Initial funding for migration of a portion of the WISE databases was allocated for 2001-2002. This project is currently being managed by a steering committee within NPWS. This project will be successfully completed shortly, providing a platform for deploying the main bibliographic and content databases for 7 catchments to the NPWS website. This product can quickly identify all of the information available for an entire catchment and provide catchment management boards with an essential tool for informed decision-making. The product will feed into regional planning by providing information on water quality and flow, salinity, biodiversity and cultural resources and assist with capacity building. In addition, other government agencies, community organisations as well as schools and universities can have ready access to the complete range of published information on rivers, wetlands and river management from a single source for an entire catchment.

Funding requested in this proposal would provide for migration of the four additional bibliographic databases due to be launched in late 2002. This would be accomplished by migration of the databases to the existing web platform. In addition this project will also configure a template to deliver the whole of the set of existing multimedia databases for an entire water catchment. Each WISE catchment CD-Rom consists of a bibliographic and content database and a multimedia database. It is proposed to use the Paroo and Warrego WISE CD-ROM as the basis for creating the template.

Consultation with schools, individuals and communities have lead to requests to make the whole of the WISE system available on the web. This would involve the migration of the multimedia and Catchment Information Modules included on the CD-ROM (wetland maps of the catchment, other mapping datasets, photographs, video and audio clips, oral histories, PDF files and text files)

Access to relevant information provides a unique opportunity for people to find out what they want on a wide range of issues. The multimedia part of WISE allows people to 'see' the catchment from the perspective of animations, photographs, videos and sound files. There are more than 100 photographs of the catchment and several videos and sound files. Basic information, including multimedia, is provided on the towns, rivers, national parks and reserves, and important historic or cultural sites that make up the catchment. Additional information is provided on the flora and fauna in the catchment and on the photographic collections of historical societies, libraries and government agencies. Three key environmental issues have been identified for each catchment, based on an analysis of the research and identification of key issues - copies of articles as PDFs and other material is provided on each of these key issues.

Successful completion is not dependant on any other CANRI projects but will meet the aims and objectives of CANRI. The project will deliver existing datasets previously compiled and available as a CD-ROM.

The current WISE web application adheres to the CANRI technical framework. The application uses established technologies; Java Server Pages (JSP), Java servlets, cascading style sheets CSS interfacing with Oracle databases to deliver full functionality mirroring that of an existing set of databases currently available only as a CD-ROM. Delivery of the full range of data available will require the conversion of multimedia into web compatible formats.

The WISE web application project will deliver existing datasets previously compiled and currently only available on CD-ROM. The project will consist mainly of conversion to web ready and web compatible formats.