GIS for Sustainable Coastal Zone Management
93
the generally small size and limited ability of government to administer and
manage complex new programmes
the often ex-colonial nature of many bureaucracies
heavy dependence on the support of aid programmes, both financially and in
terms of expatriate staff and advisers
often disproportionately large bureaucracies in relation to the size of the
population and the economy; and
disjunction between government and its bureaucracy. In some cases,
governments exist to carry out government and ministerial decisions rather
than to participate in the decision making process
FUNDING AND SUPPORT
The nature of GIS may preclude it as an appropriate tool for all of the Pacific island
countries. One way of integrating GIS into organisations is to build it into the work
program (Davis, 1996). Part of this process is to conduct a needs assessment, prior to
the installation of particular hardware and software and evaluate the success of that
program at a later date. The output of this exercise should clearly identify what
resources are available in terms of personnel and expertise, data and information and
most
importantly
the
level
of
commitment
from
the
country.
TRAINING
In the Pacific there is still a reliance on recycling the first generation of professionals
to keep GIS moving (Davis, 1996). Some training has been conducted, either within
the recipient country or abroad. The results have been highly variable depending on
the personal characteristics of the expatriate trainers involved including their
knowledge of the country and its needs.
INFORMATION
The major obstacle to the inventory, development, management and conservation of
living and non living resources in the coral reef environment are:
the lack of base maps of the coastline
the water depth
the nature of the sea bottom in the shallow lagoon (0-6m)
the nature of the topography
the density of vegetation along the coastline
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
The information that has been collected is not always available in a form that can be
used during the decision making process. Nevertheless, GIS has shown to be an ideal
tool to conceptualise and integrate data at a range of scales. Sometimes the scale,
connectivity of the marine environment and the nature of the life cycles of marine
93
the generally small size and limited ability of government to administer and
manage complex new programmes
the often ex-colonial nature of many bureaucracies
heavy dependence on the support of aid programmes, both financially and in
terms of expatriate staff and advisers
often disproportionately large bureaucracies in relation to the size of the
population and the economy; and
disjunction between government and its bureaucracy. In some cases,
governments exist to carry out government and ministerial decisions rather
than to participate in the decision making process
FUNDING AND SUPPORT
The nature of GIS may preclude it as an appropriate tool for all of the Pacific island
countries. One way of integrating GIS into organisations is to build it into the work
program (Davis, 1996). Part of this process is to conduct a needs assessment, prior to
the installation of particular hardware and software and evaluate the success of that
program at a later date. The output of this exercise should clearly identify what
resources are available in terms of personnel and expertise, data and information and
most
importantly
the
level
of
commitment
from
the
country.
TRAINING
In the Pacific there is still a reliance on recycling the first generation of professionals
to keep GIS moving (Davis, 1996). Some training has been conducted, either within
the recipient country or abroad. The results have been highly variable depending on
the personal characteristics of the expatriate trainers involved including their
knowledge of the country and its needs.
INFORMATION
The major obstacle to the inventory, development, management and conservation of
living and non living resources in the coral reef environment are:
the lack of base maps of the coastline
the water depth
the nature of the sea bottom in the shallow lagoon (0-6m)
the nature of the topography
the density of vegetation along the coastline
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
The information that has been collected is not always available in a form that can be
used during the decision making process. Nevertheless, GIS has shown to be an ideal
tool to conceptualise and integrate data at a range of scales. Sometimes the scale,
connectivity of the marine environment and the nature of the life cycles of marine