Atlasing in Namibia

The Atlasing in Namibia app is the official app of the Atlasing in Namibia website (www.the-eis.com/atlas), part of Namibia's Environmental Information Service (www.the-eis.com).

Atlasing in Namibia is a citizen science project for biodiversity recording in Namibia. The intended users are people who are in Namibia and its functionality is restricted to the geographical boundaries of the country. Currently there are options for recording mammals, reptiles, amphibians and alien plants.

Installation and setup:
* Install the app and open it.
* The first time you open the app you will be prompted to enter your first name, last name and email address. Please use exactly the same details you used for the website account (http://www.the-eis.com/atlas). You need to do this before you can enter any biodiversity records. These details are attributed to all records you submit. They will not be passed on to any third party and will only be used for purposes related to the Atlasing in Namibia project. To change these at any time go to the menu and tap on "Username and email".
* To submit a biodiversity record, tap on the Sighting icon. Your location will be shown automatically on the map. Check that it looks correct. Choose the species group, then choose the sighting type and species.
* Tap on Certain, Likely or Uncertain to indicate how confident you are that the species identification is correct. If you did not choose Certain, you are required to submit a photo.
* To submit a photo, tap on the camera icon and take a photo or choose one from your device's gallery.
* Enter any notes in the Comments box. This could include information on group size, age, sex, habitat, behaviour, weather etc.
* Tap on Save when you are finished. This stores your record on your device. When there are records on your device you will see the number of records in brackets after the Sync icon.
* Tap on the Sync icon when you have Internet connectivity to upload (submit) your records and to download any updates to the App. When your records have been successfully synchronised (submitted), there will not be any numbers displayed after the Sync icon.

Notes:
* You DO NOT need to be connected to the Internet to use the App but DO need connectivity to sync your records.
* You DO need to switch on your device's GPS/Location to record. If your GPS is not switched on, you will be prompted to close the app, turn on the GPS and reopen the app before you can start recording. If you have problems, double-check that your device is correctly obtaining your location e.g. by opening Google Maps, and by going outside.
* Date and time are recorded automatically. Ensure that your device's date and time are correct.
* As soon as you tap on the Sighting icon, the location is stored for the current record. This means that you can move away from that location while you complete the other details, if you are Atlasing from a moving vehicle, for example.
* Records from the app are periodically imported into the Atlasing in Namibia website by the webmaster. They do not appear on the website instantly.
* You cannot edit your records on the app but you can log in to the Atlasing in Namibia website and edit them there, once they have been imported by the webmaster.
* The app includes photo guides to alien plants, carnivores and snakes. The photos are stored in your device's cache. If not all of the photos display, open the guide when you have Internet connectivity and wait until they have all loaded before switching off Internet or closing the app.
* Locations of vulnerable species such as white rhino, black rhino, pangolin and vulnerable snakes are not displayed on the website.

For an iOs version please go to www.the-eis.com/atlas and click on Download the app.

The app has been developed by Jaro Consultancy for the Atlasing in Namibia project.