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ISSN 2277 - 3134

OCTOBER 2012 VOL 03 ISSUE 03

www.geospatialworld.netYOUR GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

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From Server to Desktop.

WE HAVE YOU COVERED.

Geospatial World I October 2012

Geospatial WorldGeospatial Media and Communications Pvt. Ltd.(formerly GIS Development Pvt. Ltd.)A - 145, Sector - 63, Noida, India Tel + 91-120-4612500 Fax +91-120-4612555 / 666

Inside...

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PRICE: INR 150/US$ 15 07 Editorial 08 News

ARTICLES

Climate change:

Breaking new ground

Diego Cruz

Coastal resource mapping:

What lies beneath

Tim Battista, Kevin O'Brien

Online networks:

An eye on tomorrow

Jesse Goodman

Urban planning:

Marrying GIS with cultural psychology

F Paolo Di Giacomo, T V Di Giacomo, J. Cross, P. Bondonno

CASE STUDIES

Switzerland:

Setting sights on conservation

Japan:

G-tech to the rescue

CONFERENCE REPORTS

Geospatial Artha Summit:

Geo-info: Then and now

Asia Geospatial Forum:

G-tech for better governance

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Abbas Rajabifard President,GSDI Association

Jack DangermondPresident, Esri

Shailesh Nayak SecretaryMinistry of Earth SciencesGovernment of India

Mark ReichardtPresident and CEOOpen Geospatial Consortium, Inc.

Aida Opoku Mensah Director - ICT DivisionUN Economic Commission for Africa

Josef StroblDirector, Centre for Geoinformatics,University of Salzburg, Austria

Vanessa Lawrence CBDirector General and CEO,Ordnance Survey, UK

Matthew M O'ConnellPresident and CEO GeoEye

Bryn FosburghVice PresidentTrimble

Juergen DoldPresident, Hexagon Geosystems

Preetha PulusaniChief Strategy Officer,Rolta Group

Derek Clarke Chief Director-Survey and Mapping & National Geospatial InformationDepartment of Rural Development & Land Reform, South Africa

Kamal K SinghChairman and CEORolta Group

Greg BentleyCEO, Bentley Systems

Prof Ian DowmanFirst Vice PresidentISPRS

DISCLAIMER

Geospatial World does not necessarily subscribe to the views expressed in the publication. All views expressed in this issue are those of the contributors. GeospatialWorld is not responsible for any loss to anyone due to the information provided.

OWNER, PUBLISHER & PRINTER Sanjay Kumar PRINTED AT M. P. Printers B - 220,

Phase-II, Noida - 201 301, Gautam Budh Nagar (UP) INDIA PUBLICATION ADDRESS A - 92,

Sector - 52, Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, India

CHAIRMAN M P Narayanan

PUBLISHER Sanjay Kumar

PUBLICATIONS TEAMManaging Editor Prof. Arup DasguptaBusiness Editor Bob M. SamborskiEditor - Latin America (Honorary) Tania Maria SausenSr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Dr. Hrishikesh SamantExecutive Editor Bhanu RekhaProduct Manager Shivani LalAssistant Editors Deepali Roy, Aditi Bhan, Vaibhav Arora,

Anand Kashyap

DESIGN TEAMSr. Creative Designer Deepak Kumar

CIRCULATION TEAMCirculation Manager Vijay Kumar Singh

Ad

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ory

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Prof. Josef Strobl

Chair, Department of

Geoinformatics,

University of Salzburg, Austria

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FIRST PERSON

VIEWPOINT

INTERVIEW

Kapil SibalUnion Minister for HRD, Communications and IT, India

Mitrasen Bhikaji

Director & Deputy Executive Secretary,

Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission, UNESCO

26

n an editorial in February 2009, I had quoted Ian McHarg, Professor ofLandscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania as saying, "Themost important issue of the 21st century will be the condition of the globalenvironment." The industrial revolution and the following decades were

man's attempt to subjugate nature and bend it to its will. Big dams, big factories,big farms and big usage of non-renewable resources were the highlights of thesecenturies. The 20th century saw many other thinkers voicing concern about thedepredations of anthropocentric man. Buckminister Fuller said, "Nature is tryingvery hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us." He then addedthe ominous words "We are not the only experiment," perhaps echoing ArthurClarke's thesis in the Space Odyssey trilogy.

