The Lukim Gather app has been designed to help bridge the gap between communities and environmental decision-making in Papua New Guinea, particularly regarding the management of protected areas. It helps communities, protected area managers, environmental organizations, and government track and monitor the environment at the ground-level, and preserve insights for uptake in planning. Users can easily take offline, geo-located data based loosely on common threats, benefits, and values perceived from the environment, and submit them when they come into cell phone range to be uploaded to a centralized database. Users can interact with maps and data, and also use them as a part of the grantmaking and reporting process for the Biodiversity and Climate Fund. To learn more about the fund, see the website: www.pngbcf.org

In Papua New Guinea, a lack of shared information about the state of the environment is leading to the overexploitation of natural resources. This has created problems at many levels, such as deforestation leading to increased landslides, pollution leading to fish kills, and coastal erosion due to the clearance of mangroves, to name just a few. Although in some protected areas and project sites, plenty of scientific information exists that has been created by community-based or non-governmental organizations, often these organizations have no effective way to communicate this data and use it as a tool for advocacy and education. No national baseline exists for Papua New Guinea's rich natural and cultural wealth. As we work to establish a stronger, more effective network of protected areas it is important that new projects have the information they need to succeed, including a compelling baseline of information about important sites, special plants and animals, and potential areas for tourism. Communities who are considering applying for funding, or wish to use mapping as a tool for advocacy, will find that Lukim Gather provides a free and easy solution.

No, Lukim Gather has been designed to be simple. The mapping function uses icons to accommodate users of different language and literacy skills. The long-form survey is meant to be completed with facilitators once per year, in a group setting.

The Lukim Gather is a project-level screening tool, or at a scale where environmental conditions are homogenous to your project activity. It is not appropriate for programme-level, national, or global environmental screening. It cannot be used to assess the overall environmental or carbon footprint of an organisation.

Lukim Gather works entirely offline, using the GPS signal from your phone. Whilst Lukim Gather can also be shared and installed offline using bluetooth, it is better if you are within wifi or data range when you install the app in order to load and render the basemap. This will make mapping easier. The data points will be stored locally on your phone until you return to wifi or data service, at which point they will automatically upload to the centralized database.

You can collect information under any of the following catergories:  Place, Nature, People, and Hazard.

You must have a user account in order to save Lukim Gather data points to your account. If you receive the Lukim Gather app in an offline environment, you can utilize “guest mode” until you reach wifi or data service, at which point you will be prompted to make an account.

No. You can register for Lukim Gather using your phone or email address. The method with which you create your account will be what we use to verify your details by sending you a code to enter into the app. Therefore, ensure that you use a method that you can easily check.

Once you download the app on your mobile device, you will be prompted to create a user account. Make sure you remember your login details in order to verify and login to your account. Once you have completed login, you will remain logged in on your phone until you log out.

If you have forgotten your password, follow the prompt at the login screen to reset your password.

No. Data can be published anonymously and privately, so it is only available to your user account. If you are worried about whether your data will be seen or used for bad intentions, we recommend creating data points and selecting ‘Only Me’ at the bottom of the screen.

Ensure all other apps are closed and that you have a strong internet/wifi connection.