New land use data for New Zealand is now available to the public, following the completion of a major mapping exercise by the NZ environment ministry.

The integrated Land Use Map provides a detailed overview of land use in New Zealand from 1990–2008. The map has been produced as part of the Land Use and Carbon Analysis System. It was developed to meet New Zealand’s Kyoto Protocol reporting requirements and is therefore different from previous land cover databases. 

For example, it uses international definitions of land use. This means that the map depicts features that that physically exist on the surface, mirroring the view from an aerial photograph or satellite image.

The map was created using satellite imagery that was provided to government agencies as a result of an all-of-government licence negotiation.

Steve Botica, manager of the LUCAS programme, said the data will encourage the free exchange of environmental information, allowing more people to access, use and benefit from the information.

“Improving access to the government’s spatial information is a goal of the New Zealand Geospatial Strategy,” Botica said. “This approach also supports the NZ government open access and licensing framework.”

The data has been issued with a creative commons attribution licence. Users need to acknowledge the Crown as the original source of the data, but other than crediting, there are no restrictions on the use of the data, or the right to share it.

Users of the LUM will be able to measure change in land use between 1990 and 2008. It will be available for academic research projects and for overlaying operational data to help shape decisions and policies.

The map will be updated annually, with a major revision in 2012. The data is available at www.koordinates.com.