Land has many self-evident "values" -value for agriculture, forestry, recreation, and for water. Society's minerals and most of its energy also come from the land. Geoscience mapping has been vital to understanding many of these natural resources, and many agencies view geoscience maps and datasets as "core" data in resource assessment and modelling. Indeed, geoscience mapping has for many years been part of land use management.The competition between land use options is ever-increasing and governments are obliged to maximise the utility of the land for a broad range of competing interests. Often decisions in the past have been made with relatively restricted perspectives of what is important in any particular local case. It has not always been possible to measure and "value" one land use in comparison with another. While the interests of miners-including energy producers-have usually been considered, the effects on limiting access to land for exploration and possible mining have not always been effectively incorporated into decision-making processes.
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