Three years and nine months on, I find myself going back tothese quotes. At that time the world was in recession but it was hoped that this would enable the geospatial world to con-solidate its position as a provider of key information for efficientdevelopmental planning. Things have not changed for the better.The world is still in recession and what is worse, the geospatialmarket is feeling the pinch. However, the silver lining is therecognition by politicians during Rio+20 of the importance ofgeospatial systems in realising an inclusive sustainable world.

That future is however, not a given. It requires that geospatialsystems must work to realise their true value in a complexworld. Sustainable development requires the balancing of eco-nomic, social and human development, while facilitatingecosystem conservation, regeneration and restoration. This willrequire a convergence of technologies and integrated applica-tions. While such convergence is well established in some areas,it needs to be leveraged to include interoperability with other standards andsystems which deal with economic, social and demographic data. The recent-ly held Geospatial Artha Summit highlighted these views.

Another aspect of geospatial systems is that they tend to be insular. Meteorologyand oceanography are poor second cousins to land-based studies. However, ourenvironment includes land, oceans and atmosphere which work in unison.Geospatial systems need to cater to all three environments in a seamless man-ner. While the atmosphere is reasonably well understood, the oceans remain amystery. Here too, we over-harvest the ocean environment for food and pollute itwith toxic waste without trying to understand the delicate balance of various factors that makes the ocean environment stable.

It is time we remember what Mahatma Gandhi said, "Earth provides enough tosatisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed."

7Geospatial World I October 2012

Prof. Arup Dasgupta

Managing [email protected]

IThe future is not a given

EditorSpeak


SUDAN

Joint space agency for Africa African communications and IT min-isters considered a proposal for cre-ation of a joint space agency for thecontinent, at a conference. Theagency, to be called AfriSpace, wouldenable "cooperation among Africanstates in space research and technol-ogy and their space applications,"said a working document issued forthe conference. AfriSpace wouldimplement a long-term African spacepolicy, recommend "space objec-tives" to member states and coordi-nate orbital slots and other spaceresources, the document said.

NIGERIA

'Pass NGDI Bill'

The Nigerian Institution of Surveyors(NIS) has urged the National Assem-bly to pass the National Geospatial

Data Infrastructure (NGDI) Bill. NISsaid the Bill would facilitate mappingof the country. The Institution saidthat up-to -date geospatial informa-tion in GIS environment should bemade available to facilitate quicklocation of disasters. It also notedthat comprehensive maps could beused as a tool for environmentalimpact studies.

KENYA

Monitoring electionsusing GISIn a bid to ensure free and fair votingin March 2013, Kenya's IndependentElectoral and Boundaries Commis-sion (IEBC) has fast-tracked the inte-gration of GIS and other moderntechnologies. IECB officials revealedthat GIS had been prioritised to mon-itor voting, locate polling stations anddisseminate results. "GIS holds a lotof promise and can be effectivelyutilised in redrawing boundariesalongside civic education and voterregistration.

This technology will be critical indetermining polling locations anddelivering election results in realtime on interactive maps," said

Thomas Letangule, Commissioner,IEBC.

UGANDA

Oil exploration mapreleasedThe Ministry of Energy and MineralDevelopment has released an oilexploration draft map. The map pro-vides details of lands targeted for theconstruction of an oil refinery inBuseruka Sub-county in Hoima dis-

trict. Bashir Hangi, the refinery pro-ject’s communications officer saidthat they want to correct spellingerrors and under-or over-valuation ofproperties. This will facilitate insmooth construction of oil refinery inthe region.

