## 3 Case Study
### The Practice of Wetland Elevation Monitoring and PPGIS  
WRCEA is comprised mainly of residents of local communities near this wildlife refuge and is a local conservation organization that is committed to reviving local culture and to promoting ecological conservation. Since its founding in 1997, WRCEA has convened volunteers to survey and monitor birds once every month in the birds' migration season, from September to April. In cooperation with academic teams, WRCEA began to use PPGIS in 2008 to modify the method and routes of community-based bird monitoring and to discuss the monitoring results, for which geospatial information became an important reference for decision-making in platform meetings and management practice of this refuge and wetland of national importance [66; 67; 68; 69]. In 2009, influenced by the construction of a new six-sluice gate for better drainage and flood control around open river areas of the Shincheng River and the gradual serious deposition and unprecedented hydrological variation in the wetland, WRCEA worked with the academic team to initiate a community-based substratum elevation monitoring project. This monitoring scheme was to investigate the aggradation status and rate of wetlands by measuring the substratum elevation for deciding the subsequent management strategy of the wildlife refuge. It was decided to measure the substratum elevation at the key water areas of the refuge once per year to determine the trend of variation in the elevation of water bottom over time, considered a capacity of WRCEA. Based on lay knowledge, community residents (volunteers of WRCEA) helped the academic team select appropriate sites to install auxiliary measuring devices (e.g., water gauges and sectional piles), to simplify the operation procedure, and to determine the dates so as to avoid the peak tide water level. The community-based substratum elevation monitoring project was launched for the first time during low tide on a weekend in October 2010. Approximately 20 people, including local volunteers and the academic team, were involved in the monitoring scheme implementation over time. In total, about 762 measuring points were set up and recorded every time. After the field measurements, the academic team took the data back to the university to create a model of wetland elevation by employing a spatial interpolation method (Figure 3). Then, a second PPGIS workshop was organized to share the data and its analysis with stakeholders. In the workshop, a 3-D virtual environment was arranged to demonstrate the monitoring results in order to initiate broad and deep discussion and interpretation and, more importantly, to decide on further actions to improve wetland conditions. Moreover, aware of possible influences of the tide, it was decided to introduce tidal current investigation in the second workshop on the first wetland substratum elevation measurement so that the hydrological conditions in the protected wetland could be considered more holistically [65]. This was the first time that people could gather data on the elevation of the substratum and hydrological changes after the designation of the refuge [62]. Based on this achievement and with the help of the Luodong Forest District Office and the Ilan County Government, WRCEA applied for funding to support follow-up monitoring activities under the official Project of Taiwanese Wetlands of Importance. In total, WRCEA and the academic team conducted elevation monitoring four times and tidal current investigation thrice between 2011 and 2015, thus providing key data on environmental changes for the management of the refuge and wetland. According to the results of community-based substratum elevation monitoring and tidal current investigation, the aggradation mechanism of the wetlands was ascertained, on the basis of which the authority and stakeholders were able to develop a follow-up management strategy for the wildlife refuge.