other data, tionships between important socio-economic characteris­ particularly those relating to land use, provide useful tics in farming systems (such as landholding practices or indications of the allocation of resources. The lj.nkages market orientation) and other, location-specific, variables between the resource potential of a region and the way (such as soil type or topography). in which these resources are used reflect the decisions of These hypothetical relationships were organized people within that location. within a matrix, and the most promising of these identi­ This report explores the extent to which data now fied for modelling. available through GIS might be used to identify and poten­ These having been selected, the next stage was to tially describe the non-physical, 'human' environment in investigate the availability of'data sets which would allow which people make decisions relating to resource alloca­ the socio-economic variables to be modelled as a function tion. As well as exploring the potential of currently avail­ of corresponding location-specific data. able data, it seeks to highlight constraints of the explana­ Finally, conclusions were drawn regarding the tory power of such information systems and to recommend prospects for modelling socio-economic relationships using measures to overcome these. GIS data, and, if appropriate, intermediate steps identi­ The report is aimed at readers who, though they may fied which could be taken to enhance these prospects. not be conversant with the more technical aspects of GIS, The basic methodology can be summarized as follows: are interested in utilizing the increasing volumes of infor­ mation GIS contain. • the hypothesis of likely relationships between socio- 1 economic and geographical variables present in GIS format; • use of a matrix based on these relationships to select Geographical information human factors for which GIS data might be available; systems • finding of appropriate data; • identification of prospects for socio-economic modelling using GIS; and production of recommendations to enhance the prospects