NEWS

8

ETHIOPIA

Addis Ababa Declaration on GIS adopted The African preparatory meeting on the Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM) adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration on Geospatial Information Management in Africa. The meeting recommended that Africancountries, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African UnionCommission should finalise and implement the African Action Plan on Geospa-tial Information Management. ECA will continue to coordinate the global partic-ipation of African countries in GGIM through the African Regional SDI.

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Oil exploration site in Bulisa district

INDONESIA

Partnership exploredfor disaster mitigationThe National Disaster MitigationAgency (BNPB) is exploring a part-nership with Google on geospatialinformation and disaster manage-ment. The BNPB said Google pro-gramme manager Meryl Stonerecently visited the BNPB office inJakarta with her team to discuss thepartnership. Google is planning todisseminate data from BNPB to theinternational audience throughGoogle Crisis Response, which inte-grates several tools like Google Pub-lic Alert, Google Crisis Maps andGoogle Person Finder. "Google willdisplay the latest maps of areasaffected by earthquakes from theBNPB and will publish them onGoogle Public Alerts and Google Cri-sis Map," BNPB said.

PHILIPPINES

3D mapping for hazardmanagementPhilippines has started 3D mappingof the country under the NationwideOperational Assessment of Hazards(NOAH) project. Canada has fundedLiDAR equipment worth PHP (Philip-pine peso) 200 million for the project.Dr Enrico Paringit, scientist, NOAHproject, said that the data from LiDARsurvey could be used for early floodwarning, infrastructure development

and disaster management. With thehelp of bathymetric data, the under-water land surfaces, corals, waterhazards, etc. can now be mapped in3D, he added.

CHINA

Two more Beidousatellites launchedIn order to expand its indigenousglobal navigation network, Chinalaunched two more satellites intospace. The 14th and 15th satellitesfor the Beidou system were launchedfrom Xichang Satellite Launch Centerin southwest Sichuan province, by aLong March-3B carrier rocket. "Thesystem has been used in transporta-tion, weather forecasting, marinefisheries, forestry, telecommunica-

tions, hydrological monitoring andmapping," a spokesman for the ChinaSatellite Navigation Office said.

Agreement on oceandata exchange

The National Satellite Ocean Applica-tion Service (NSOAS) of China’s StateOceanic Administration (SOA) signed

an agreement with European Organi-sation for the Exploitation of Meteoro-logical Satellites (EUMETSAT) on theexchange of oceanographic satellitedata. Under the agreement, EUMET-SAT will provide data from AdvancedScatterometer (ASCAT) instrumentsflying on the Metop satellites as wellas from the Jason-2 and Jason-3ocean topography missions. In return,NSOAS/SOA will provide data fromthe HY-1 and HY-2 satellites, adding


Coordinates ofdisputed islandsreleased

In a move to affirm its sovereigntyover the disputed Diaoyu Islands,China’s State Oceanic Adminis-tration (SOA) released geographiccoordinates of the Island andsome of its affiliated islets. TheSOA announced details about theexact longitude and latitude ofDiaoyu Island and 70 of its affili-

ated islets. It published locationmaps, three-dimensional effectgraphs and sketch maps for theDiaoyu Islands. The announce-ment aims to help the publicunderstand the information concerning Diaoyu Island and itsaffiliated islets, the SOA said.

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Chinese altimeter, radiometer andscatterometer data to EUMETSAT'sportfolio of third-party data.

Maritime satellitenetwork to be upgraded

China plans to launch eight satellitesto provide ocean and land data before2020. "The planned satellite launch-es, including four satellites observingthe colour of the sea, two observingocean currents and two maritimeradar satellites, have been approvedby the National Development andReform Commission," said JiangXingwei, director of the NationalSatellite Ocean Application Service(NSOAS). The new satellites willgreatly improve China's ability toobserve and supervise the marineenvironment, Jiang added.

