A Computer System for Catchment Management: Background, Concepts and Development

Managers of natural areas require a wide variety of up-to-date and accurate information and maps to manage their lands effectively. This paper reviews the objectives of conservation management, and the problems faced by mountain catchment managers, in the Cape Province, South Africa. The managerʹs information requirements, system design concepts and the first phase of the development of a computerized database are described. The system has two components: a spatial database developed using geographic information system (GIS) software on a workstation, and a desktop computer database (PC system) developed using a standard relational database package. The GIS is used to generate the links that the PC system uses to associate spatial entities such as land ownership boundaries, land management units (compartments) and vegetation types. It also used to calculate spatial statistics such as the area of a compartment or vegetation type or the length of a road or path. A variety of maps are produced, including an opaque base map and clear overlay maps showing features such as compartment and fire boundaries, post-fire vegetation age and the distribution and density of alien weeds. It also has routines to calculate fire hazard based on post-fire age and fuel accumulation models for the different vegetation types occurring in the catchment areas. The PC system gives the manager access to his data and provides a scheduling routine for assigning priorities for planned fires. Future developments will include an expert system for planning control operations for alien plant species.