GEO-SPATIAL DATA FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Abstract

Sustainable development aims at maintaining equilibrium between human needs andenvironmental conservation through efficient use of natural resources. The space technologyprovide ways and means for the mankind to understand and develop the local and globalenvironments. to measure. map and monitor the changes in these environments, and tosupply goo-spatial information to decision-makers for their use in evaluation of availableoptions. The geographic information system (GIS) has been developed as a powerful toolfor natural resource management, as it plays an important role in decision-making throughthe use of both spatial and attribute data. It is the technology used for natural resourcemanagement at the different institutions in Sri Lanka at present.

The Survey Department heing the national surveying and mapping organizuuon thatprovides gco-spatial data to other institutions for their own GISs. The aim of this paper is todiscuss the present role of the Survey Department in providing goo-spatial data for naturalresource management and to address the key issues that relate to the data standards withinGIS context.