QATAR

Second high level forumon GGIM in Feb 2013The UN-GGIM secretariat, in collabo-ration with the Ministry of Municipali-ty and Urban Planning and Qatar Statistics Authority, Government ofQatar, will host the second high level

forum on Global Geospatial Informa-tion Management (GGIM) in Dohafrom February 4-6, 2013 at the QatarNational Convention Centre. TheForum provides an opportunity to theMember States and stakeholdersfrom the geospatial information com-munity to share and learn from eachother to support local, regional andglobal sustainable development ini-tiatives.

INDIA

Satellite-based landingsystem by AAIAircrafts coming to Mumbai will soonbe able to use a satellite-based navi-gation aid for landing. The AirportsAuthority of India (AAI) is planning tointroduce a satellite-based landingprocedure across the country in aphased manner. Currently, aircraftland with the help of a ground-basednavigation system, instrument land-ing system (ILS).

According to airport officials, thenew satellite-based landing proce-dure, required navigation perform-ance (RNP), will be a strong backupin case ILS develops a snag. "It willalso assist the aircraft while landing

in remote areas. We are planning toinstall it soon," said Jayant Dasgupta,general manager, Air Traffic Control(ATC), Mumbai.

Centralised emergencynetwork soon

The Bureau of Police Research andDevelopment (BPR&D), under theMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA)

will soon launch 'Dial 100-policinganytime, anywhere', a centralisedemergency management system. Thecentral idea of the project is to pro-vide a single number - 100 as theemergency hotline for the entirecountry and for all exigencies.

The project will be merged with theCrime and Criminal Tracking Net-


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Image courtesy: Daily Mail

ISRO launches 100th mission The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made history with the launch of its 100thindigenous mission. The space agency's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) successfullylaunched two foreign satellites, SPOT 6, a French remote sensing satellite and PROITERES ofJapan.

This launch is hailed as the first all-commercial launch by ISRO. Speaking to GeospatialWorld, Devi Prasad Karnik, spokesperson, ISRO said, "Apart from revenue generation, thislaunch has enabled ISRO to build up its credibility among foreign customers. With this launch,ISRO has strengthened its position as a sought-after commercial launcher."


Mail

work and Systems (CCTNS), which entitles fitting all mobilepatrol vehicles and PCR vans with GIS.

GISAT to monitor bordersA grant of INR 50 crore has been sanctioned for developing the country's geo-imaging satellite or GISAT. The 1,000-kgsatellite will be put in space by a PSLV rocket. GISAT willprovide images of the areas of interest on near real timebasis. It will also keep a watch over the country's sensitiveborders. GISAT will be fixed in a geo-stationary orbit. It is amulti-spectral, multi-resolution satellite with a 60-metreswath. It will provide images every five minutes, unlike otherremote-sensing satellites which view a particular area forbarely ten minutes and do not visit the same place

BANGLADESH

Digital land survey project to becompleted by 2013Two projects on digitisation of land records and documentswill be completed in 54 districts by June next year, saidRezaul Karim Hira, Land Minister. The projects are 'Imple-mentation of Land Survey, Preparation and Preservation ofRecords under Digital System (1st Phase)' and 'Computeri-sation of existing Mouza Maps and Khatians'. To realise'Digital Bangladesh', the government took a raft of meas-ures to modernise the land management system to ensureaccurate ownership of lands, the minister added.

SRI LANKA

Agreement for disaster management

In an effort to mitigate the effects of disasters, the SurveyDepartment of Sri Lanka and the United Nations Office forthe Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) hassigned an agreement for digital data dissemination.

The agreement allows humanitarian organisations tofreely use government geographic data for disaster man-agement. Mahesh Fernando, Surveyor General, Sri LankaSurvey Department, said that this agreement "will assist inaddressing information gaps in disaster management byimproving how disaster related information is analysed, aswell facilitate better decision making."

