ERA Cultural Heritage GIS

A user oriented affordable & capable GIS

by
Philippe Puig (Senior Spatial Scientist) & Pat Carrick (Specialist Community Relations)

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 What is ERA Cultural Heritage GIS (CHGIS)?
• An information system set up by ERA to promote site wide cultural awareness at
Ranger;
• A repository of archaeological findings displayed in a culturally appropriate
manner;
• A framework to enable management to efficiently comply with the Heritage
legislation;
• An information tool shared by stakeholders (e.g. Gundjeihmi Aboriginal
Corporation, Kakadu Native Title Plants Supplier) to freely access spatial data of
common interest;
• The first encounter with a GIS for most users;
• A rapidly evolving free GIS combining several independent freeware applications;
• This presentation focuses on aspects relevant to Government agencies, NGOs
and private enterprises.

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 A tool to ensure compliance with NT Heritage Act
Where archaeology matters
– Green areas have been heavily impacted. Land
disturbance permit applications do not require
archaeological clearance in green areas;
– No land disturbance permit can be issued in pink
areas where presence/absence of archaeological
findings remains undocumented.
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Detailed views of protected locations
– Below, archaeological findings (red dots) were
recorded in the vicinity of the Jabiru airport;
– This information is important as all ERA staff
must preserve the integrity of all sites in red .
– However, no culturally sensitive information is
accessible through this system.
 CHGIS evolution is driven by non GIS specialists
A system driven by users new to GIS
– 5 out of 45 current users had formal GIS training;
– The training manual reflects their changing needs.
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Effective, yet unconventional, GIS maps
– MapWindow lacks map making functions;
– Users therefore rely on MapWindow and
PowerPoint to produce informative maps.
 ERA Land Use GIS is the first sibling of CHGIS
A natural need for interactive maps
– MapWindow allows more ERA staff to contribute
to the development of key visual information;
– ERA Land Use GIS is a typical example.
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A tool for land use documentation
– All ERA staff can view the Land Use GIS on the
network … and it can be saved on laptops too;
– Unprecedented access to a high resolution geo
located information is now available to all staff.
 Is advanced functionality available?
MapWindow functions not used in CHGIS
– Very good terrain analysis visualisation;
– Complementarity with other freeware popular in
land management (eg. Marxan);
– ... and more, as MapWindow improves.
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QGIS provides additional GIS power
– QGIS is another GIS freeware we use;
– good raster/vector functions, free GIS for Linux
and Windows , programmable in Python;
– displays side by side MapInfo TAB files and ESRI
shapefiles, both used within ERA.
 MapWindow within ERA and beyond
• At the 2010 RioTinto audit, CHGIS received a commendation for the high
level of staff awareness/participation across ERA recorded by the
auditors.
• Due to escalading costs of purchase, maintenance and training,
proprietary GIS appears to be less and less affordable outside educational
institutions and government agencies.
• MapWindow and QGIS are two of a number of GIS freeware applications.
Both capable and affordable, they develop spatial literacy in the workforce
and raise management awareness of what site wide GIS can achieve.
• GIS is an important tool in land and natural resource management. The
potential of GIS freeware should therefore be recognised, particularly in
the Northern Territory, even where proprietary software is already used.