Crain, Ian 
  
In recognition of these needs, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) sponsored a Technical Assistance project which, 
among its objectives, commissioned the design of a multi-national GIS-based information management system to 
provide for a means of exchanging and sharing between the six countries the information essential to good decision 
making on trans-border issues. The Project was executed for the ADB (in conjunction with the United Nations 
Environment Programme (UNEP)) by a consortium led by the Canadian consulting firm Roche International. The 
project was known by the title Subregional Environmental Management and Information System (SEMIS). 
2 DESIGN APPROACH 
2.1 Design Factors 
The natural ecosystems of the six riparian countries are intimately linked, and environmental issues do not respect 
national boundaries. It is therefore accepted that environmental issues must be considered on the basis of entire 
watersheds or ecosystems, and that actions in one country or administrative subdivision may affect its neighbours. This 
is true in any region of the world, but especially true in the GMS because of the common link of the Mekong River 
system. A large number of critical decisions will soon have to be made by the nations of the subregion. 
Local and national decision makers need information to choose between development options and to set appropriate 
priorities; international funders such as the ADB and World Bank, need information for planning and setting 
subregional priorities. In addition, most of the riparian countries need to respond and report to international conventions 
and treaties to which they are party, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and the Ramsar Convention (on wetlands). 
Many reports, including the Mekong River Basin Diagnostic Study (MRC, 1996) and Sesser (1995), have noted that 
information in the subregion, although substantial, is fragmented, inconsistent and difficult to integrate. It is crucial, 
therefore, for all the interested partners (international agencies, the six riparian countries and their separate institutions) 
to be able to share and exchange data in an efficient and timely way. 
To accomplish this it is necessary to have a consistent subregion wide information system, including associated 
standards and guidelines. Note that an information system is more than a "database". An information system is a 
structured set of processes (and associated people and equipment) for converting data into information, and for 
presenting it in forms which are useful for communication and decision making. 
2.2  AStep-wise Design Approach 
The design of a GIS based decision support system was based on the principle of information availability and sharing — 
that is, sought to provide to decision makers the capacity to assemble, integrate and exchange the environmental and 
resource information needed for decision making on the crucial issues facing the region. For that reason the design was 
approached as a series of logical steps as follows: 
Identification of the key environmental issues requiring decisions 
Identification of the *core datasets" required to support decision making on these issues 
Adaptation or development of the standards necessary for the effective use and sharing of environmental data 
Conceptual system design that met the functional needs of decision makers and was appropriate to the regional 
conditions 
pum 
Because of the length restrictions applied to papers in this series, only the design phase is reported at any length. 
2.3 Functional Design Challenges 
As noted by UNEP (UNEP, 1995) it is important that the SEMIS system facilitates the availability and use of 
information for decision making in the subregion - hence must provide the functions which will support and assist in 
answering five fundamental questions for sustainable development: 
I) What is happening? Where is it happening? (What are the environmental conditions and trends?) 
2) Why is it happening? How is it happening? (What are the human and natural causes of these changes?) 
3) Why are these changes significant? (What are the biophysical and socio-economic implications?) 
4) What is our response? (What are the societal responses for protecting the environment?) 
3) Is the response adequate? 
  
288 International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXIII, Part B7. Amsterdam 2000.