UK

3D laser mapping byBGSThe British Geological Survey (BGS)will map volcanoes, glaciers and oth-er natural phenomena around theworld using laser scanner. The datacollected by the laser scanner will beused to create photorealistic fly-throughs, 3D height models andhighly accurate area and volume cal-culations. The data captured will beused to create highly detailed 3Dmodels like digital elevation models(DEMs), virtual outcrop models(VOMs), cross sections, soil erosionmaps and change models.

3D altitude testingsystem at Glasgow

The UK's air navigation servicesprovider, NATS, has developed a sys-tem harnessing NASA satellite datato create what it describes as "theworld's most accurate model fortesting unsafe altitudes." The safety-net system has been on trial at Glas-

gow Airport (GLA) for six months,where the NASA satellite data pro-vides a three-dimensional map of theterrain around the airport. The 3Dsystem allows air traffic controllersto test flight paths on an even higherlevel of precision, ensuring that air-crafts maintain a minimum safe dis-tance from the ground.

DMCii provides carbonstorage information

British satellite imaging companyDMC International Imaging Ltd(DMCii), in collaboration with theTechnology Strategy Board, launcheda project to provide more accurateand reliable information about landcarbon storage and how it changesover time. By building on establishedcarbon modelling and satelliteremote sensing techniques, this ini-tiative will provide scientifically vali-

dated carbon market intelligence andan automated monitoring, verificationand reporting (MRV) system.

Agreement on mineralmapping

The British Geological Survey (BGS)will assist the Geological Survey ofIndia (GSI) in implementing its air-borne geophysical programme,according to a deal announced byBritain's Deputy Prime Minister NickClegg. BGS International, a BGS sub-sidiary, would execute the airbornegeophysical survey project thatinclude setting technical specifica-tions; the appointment of contractorswith required technical capabilities;and analysis of the country's entireonshore and offshore territories, todetermine reserves of existing min-eral resources and enable the discov-ery of new ones.

FRANCE

SPOT 6 transmits firstearth imagery Just three days after its launch,France's SPOT 6 satellite transmittedits first earth imagery. SPOT 6 trans-

Global lake surveillance system soonA consortium of six universities led by the University of Stirlingreceived GBP 2.5 million grant from the Natural EnvironmentResearch Council (NERC) for GloboLakes project. Through this proj-ect, researchers aim to develop world's first satellite-based globallake surveillance system. The new system is expected to expandknowledge on how the ecological structure and function of lakes canbe damaged by external changes such as the influx of certain nutri-ents, increased sediment and climate change.


Image courtesy: BBC

Image courtesy: NATS

mitted images of the Bora Boraisland of French Polynesia.

The first images present a variedlandscape, highlighting SPOT 6'spotential for applications like urbanand natural resource mapping oragricultural and environmental moni-toring. Astrium built SPOT 6 waslaunched by a PSLV launcher fromthe Satish Dhawan Space Center inIndia.

ESA funds situationalawareness systemThe European Space Agency (ESA)has funded the situational awarenesssystem (SAS) for SOS children's vil-lages. The project aims to establish asatellite-based system, allowingtimely access to geospatial informa-tion. The system provides operationalinformation to support SOS children'svillages in their site development,controlling and management as wellas to assist fundraising activities andto increase resource efficiency. A GISapproach will allow further analysis,derivation and provision of sectorspecific information products.

'Universal access' tosatellite data

The International Charter 'Space andMajor Disasters' that makes timely

satellite data available to rescueauthorities is now offering 'universalaccess' to the data for emergencyresponse purposes. Founded by theESA and the French and Canadianspace agencies, the Charter is aninternational collaboration betweenthe owners and operators of earthobservation missions. It provides rap-id access to satellite data to help dis-aster management authorities in theevent of a natural or man-madecatastrophe.

