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LubomboMapping provides access to spatial datasets for the Lubombo region which can be viewed and analysed using basic GIS functions.
The application is funded by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology: Innovation Fund and is part of a project entitled "Developing GIS based Decision Support Systems for the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative." The Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative (LSDI) is a regional co-operation between the governments of South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique and is aimed at accelerating development, particularly with regard to agriculture and tourism within an area covering southern Mozambique, eastern Swaziland and north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal.
The project is being implemented by the Malaria Research Lead Programme of the MRC who have a long history of malaria research in northern KwaZulu-Natal. This has been extended, since 1999, to include southern Mozambique, as part of the Lubombo SDI Malaria Control Programme, and Swaziland. As a result of this work, numerous GIS data-sets have been created and collated for the region.
The central components of the Spatial Decision Support System are:
• Establishing a GIS data repository with relevant spatial
and malaria data.
• Further developing the Malaria Information System to incorporate the
information requirements of Swaziland and Mozambique.
• Developing a web-based GIS, to support the LSDI (ie LubomboMapping).
• Developing statistical malaria epidemic prediction models that will
enable health services to better control malaria through epidemic preparedness.
The data on LubomboMapping has been made available by a number of organizations (details can be found under “metadata”) and has been categorized into five main groups. These are:
• Community
• Census 2001
• Tourism
• Environment
• Greater St Lucia Wetland Park (GSLWP), the anchor project of the LSDI.
• Malaria
These can all be viewed in relation to base data such as roads, rivers and administrative boundaries.
Download list of Spatial Data Sets
Zooming in and out refers to changing the scale of the map and therefore the amount of detail you can see. In the initial map displayed, the zoom scale is set at 396 km, which means that the distance across the screen reflects 396 km on the ground. There are three different ways of zooming in and out:
This allows you to click and draw a box around the area which you would like to get more detail on.
This allows you to specify the zoom distance across the map OR a latitude and longitude reading of an area you would like to zoom in on.
This option allows you to choose your required zoom distance from the
drop-down list and then click to zoom. Hint: this is a useful way of returning
to the map of the whole country. Remember that if you zoom in too far or
at the incorrect place, you can always use the 
button.
You will notice that as you zoom further and further in,
more layers become visible. This is to ensure that the map does not become too
cluttered. You do however have the option of going to 
where you can turn different layers on and off.
Zooming out is a little bit more tricky than zooming in. Select the zoom out tool and click once in the centre of the map; this doubles your zoom, for e.g. if the zoom was 150km and you zoom out once, the resulting zoom will be 300 km zooming out.
The user can use the information tool to get malaria risk assessment
and advice for a town. Click on the information tool 
and then click on the town.
If a malaria risk layer is turned on, the information tool
will display the malaria risk for 1999/2000 and 2001/2001 as well as the case
incidence for those two periods for the area selected.
The search facility allows the user to search for a health facility, school or town and then locate it on the map. It is a wildcard search so the search will yield all results approximating the search item entered.
1. Turn on the features that you would like to buffer i.e. schools or health facilities (optional)
2. Select the Buffer Tool 
3. Select Buffer Type and Country to Buffer
4. Click 'Submit' and the following options will appear:
Once you have selected your options, click on Apply Buffer. Remember that all features in the selected type (health facilities or schools) will be buffered even if only one category ( eg clinics) is turned on.
Available
InformationThe spatial data-sets available have been grouped into these categories which are displayed on the left of the map. Click on a category and the data-sets in that category (see below) will be displayed on the right of the map. Click on a data-set to view that data on the map.
Pan tool: Recentre the map by dragging it.
Measuring
tool: Click on two points to measure the straight line distance between them.
Pin
tool: Adds a pin image to the selected point on the map.
Label
tool: Turns labels on or off. (This can also be done in the Layer
Control window)
Print
tool: Displays a print preview window and allows the user to add a map title.
The layer control box displays the available layers or features that have been turned on, whether their labels are 'on' and at what zoom level they are visible at. Each layer can be made visible or invisible here but will not be turned off. A layer can only be turned off or removed from the map using the data buttons. Eg 1 towns will be shown on the map when the user has zoomed lower than 200km.EG 2 Rivers can be turned off by clicking the visible box next to rivers Provinces and their labels are only visible when the map is at full view ie entire country is displayed.
Click on the Map Sizing button and a new window called Map Settings will open. This gives you the option to increase or decrease the map width and height in pixels (note: the default width is 586 pixels and height 330 pixels)
This is where you will find information about the data on this site, such as the source and date. It is important to read this section (particularly for health facilities) before using the data to make decisions.
Although this application is not a true GIS, we have provided a few basic GIS concepts and definitions as well as a list of useful links for those wanting obtain more information on the various GIS issues.
There are many definitions of GIS: According to Bailey and Gatrell (1995, in Moore and Carpenter, 1999) “a GIS is an integrated set of computer hardware and software tools to capture, store, edit, analyse, and display spatially referenced data.” Clarke et al (1996) continue by stating that; “common to all GIS is the realisation that spatial data are unique because their records can be linked to a geographic map”.
Scale: refers to the relationship between distance on the map and distance on the ground. The scale affects the amount of detail that is visible and therefore has implications for the type of analysis that can be done.
Layers: the different types of map features (roads, rivers, health facilities etc) are stored in different layers so that they can be opened separately. Data of the same type are kept in separate layers.
Points, lines and polygons: points are a single set of co-ordinates (e.g. a health facility), lines are a series of joined co-ordinates (e.g. roads) and polygons are areas bounded by lines.
Overlay: since data of different types is kept in different layers it can be overlaid on top of each other. Overlaying data-sets allows users to interrogate the relationships between them, for e.g. by overlaying the health facilities and roads gives an idea of accessibility.
Buffering: refers to a drawing circle or zone of influence around either a point, line or polygon.
Thematic map: is a map showing selected kinds of information relating to one or more specific themes. Examples are population distribution and rainfall maps.
Further Reading:
http://www.usgs.gov/research/gis/title.html
http://www.sli.unimelb.edu.au/gisweb/GISModule/GISTheory.htm