| Environmental
Assessment Information Portal | |
Miistakis,
in partnership with the Canadian Information System on the Environment (CISE),
has developed an online interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) tool to
aid in the EA process. This tool links remote biodiversity databases to an on-line
GIS environment allowing users to compile species occurrence data with relevant
spatial data (i.e., jurisdictional information, transportation networks, hydrology,
and vegetation). The pilot portal focuses on the Rocky Mountains with a particular
emphasis on the Eastern Front of Alberta. This portal demonstrates the ability
to link literature and species information together from a variety of sources
to illustrate how distributed data can be linked with GIS layers to aid decision
makers. The environmental
assessment information portal consists of three key elements: - Basic
geospatial data
- Biophysical data
- EA
information sources (primarily grey literature)
These
three elements are combined, producing an online portal that allows users to simultaneously
access biodiversity information, geospatial and biophysical data, and EA literature
documents in real time, improving environmental assessments for southwestern Alberta. |