Space safety radar totrack debris

The European Space Agency (ESA)will boost industrial expertise in thecontinent by developing a new radaras part of the Agency's Space Situa-tional Awareness programme. Theradar will test future debris monitor-ing techniques, helping European

Geospatial World I April 2012 13

Courtesy: Astrium

Image courtesy: Astrium

14 Geospatial World I October 2012

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satellite operators avoid space haz-ards and increase safety in earthorbit. ESA and France's ONERA havesigned a EUR 4 million contract thatwill see the French organisation andfive industrial partners in France,Spain and Switzerland design a testsurveillance radar and develop ademonstrator model.

BELARUS

Second RS satellite by2017Belarus may launch a new remotesensing satellite for earth observationby 2017, announced AlexanderTuzikov, Director General of the Unit-ed Informatics Institute of the Nation-al Academy of Sciences of Belarus.He further said that the working lifes-pan of the first satellite that has beensuccessfully put into orbit this year is

five years. Therefore, by 2017 Belaruswill need another satellite.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Funding ensured forGalileo till 2020 Industry Committee Members of theEuropean Parliament (MEPs)approved a new legislation to ensurethat Europe's two satellite navigationsystems, Galileo, the European GPSsystem, and the EGNOS programmesfor improving GPS signal quality, canbe funded and operated from 2014 to2020. The European Commission hasearmarked EUR 7.9 billion to com-plete the EU's satellite navigationinfrastructure over the seven-yearperiod.

Satellite flood dataservice launched

PERILS, a Zurich-based companywhich provides industry-wide Euro-pean catastrophe insurance data, incollaboration with the EuropeanSpace Agency (ESA) launched an ini-tiative which aims to provide satellite-based flood footprints during andafter major floods. The project will

enable industry participants to down-load flood footprints from PERILSwebsite. These footprints can then beused for rapid flood impact assess-ments and will facilitate the under-standing of insured flood risk andultimately help to broaden the rangeof flood insurance solutions.

BELGIUM

Digital seabed map ofEuropean watersIn a bid to tap the potential of oceansand seas that surround Europe, theEuropean Commission (EC) is pro-posing to create a digital seabed mapof the European waters by 2020 bycollecting all existing data into onecoherent database accessible toeveryone.

The new seamless multi-resolutiondigital seabed map of Europeanwaters will be of the highest resolu-tion possible, covering topography,habitats and ecosystems. It will beaccompanied by access to timelyobservations and information of phys-ical and biological state of the watercolumn, by associated data on theimpact of human activities and byoceanographic forecasts.

GERMANY

Improved indoor navigation via NAVVIS Researchers at Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a visu-al technology, NAVVIS (Navigation based on visual information), which uses 3Dimages to point the user’s position. NAVVIS relies on a special location recog-nition system and is suitable for places beyond the reach of satellite naviga-tion. When the application is started, the system loads the available visual datapackets and the user takes a photo of their surroundings. The programmethen compares it with the database images and reveals the user's position.

Image courtesy: ESA

Geospatial World I October 2012 15

AUSTRALIA

Telcos to roll outlocation alertsVodafone has partnered with Telstrafor a location-based emergency sys-tem, which will alert customers tonearby natural disasters no matterwhere they are in the continent.Under the agreement, an SMS warn-

ing will be sent directly to Vodafonecustomers on their mobile phones ifthey're in a region hit by fires orflood. Telstra will roll out the loca-tion-based text messages from thisNovember, with Vodafone aiming tohave the system operational byNovember 2013. Vodafone said thesystem would allow SMS alerts to bedelivered to international and domes-tic tourists visiting an area that isunder threat from an emergency.

GPS for accurateclimate model

Researchers hope to create a moreaccurate climate model using GPSsignals. The researchers will tap intoan unused part of the GPS signal,which is often discarded as 'noise', to

determine how much water vapour isin the atmosphere. Melbourne'sRMIT University will use numericalweather prediction models andatmospheric re-analysis products toprovide the data required to calculatewater vapour content from GPSobservations. By including watervapour in climate models, scientistswill be able to better predict theimpact of global warming on Aus-tralia.

