The role of land and geographic information systems in economic and environmental management

Economic development and environmental management are often in conflict, particularly in developing countries. This paper examines two projects in Thailand as case studies to show that the use of land and geographic information systems can contribute to both objectives. The paper briefly describes the concept and the role of land and geographic information systems, and looks at their application, primarily in the urban context. The paper discusses the two major limiting factors in developing appropriate systems in both the developed and developing countries; institutional arrangements at a government level and appropriate education programs. The first project, the Thailand Land Titling Project, is concerned with reforming the land titling and land administration system for the whole of the country. The second project, the Bangkok Land Information System Project, was a three year project completed in 1992 to examine the feasibility of developing a land information system for the City of Bangkok, a city with a population of approximately 10 million