Natural Resource Information Management at State GovernmentLevel

Abstract

Spatial information management (SIM), which includes utilization of geographical information systems (GIS), is used in a wide variety of information resource applications. GIS applications have been able to make use of the extraordinary expansion in available data from remote sensing operations such as satellite imagery. SIM has been able to build upon these systems using software support for spatial databases and interactive mapping applications. Private sector applications tend to be specific to sectors of interest, whereas public sector systems have wide application across sectors. The information management that is applied has a technical dimension facilitated by GIS. It also has analytical and strategic dimensions that require detailed investigation and planning for the corporate context in which the SIM is undertaken. This contribution provides a brief overview of some of the contextual influences on SIM, and then details a case study of a particular application to natural resource information management in a government department.