Developing an interactive web based public participatory planning support system for natural resource management

This paper offers a framework for delivering on‐line resources to assist community participation in decision‐making associated with land management. Traditionally community consultation has involved focus groups and community meetings. Within the last decade the World Wide Web (WWW) has grown prolifically to provide the wider public with spatial knowledge in digital form. Subsequently the WWW offers a medium for community discussion that transcends traditional communicative boundaries. A range of on‐line multimedia and geovisualisation resources are readily available to assist community management. These include discussion forums, electronic documentation and interactive GIS mapping tools. This paper discusses the development of an interactive web based public participatory planning support system applied to the first stage of a community forest management pilot project in the Wombat State Forest, Victoria (Australia). The website provides a record of the activities undertaken May to December 2002 and offers a vehicle for group discussion and feedback, document exploration and interactive mapping. The paper examines the development of the on‐line interactive public participatory planning support system and lessons learnt. The research is a basis for developing a generic framework for democratising information to improve community management decision‐making.