Author: T.O. Whenham
Western Canadian landscapes are faced with increasing pressures for natural resource extraction, urban growth, agricultural production, and recreational activities. At the same time, there are growing concerns for the conservation of important ecological systems. As a result, decision-makers are faced with complex decisions and potential land use conflicts.
Geographic information systems (GIS) can aid governments with these types of complex land use decisions. GIS enables policy-makers to better understand and analyze the implications of land use decisions on the environment, to evaluate the cumulative effects of individual land use decisions across large spatial areas, and to prioritize specific areas for conservation. More and more, land stewardship initiatives turn to GIS to identify the potential implications of land use policies and to identify priority areas for conservation.
Although GIS is not the panacea of conservation policy, it is a valuable tool that can inform policy decisions in rapidly changing landscapes.