Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Agent Based Modeling Approach: Agri-Forestry Technology for Ensuring Agricultural Resilience (GAMA-AFTER)

Online Training-Workshop on Modeling for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)
22 March to 7 May 2021

Background and Rationale

Models can be simple or complex depending on the system they try to represent, understand, explain, or predict. These are subjected to a process of using mathematical tools at hand, which involves identifying a concern, posing it in a mathematical framework, solving the resulting problem, and then interpreting the results in the context of the original concern. The process can now be observed in numerous application domains (natural and social sciences) and are supported by tools for designing and simulating complex systems and integrating multiple levels of agency and realistic environments.

Agent-based models (ABMs) have brought a new way to study complex systems. It considers different levels of interactions as well as the assortment of the entities composing the system. Traditional modeling requires mathematical skills, especially differential calculus, and statistics. Furthermore, simulating a model would also require special skills because it focuses more on thinking and describing, particularly, the standard set of concepts that will characterize the real system, their components, and behaviors.

Recently, ABM was used to integrate large-scale geographical vector datasets providing visualization through a spatial dimension. Among the ABM tools at present is the GIS-based and Agent Modeling Approach (GAMA), a modeling and simulation platform that allows modelers to build complex models using high-level modeling language, various agent architectures, and advanced environment representations, and built-in multi-level support by the integration of geographical vector data.

Building the HEIs' Capacity

Higher education institutions (HEIs), being part of the knowledge society, are involved in knowledge production and generation of innovation in complex networks. But currently, they are meeting continuous changes, mainly triggered by rapid technological development. The recent pandemic and disasters by changing climate, for instance, call for a need to demonstrate the aspiration of HEIs to take on social responsibilities. This being the case, HEIs face multiple challenges that imply notable reforms and paradigm shifts. They must live up to the changing roles and technologies, among these include involvement in crafting meaningful developing projects or programs affecting the society.

Taking on the issue related to the recent flooding events, this should be recognized as complex and crafting a solution could then be a combination of interventions that are anchored on science. The HEIs can provide the development of programs by drawing after scenario-based models that describe the system in terms of various environmental and social situations such as how trees are being cut and destroyed, how the soil and groundwater are extracted, and how development has eaten up the land for farms and residential development.

Despite the wide acceptance of the application of modeling for enhancing education, research, and extension activities, many HEIs in the Philippines are still not keen on considering its potential integration into its systems. The reasons can be associated with being technology-averse, lack of skills and capacity, investment priorities, and various content categories demanding a more rigorous understanding of modeling tools.

Objectives

The French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) and SEARCA conducted a training- workshop in February 2020 to develop in-depth expertise in the use of GAMA for modeling and its applications in forestry, environment, agriculture, and land management. It also aimed to strengthen the network of modelers and tap UPLB experts for the next undertakings.

As a follow-through attempt to roll out the learning and to further achieve the objective of creating the network of modelers, the first-hand modelers and participant users of the GAMA from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and SEARCA, through the funding support from the French Embassy, will conduct a training on the use of the GAMA with intended participants from selected Philippine HEIs.

This training workshop is aimed to enhance the appreciation of HEI researchers on the wide-ranging contributions of modeling for education, research, and extension programs. It will showcase the use of GAMA in developing forestry-related simulation models that can be used by HEIs in crafting research proposals aimed at strengthening the resilience of landscapes and forest ecosystems as one of the approaches that would reduce the vulnerability of farmers and farming communities to future risks that threaten their lives and agricultural productivity.

Expected Outcomes

To build the capacity of HEIs to understand the application of modeling tools and its potential integration into its system of education, the online training-workshop will have the following outcomes:

• Capacitated learners possessing knowledge and basic understanding of the methodological steps in GAMA modeling beyond the transformation of a research question into a computer model and the way in which computer models can be used to address research queries;
• Project proposals that integrate modeling tools in agriculture and/or forestry; and
• Proposals to enhance the curricular program integrating GAMA and other modeling applications.

Participants

Participants will include SEARCA- partner HEIs in the Philippines offering agriculture and forestry courses. Representatives from the Forest Management Bureau (FMB), selected Local Government Units (LGUs), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) will also be invited to participate, particularly during the presentation of output projects.

Methodology

The GAMA-AFTER online training workshop will kick off with Session 1 in a series of webinars with scientists and experts from IRD. These webinars will be conducted using the SEARCA Online Learning and Virtual Engagement (SOLVE) online learning platform. The invitation to join the webinar as well as the Zoom Meeting link will be sent via email to all the Resource Persons, Workshop Facilitators and participants and organizers. The webinar will also be made public and can be accessed via Facebook Live.

Sessions 2 and 3 will be conducted using the MS Teams virtual learning platform. These sessions will be facilitated by a Team of Modelers from the UPLB College of Arts and Sciences, College of Economics and Management and College of Forestry and Natural Resources. All participants, including the Resource Persons/Workshop Facilitators will be issued their respective temporary SEARCA email account and temporary password or login details for the duration of the GAMA-AFTER online training workshop to facilitate access to MS Teams. We encourage everyone to use their SEARCA accounts in joining the online training-workshop sessions. The organizers will email the link to the MS Teams meeting prior to the sessions. A Teams Quick Guide- a brief guide for participants of a virtual meeting to access and navigate the Microsoft Teams platform will also be provided.

Part of the workshop will be devoted to the preparation of proposals that integrate modeling applications in either a project proposal or a curricular proposal. The participants will be divided in groups of up to four members. Each group will be assigned a Workshop Facilitator. However, a major part of the workshop will comprise discussions, using these models as a support, between each group and the assigned Workshop Facilitator/Trainer. Session 3 of the workshop will allow participants to present the proposals that they have prepared. This session will also be an opportunity to refine the proposals and explore the possibility of developing full-blown proposals.

Workshop Agenda

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Resource Persons and Workshop Facilitators

About the Organizers