Evaluating the performance of a centralised government geodatabase in capturing publicly-funded natural resource management activities in Victoria, Australia

Abstract

Over the past two decades the Australian government has invested billions of dollars into restoring and conserving Australia's environment and natural resources. However, audits of major programs have, in many cases, found it hard to verify where money was spent, let alone estimate what ecological impact it achieved. In Victoria, the Catchment Activity Management System (CAMS) - a centralised geodatabase intended to capture information about on-ground natural resource management (NRM) works - was developed around 2000 to enable uniform reporting at regional and state levels. The advent of this system was lauded for its potential to streamline reporting, but also to facilitate monitoring of t..