Mapping and Geoprocessing Tools in Support of Rural Advisory Services

The main objective of this book is to demonstrate the potential that geoprocessing tools have for supporting rural extension and development. The focus is on the Global Positioning System (GPS), virtual globes, and simple geographic information systems (GIS). Remote sensing - the analysis and manipulation of satellite images - is not included, owing to its complexity. Based on examples, and without any claim to comprehensiveness, the book offers a range of insights into the use of these geoprocessing tools in interventions in the context of international development cooperation. The aim is to encourage extensionists and rural advisors who work with communities and have little or no experience with mapping tools to start using them whenever this makes sense and adds value to their initiatives and projects. Rural advisors with stronger technical skills in GIS and mapping will find inspiring examples of projects that have successfully made use of these tools - examples.