Este trabalho apresenta o macrozoneamento como instrumento de gestão ambiental que visa compatibilizar, em bases permanentes, o desenvolvimento econômico de uma região à manutenção da qualidade ambiental. Neste contexto, o Sistema de Informações Geográficas se apresenta como ferramenta necessária à síntese da dinâmica econômica-ecológica, a fim de que as rápidas mudanças, inerentes ao modelo de desenvolvimento global, não inviabilizem um processo que deve contemplar a visão sistêmica do meio ambiente. No desenvolvimento desta pesquisa foi utilizado o software Idrisi para o processamento dos mapas da área de estudo, que constitui a base do banco de dados. Fundamentando-a, foram abordados os conceitos de gestão e planejamento ambiental e de sistema de informações geográficas, relacionando-os ao macrozoneamento e aos aspectos jurídicos observados no país e, particularmente, no Estado de São Paulo. Como resultado final, o banco de dados digitais e a abordagem do macrozoneamento da região de Ribeirão Preto, através da apresentação e análise de cenários de potenciais usos e conflitos, entre outros, deverão subsidiar a implementação de atividades e diagnósticos regionais. Além disto, o trabalho poderá contribuir para a consolidação e para o direcionamento da inserção do macrozoneamento no sistema de gestão ambiental. / This work presents macro-zonning as an instrument of environmental management which intends to permanently put together economical development and environmental quality maintainance in a determined region. In such a way, the Geographic Information System (GIS) is a necessary tool for the economical/ecological dynamic synthesis, so that the quick changes - which are inherent to the global development model- do not make impossible the process that should have as an aim systemic environmental care. The Idrisi software was used in the development of the research to process the maps of the considered area. In order to supporting data, the concepts of environmental management and planning and GIS were used and they were related to the macro-zonning and the legal aspects which are currently in use in the country and, particularly, in the State of São Paulo. As a result, digital data and the evaluation of the Ribeirão Preto region zonning shall be of great value to help in regional activity and problem identification. Moreover, this work may be important to consolidate and to guide the use of macro-zonning as an instrument in the environmental management system.

Grande parte das cidades brasileiras apresenta muitos impactos ambientais causados pelo processo de urbanização. O gerenciamento de recursos hídricos em pequenas bacias é um fator crucial para resolver estes problemas. Esta dissertação apresenta uma grande ferramenta no suporte de gerenciamento à água urbana: um Sistema de Suporte a Decisão (SSD) para planejar e gerenciar bacias urbanas. O SSD pode manipular diferentes tipos de dados e pode integrar produtos em SIG para diferentes tipos de interfaces de modelos matemáticos hidrológicos. O SSD foi aplicado numa pequena bacia localizado na cidade de São Paulo, na bacia do rio Cabuçu de Baixo. Os resultados mostram a importância deste tipo de ferramenta no planejamento e elaboração de projetos. / Many Brazilian cities present a lot of negative environment impacts caused by the urbanization process. The water resources management of the urban small catchments is crucial to deal with these problems. This dissertation presents a very important tool to support urban water resources management: a Decision Support System (DSS) for planning and management of urban basins. The DSS can manipulate different kind of data and can integrate GIS products with different kind of hidrology design mathematical models. The DSS was applied to a small catchments located in São Paulo city, the Cabuçu de Baixo River. The results show the importance of this kind of tool in planning and design projects.

Esta investigação constituiu-se no desenvolvimento de metodologia para uso e aplicação do SIG no Campus II da USP de São Carlos. Em etapa preliminar, por meio de sistema GPS, foi analisado o trabalho de georreferenciamento realizado por empresa, para a universidade. Os dados levantados neste processo foram usados para geração de um arquivo, para o referido campus, o qual servirá de base para os mais diversos fins. Pelo fato de o Campus II ainda estar em fase de implantação, o projeto piloto - exemplo ou amostra da aplicação da metodologia - precisou ser executado no Campus I. A execução do plano teve início com a união dos dados alfanuméricos e geográficos para produção do SIG e geração de novos dados e informações. / This investigation developed a methodology to be used on application of the SIG at the Campus II-USP in São Carlos (SP). During a preliminary stage a work of geographic reference, realized by a company for the University, was analyzed though a GSP system. The data obtained in the process was used to generate a many purpose file for the campus with can be used as a base other works. The pilot model - example or sample of application of the methodology - had to be developed on the Campus I because of the stage of implantation of the Campus II. The development of the project stored with the union of the alpha-numeric and geographic data to produce the SIG and new data and information are generated.

