Geographical Information Systems in Environmental Management: a Case Study of National Environment Management Authority Kenya

Abstract

GIS technology is a relatively new technology used to enhance efficiency in day-to-day operations within an organization. The main purpose of this research was to establish the usage and performance of GIS in Environmental Management. The study aimed at examining the usage areas of GIS in environmental management, performance in meeting organization’s objectives and the challenges associated with its adoption. A descriptive case study research approach was adopted for this study. The target population constituted of staff from Information Communication & Technology (ICT), Compliance & Enforcement, Coastal Marine & Fresh Waters, and Environmental Planning & Research. The questionnaires were mainly hand delivered to the respondents and guided interviews done in order to get more information especially for the open ended questions. The respondents were asked about the usage areas of GIS, the performance of the system against the organization’s objectives and the challenges faced with adoption of GIS. The results show that most of the respondents have been trained on GIS and therefore clearly understand its capabilities. The interpretation drawn indicates that there is low usage of GIS in environmental management related activities. The key areas that the system is used within NEMA are in mapping of wetland hotspots, environmental projects and dumpsites. There are many untapped spheres that the system can be used to increase efficiency in environmental management. The results also indicate the system is currently not key driver to the achievement of organization’s strategic objectives. The challenges of the system seem to be well known and clear to the respondents with the main one being the lack of technically savvy personnel.