Alun Hoggett, Project Officer for the Lake Eyre Basin Integrated Information System (LEBIIS) writes:

Our Lake Eyre Basin Map is travelling to the United States to a huge mapping conference with more than 9,000 attendees from 90 countries. It will be competing with thousands of other maps for prizes in some of the 10 categories which include Best Cartographic Design, Most Unique, and Best Data Integration. Also up for grabs is a place in the internationally published Map Book.

The annual Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Conference in late June is the largest annual GIS event in the world.

Our map was built with ESRI software and will be at the conference because the Australian office of ESRI was enthusiastic about its quality and expressed an interest in taking it as part of a display of Australian GIS achievements.

Meanwhile I am cheered that so many tourists and locals are captivated by the map and have bought a copy. Our initial print run of 1000 is almost gone which has far exceeded my predictions. The generosity of data and image providers for the map has enabled us to order a subsequent print run and to make the map more widely available through a range of distributors. This will further our aim of improving public awareness of the unique aspects of the region.

The next major project for LEBIIS is to produce an internet-based mapping component within the Lake Eyre Basin Coordinating Group website. LEBIIS has begun planning and discussions with the key players in this field. This will ensure that we take advantage of the best technology and play a leading role in the provision of information to the Basin community and the general public.

Our web-based mapping is intended to be a window of up-to-date mapping views on the Basin to assist the community to plan and monitor the management of natural resources.