Comércio e indústria, atualmente, respondem por parcela significativa do produto interno bruto (PIB) do Brasil e juntos demandam significativa quantidade de transporte de carga, principalmente do tipo fracionada, fato que, nos últimos anos provocou o crescimento do transporte desse tipo de carga. O elevado crescimento industrial, em 2004 e 2005, nos principais estados da região norte do país, Amazonas e Pará, indicam o aumento potencial da demanda por transporte de carga fracionada entre o norte e o sudeste, que concentra o maior mercado consumidor. As grandes distâncias, entre o norte e o sudeste, fazem o custo de transporte ter grande impacto significativo no preço final das mercadorias. Esse fato levou à procura por opções de transporte de menor custo, para tornar os produtos fabricados na região norte mais competitivos no mercado interno. Atualmente, existe predominância do transporte rodoviário no corredor norte-sudeste, o que desperdiça, por hipótese, o potencial de outros modos de transporte, como cabotagem, transporte fluvial e, futuramente, transporte ferroviário (Ferrovia Norte-Sul e Ferronorte). Isso motivou o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, que tem como objetivo avaliar opções de transporte intermodal, econômica e operacionalmente mais atraentes que as praticadas hoje no transporte de carga geral fracionada (produtos e insumos industrializados) em conexões com a região amazônica. A metodologia empregada no trabalho utilizou: (1) técnica de construção de cenários; (2) modelos de custo de transporte para os modos rodoviário, ferroviário, marítimo e fluvial; e (3) sistema de informação geográfica. Os resultados obtidos nesta tese indicam que opções de rotas rodo-marítimas e rodo-fluviais apresentam significativas reduções no custo total de transporte com relação às rotas preferenciais, hoje, praticadas para as ligações entre Belém-São Paulo e Manaus-São Paulo. Os resultados mostram, também, não haver perspectivas para o transporte rodo-ferroviário e rodo-fluvial-ferroviário nessas ligações, uma vez que, neste caso, o custo obtido é maior que os das rotas hoje praticadas. / Nowadays, business and industry are responsible for a significant portion of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Brazil, and together they require a considerable amount of freight transport, mainly break-bulk cargo which has stimulated the transport growth of this kind of cargo. The enormous industrial growth in the most important states of the northern region of the country in the years 2004 and 2005 indicate the potential increase of break-bulk cargo transport between the north and the southeast, area that concentrates the strongest consumer market in the country. Due to the long distance between the country\'s north and southeastern regions, the cost of transport increases the final cost of the goods. This fact led to the search for lower cost transport options in order to make the products of that region more competitive in the domestic market. Currently there has been predominance of road transport in the north/southeast corridor wasting, hypothetically, the potential of other means of transport such as cabotage, river, and, in the future, railroad transport (Norte-Sul and Ferronorte railways). All of this brought about the development of this research which aims at evaluating the intermodal transport options that are economically and operationally more attractive than the break-bulk cargo transport (industrial input and products) used today in the connections with the amazon region. The methodology involves: (1) scenario building; (2) transport cost models for the road, railroad, and marine means; and (3) geographic information system. The results demonstrate that the route options road-marine and road-river show substantial reduction in the transport total cost when compared to the most popular routes used between Belém-São Paulo and Manaus-São Paulo. The results also reveal that there is no perspective of the use of road-rail and road-river-rail transport in such connections since the cost is higher than in the routes used nowadays.

Este trabalho trata da organização de um algoritmo, sem preocupação com a linguagem de programação que possa ser utilizada, para desenvolver um método para o traçado da linha divisória de uma bacia hidrográfica, para aplicações em SIG. O método escolhido foi o de análise dos oitos pixels à volta de um pixel já pertencente ao divisor, constituindo uma variação do processo conhecido como D8 (determinístico dos oito vizinhos), que só é possível ser aplicado em sistemas do tipo raster. A partir dessa análise desenvolveu-se uma metodologia para a definição do próximo pixel que pertencerá ao divisor de águas da bacia. A avaliação do algoritmo foi feita utilizando-se um mapa fictício, criado para incluir as mais prováveis dificuldades encontradas na definição do divisor de uma bacia através de programa computacional. O traçado obtido, acompanhando as etapas lógicas do algoritmo, mostrou-se adequado quando comparado com a linha divisória da bacia traçada manualmente. Um mapa digitalizado a partir de rede local real é utilizado como exemplo de aplicação do algoritmo desenvolvido. / This work is about the organizing of an algorithm, without any regard with the programming language that may be used, in order to develop a method for delineation of watershed boundaries, for GIS applications. The method chosen was the analysis of eight pixels that surround another pixel belonging to the watershed, being a variation of the process known as D8 (deterministic of the eight neighbors), which can only be applied in raster systems. Considering this analysis, a methodology was developed for establishing the next pixel that will belong to the watershed. The algorithm evaluation was done with a fictitious map, created to include the most probable difficulties in establishing the divisor of a watershed through a computer program. The obtained line, following the logical steps of the algorithm, was suitable when compared with the dividing line of the watershed done manually. A digital map of a real place is used as an example of application of the developed algorithm.

