NRDC Arctic Mapping
In 2010, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) held workshops that explored methods of ecosystem-based management for the Arctic marine environment. NBT Solutions was contracted to aid NRDC, IUCN staff and workshop participants with all areas of mapping and GIS data needs. This included map making, data acquisition, data manipulation, analysis and logistics.
The goals of the project were:
- To collect environmental data specific to project boundary;
- To collect species data specific to the project boundary;
- Develop a visually pleasing basemap to display data sets;
- Develop online interactive mapper to display data sets;
- Accompany IUCN and NRDC staff to the La Jolla workshop as the technical mapping lead;
- Capture and display information from workshop participants into a working GIS environment;
- Make necessary data edits based on post workshop reviews;
- Output final areas of importance (EBSA, SuperEBSA);
- Output final maps to be used in post workshop report.
One of the key activities that made these workshops successful was NBT Solutions’ ability to work closely with workshop participants, gathering their input and feedback and translating this information into maps and interactive displays on a project web site.