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This paper presents an interactive web‐based rapid assessment tool that generates key water related indicators to support decision making by stakeholders in land use planning. The tool is built on a consistent science based method that combines remote sensing with hydrological and socioeconomic analyses. It generates transparent, impartial, and verifiable information regarding the impact of land use changes on water productivity, water consumption, water availability, and employment. The usefulness of the tool was demonstrated in the Inkomati River Basin in Southern Africa, where the tool was used to assess the impact of converting land use on the water resources to prioritize areas for conversion and to track required changes in land use to comply with tripartite water allocation agreements. This contributed to confidence building and to strengthening the process of conscientious land use planning, which is an extension of conventional work in this field.
