Implementation of a GIS-based management tool for conservation of biodiversity within the municipality of Oslo, Norway

Tools to effectively apply biological information in daily physical planning cases are viewed as essential in order to preserve and manage natural habitats in highly pressured urban areas. This paper describes a GIS-based management tool for conservation and management of biodiversity and the process of implementation in the capital of Oslo, Norway. The main objective of this multi-agency effort is to ensure a sustainable and responsible management of the biodiversity within the municipality. A political decision on the state level encourages all municipalities to survey and classify their biological diversity according to a scale of importance within 2003. Furthermore the results from the survey were encouraged to be implemented in the daily physical planning at a local level. The assignment called for structured, classified and accessible information about the biological resources of the municipality. The electronic tool presented makes it possible to combine biological information with any other information that is relevant for a planning issue. We believe the GIS-based management tool has a strong potential to be transferred to other municipalities in Norway as well as to other countries with organised environmental management systems at both local, regional and national levels.