Collaborative, public GIS maps chart WA's environmental changes

A regular report on Western Australia's natural resource management policies has been given an upgrade with the introduction of an interactive mapping Web site, based on geographic information systems (GIS) technology, which will stimulate community involvement through commonly accessible maps.

The WA-based Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC), working with GIS giant Esri Australia, is the first of WA's six not-for-profit Natural Resource Management groups to take such a step. The system, called NARvis, will help citizens track the progress of initiatives such as a comprehensive regional sustainable farming program, and a $300,000 feasibility study of ecological corridors in the 600km stretch from Lesueur National Park to WA's Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

“Key to ensuring these projects are successful is community engagement,” said NACC GIS Co-ordinator Emma Jackson in a statement – which is why we have used cutting-edge GIS technology to make our project data accessible to the public through the portal.

 “GIS technology visually represents our data in the user friendly format of an online map, so the community can easily interpret information, collaborate with us and contribute to ensuring the region’s future.”

The portal (accessible here) shows the locations of project sites, with clickable windows showing images, program data, and interactive maps that can be used to track the change in environmental conditions in the studied areas.

The NARvis Web site is at narvis.maps.arcgis.com