The Lukim Gather mobile data collection application enhances the use of data in the management and monitoring of ecosystems across Papua New Guinea. It is freely accessible and open source, and has been developed by UNDP Papua New Guinea.

This training was part of the South Pacific Ranger Training course facilitated by UNDP in partnership with the Kokoda Track Rangers. The course aims to equip the rangers with basic skills and knowledge to help improve their capacity to maintain and protect the track. One of the core objectives of the training is to supporting ecological restoration. CEPA have identified UNDP's Lukim Gather mobile app - one of the tools under the Natural Resource Management Hub (NRM Hub) - to further enhance the ranger’s ability to achieve this goal, as well as other complimentary tasks.

Government's recent request for UNDP assistance on this initiative, saw UNDP deliver sessions identifying what kinds of data were important to map and why using centralised, open data storage can be critical in monitoring progress towards agreed environmental goals. Then, the rangers undertook a field exercise in which they mapped plants, lakes, tree species and the condition of some of the infrastructure along the Track to assess various aspects of their work and opportunities for improvement.

Darren Larcombe, the Technical Advisor of the Kokoda Track Authority, stated “The speed at which the rangers have familiarised themselves with using UNDP's app over the course of the day has been impressive. We see a great potential utility for the app in future management and monitoring strategies.”

Lukim Gather is in beta stage of development and is currently available on Google Play. You can learn more about the app at www.lukimgather.org.