Building spatial data infrastructure to support sustainable catchment management

Abstract

[Abstract]: Catchment management is characterised by multiple stakeholders and multiple goals which cut across traditional as well as administrative boundaries. It requires an integrated management approach as different institutions and individuals work together towards sustainable catchment outcomes. Spatial data plays an important role in formulating many catchment decisions. An increasingly problematic issue for catchment decisions is the availability and access of spatial data. Although the spatial data may be available, they may not be useful due to different standards, content or scale. The importance of spatial data to solving multiple issues concerning catchment management creates a growing need to organise data across disciplines and organisations through the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). Due to the increasing development of land and natural resources, the management of rights, restrictions and responsibilities between people and land is becoming an important issue under the catchment management domain. This paper discusses SDI and its importance to catchment management. The role of catchment management authorities is explored and where these groups fit within the SDI development. A case study in Banepa Municipality, Nepal is examined to understand how spatial data infrastructure can assist in catchment decision making and management.