This thesis deals with open-source software QGIS.It is a free and multiplatform geographical information system (GIS) which is distributed under the general public license (GNU). In the framework of this thesis, a teaching course was created, various types of analyses that the system allows. A set of model exercises is intended to represent a integrated course in the Quantum GIS, which will enable the user to become acquainted with this SW and will be useful in teaching, but also in the practice of public administration, especially in regional development. For this reason, the author realized a survey in the municipalities of the South Bohemian Region concerning the introduction of GIS, awareness of QGIS software, possible interest in the course and topics which the municipalities would like to dedicate to. The requirements of the municipalities have been implemented into individual exercises. The course is available in e-learning in the Moodle system on the link: https://moodle.ef.jcu.cz/course/view.php?id=2683, but also in the form of a comprehensive document which is annexed to this work.

The Environmental Resource Mapping System (E-RMS) is a geographic information system (GIS) that is used by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to assist in management of national parks. The package is available commercially from the Service and is used by other government departments for environmental management. E-RMS has also been present in Australian Universities and used for academic work for a number of years. This thesis demonstrates that existing procedures for product quality and performance have not been followed in the production of the package and that the package and therefore much of the work undertaken with the package is fundamentally flawed. The E-RMS software contains and produces a number of serious mistakes. Several problems are identified and discussed in this thesis. As a result of the shortcomings, the author recommends that an enquiry be conducted to investigate *1/ The technical feasibility of each project for which the E-RMS package has been used; *2/ The full extent and consequences of the failings inherent with the package; and *3/ The suitability of the E-RMS GIS package for the purposes for which it is sold. Australian Standard 3898 requires that the purpose, functions and limitations of consumer software shall be described. To comply with this standard, users of the E-RMS package would have to be informed of several factors related to it. These are discussed in the research. Failure to consider the usefulness and extractable nature of information in any GIS database will inevitably lead to problems that may endanger the phenomena that the GIS is designed to protect. / Master of Applied Science (Environmental Science)

The city of Kumasi in Ghana struggles with a number of environmental issues, including excessive road traffic, air and water pollution, flooding, and inadequate solid waste management. If there is a group that is directly affected by these issues, it certainly is the city’s population. At the same time, the people of Kumasi—who are the constituents of the local administration, called KMA—have few to none means of obtaining objective information about the state of the urban environment, and therefore no way of holding the city administration accountable concerning environmentally relevant decisions. This case study aims to explore the possibility of alleviating this transparency issue by creating an ‘environmental information system’ (EIS) for the city. The term EIS in this context denotes an information system which can be used to publish environmental information on the web, to be utilised by students, professionals, NGOs, and the general public. The case study seeks to provide answers to two research questions: What are the software requirements for an EIS for Kumasi? And: How can free software be used to satisfy these requirements? The case study takes an approach based on Soft Systems Methodology and agile software development techniques to explore the software requirements. As part of the study, a prototype of the EIS was developed in order to explore the requirements even more, and in order to determine the applicability of currently available free software. The results of the requirements analysis include the following observations: geographical information is essential in presenting the city’s environmental issues, therefore the EIS is based on geographic information system (GIS) software and techniques; the information should be presented to the public in an easy-to-use and easy-to-understand way in order to reach the largest possible percentage of the target group; the environmental information that is available at local institutions (such as the largest local university KNUST, the city administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency) is scarce and semantically and syntactically heterogeneous—therefore, the EIS must be able to consolidate such information in order to present it in an easy-to-understand way; many of the involved actors have no or little knowledge in GIS techniques, therefore the EIS must be usable without such knowledge. In the implementation process, heavy use was made of free software components: GeoServer for publishing geographical data using WMS and WFS; PostgreSQL with the PostGIS extension for data storage; JPA/Hibernate for storing metadata in PostgreSQL; Spring MVC, jQuery UI and many other libraries for creating a user-friendly web application; OpenLayers for displaying and editing geographical data in the web application; GeoTools for handling geographical data on the server-side. During implementation, actual environmental information was entered into the EIS in order to provide a realistic semantic environment for the agile development process. The study concludes that—while the implemented prototype does not include all of the features which were identified as required, and while a ‘full’ soft systems analysis (as opposed to the ‘soft systems perspective’ which was applied) would have led to a more complete picture of the software’s organisational environment—the implementation of an environmental information system for Kumasi, based solely on free software, is viable in the current technical and organisational environment. KNUST is foreseen to be an adequate organisation to manage the development and operation of the system, since the necessary technical knowledge is available. The successful operation of the EIS relies on environmental information being provided by data producers such as the KMA, the EPA, the Ghana Statistical Service, and various departments at KNUST.

