Sindre Langaas, Dr. Scient

Consultant

Development and use of transboundary GIS:

Lake Peipus experience

background A ”test” of GIS component of the EU Water Framework Directive Transboundary river basins on the Eastern Fringe of Europe Lake Peipsi - Europe’s largest (area wise) transboundary lake. EE, RU, LV.

Bilateral agreement EE - RU. Key issues: Eutrophication and fisheries. Project: Feb 2001 - Jan 2004, 12 partners, 6 countries NO, EE, RU, NL, PL

& SE GIS work 5 partners

EE Tallinn Technical University, Center for Transboundary Cooperation

RU State Hydrometeorological Institute

NL Utrecht University

SE KTH Royal Institute of Technology

Overall aims

To create a freely available and easy accessible multi-thematic GIS database of the entire river/lake basin for Modelling Assessment Strategic desision making

To assess the feasibility in developing such a GIS database in light of the (at that time) upcoming WFD ’requirements’

Specific purposes

Serve the spatial data needs for the POLFLOW and MESAW nutrient models

Serve the GIS data requirements in the WFD in support of the Bilateral Commission

Serve the GIS data needs for WebGIS (within MANTRA-East project)

Serve the GIS data needs of other upcoming major projects incl GEF, TACIS

Known challenges

Technical Unequal data

availability Data quality and

characteristics Harmonisation

Institutional Networking Legal constraints Data sharing issues Agreement on detailed

common system

Methodology – main steps

Identification user needs Primary intra-project + WFD WG GIS

Inventory & aquisition of data Characteristics and legal constraints

Harmonisation within and between GIS layers Intra-, inter-, geodetic-, thematic-

Use Modelling, river basin characterisation, WebGIS

Documentation Report, meta-data

Dissemination Web, report, CD-ROM

Results

A GIS database with 26 layers

Distributed on CD and via web

Meta-data Documentation

Lessons Learned - Conclusions Drawn

Diverse region Data quality and

metadata Availability of digital

sources Easier to access and

assess data from MSAC countries

Copy-right restrictions upon GIS data prevent re-use and dissemination Measures:

Sub-optimal data was choosen

Data was degraded