The Kaoping River basin is the largest and the most intensively used river basin in Taiwan. It is 171 km long, drains a catchment of more than 3,257 km2, and has a mean flow of 239 m3/s. It serves as a water supply to the Kaohsiung City (the second largest city in Taiwan), several towns, two counties, and a number of large industries (electronic, steel, petrochemical, etc.). Although the mean annual rainfall in this river basin is close to 3,000 mm, over 90% of which appears in the wet season. The period of high flow rate in the stream usually occurs in the late spring and summer due to the impacts of monsoon and typhoon. Non-Point Sources (NPS) pollutants, which are associated with stormwater runoff from agricultural land uses can be quite diffuse and difficult to treat. In this study, land use identification in the basin was performed by properly integrating the skills of geographic information system (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS). Remote sensing image and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of Kaoping River Basin were applied for the land use identification task. An integrated watershed management model (IWMM) was applied for simulating the water quality and evaluating NPS pollutant loads to the Kaoping River. The watershed was divided into catchments and river segments. The land use patterns were defined by the surface coverage of each catchment. The underneath soil can have several layers, and each land use has its vegetation characteristic and erosion coefficient. The model was calibrated and verified with field data from water quality monitoring stations. The calibrated model was used to develop best management practices (BMP). Moreover, the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) was also applied for the water quality simulation. The model was calibrated and verified with water quality data, and the model was used to analyze the impacts of NPS loading on water quality. The major objectives of this study were to (1) investigate and identify the current contributions of NPS pollutants to the Kaoping River pollution, (2) perform the land use identification and construct the watershed GIS to effectively manage the watershed, (3) perform water quality and soils sampling and analyses, (4) apply multimedia models for NPS pollution evaluation and water quality simulation, and (5) evaluate the effectiveness of the applied remedial strategies on watershed management and water quality improvement. This study identified major land-use patterns in Kaoping River Basin using SPOT images and GIS/GPS/RS techniques. The major findings from the GIS, field, and modeling tasks include the following: (1) Fourteen types of land-use patterns in the watershed area of the basin were classified with the aid of the Erdas Imagine process system; (2) Orchard gardens, rice paddies, sugarcane fields, betel palm farms, and tea gardens dominate the farmland areas in the basin and are scattered around on both sides of the river corridor; and (3) Simulated results indicate that NPS pollution plays a significant role in the deterioration of the downstream water quality of Kaoping River and caused a significant increase in suspended solids loads into the basin¡¦s water bodies. Concern about the deteriorating condition of the river led the Government of Taiwan to amend relevant legislation and strengthen the enforcement of discharge regulations to effectively manage the river and control pollution. Based on the results of this study, application of BMPs [e.g., source reduction, construction of grassy buffer zone, and land-use management] for NPS pollutant control are required. Multimedia modeling results indicate that the application of the following specific BMPs can reduce the effects of NPS suspended solids pollution on the water quality of Kaoping River: (1) Conversion of farmlands on hillsides of the upper catchment to forest; and (2) Conversion of rice paddies and agricultural lands to buffer zones (e.g., grassy strip, detention pond, and constructed wetland) along the riverbank areas of the three sub-basins. With application of these two proposed BMPs, the peak suspended solids concentrations in the wet seasons could be significantly reduced. Results and experience obtained from this study will be helpful in designing the watershed management strategies for other similar river basins.

With the rapid development of the coastal environment and advances in fishing technology, marine biodiversity and fishery resources are decreasing dramatically. Therefore, each state is now focusing on conserving the marine environment. Planning Marine Protected Areas is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to do this. In recent years, researches have been conducted on Marine Protected Areas around the world. The government and academic fields in Taiwan also has started to value its surrounding marine environment. However, literature on the Marine Protected Areas in Taiwan has focused on policy and management, not so much on planning and zoning strategies. Therefore, this study uses the Geographic Information System (GIS) to simulate the planning and zoning process. This research set principles and zoning framework for Marine Protected Areas in Taiwan based on case studies and spatial analysis techniques. This study uses Gueishan Island in Yilan County as case study since the unique geographical environment of Gueishan Island provides potentiality to set Marine Protected Areas. In this study, it is suggested that "hot spring resources", "cetacean resources", and "fisheries resources" are the main protected objectives. The zoning strategies, management guidelines and recommendations are provided in this study based on these three protected objectives. According to the GIS simulation process, using the spatial analysis techniques is one of the possible efficient methodologies to plan and zone the Marine Protected Areas. With supplementary data and information, the results can be discussed more specifically in the further study. In addition, techniques of visualization during the MPAs zoning process can be a easier way for various stakeholders to understand, and to strengthen mutual communication, thereby reducing disputes to create successful Marine Protected Areas.