NEW ZEALAND

3D technology tomitigate floodsEsri unveiled its 3D mapping technol-ogy, CityEngine, here, which couldhelp in mitigating floods. CityEngine,developed by Esri, generates sophis-ticated 'real world' views and simula-tions of current and future cities toshow the impacts of development,and economic, environmental anddemographic changes. "Using 3Danalysis tools, users can createsophisticated scenario models thattake terrain, elevation and 3D fea-tures such as buildings into account.By adding further data, such as his-torical information about flood eventsand weather patterns, we can deter-mine where areas are capable offlooding and develop in line with thatknowledge," said Len Olyott, 3D GISexpert, Esri Australia.

'Digital consents cansave NZD 1.5 bn'

The building industry has proposedfor a national online system for con-sents. The online consenting applica-tion will require consistent digitalrepresentation of buildings and their

location. It will combine buildinginformation modelling (BIM), GIS andconsenting. Digitising building con-sents could save NZD 1.5 bn a year,said Simon Lloyd-Evans, CIO of theBuilding and Housing group at theMinistry of Business, Innovation andEmployment. "This represents a pre-dicted 10 percent increase in the pro-ductivity of the construction sector,that's one per cent of the GDP," headded.

3D street mappingproject underway Terralink International launchedLiDAR-based 3D mapping project.Terralink will use StreetCam3Dtechnology for mapping. Srreet-cam3D features a high-densityLiDAR scanner and high-resolu-tion 360-degree cameras mount-ed on a four-wheel drive utility

vehicle. According to Mike Don-ald, MD, Terralink, high-resolu-tion imagery along with LiDARdata would provide a "near per-fect model" of the street environ-ment that engineers could use toundertake almost any analysiswithout leaving their office. "Ourplan is to capture the full 126,000kilometres of roads. We will startoff with the major cities; Welling-ton, Auckland, Christchurch andDunedin.

BUSINESS

‘70 mn family locatorservices users by 2016’According to a new research reportfrom Berg Insight, the number ofactive users of family locator servicesin Europe and North America is fore-casted to grow at a compound annualgrowth rate (CAGR) of 34 per cent.The active users are predicted toreach 70 million in 2016.Family loca-tor services is the largest segmentfor people monitoring and safetysolutions based on either GPS-enabled smartphones or dedicatedcellular/GPS location devices.

MDA to providesatellite data to NGA

MacDonald, Dettwiler and AssociatesLimited (MDA) has signed a multi-million dollar contract to providesatellite information to the NationalGeospatial-Intelligence Agency(NGA). As per the agreement, MDAwill provide the National Ice Centerwith information from its RADARSAT-

2 satellite for creating ice charts,supporting environmental monitoringand improving the safety of maritimenavigation.

GeoEye inks imagedissemination deal

GeoEye has announced an agree-ment with Fugro for online imagerydissemination through Fugro World,Fugro's global portal for delivery ofdata and solutions. GeoEye's EyeQplatform will be integrated withFugro World to support online accessto satellite imagery. "In addition toserving Fugro World's existing cus-tomers, this agreement will alsoallow GeoEye to welcome new EyeQand imagery end-users in new mar-kets and regions," said Paolo Colom-bi, VP, International Sales, Fugro.

US DOJ seeks detail ofDigitalGlobe merger

The US Department of Justice (DOJ)has requested DigitalGlobe to providemore information about the GeoEyemerger deal. Their request extendsthe waiting period under certainantitrust laws that prohibit the dealfrom closing until the information isprovided by the company, or until the

federal government lifts the waitingperiod. DigitalGlobe said it willpromptly respond to the request andwill continue working cooperativelywith the Department of Justice.

MISCELLANEOUS

Geospatial intelligenceapp store The National Geospatial-IntelligenceAgency (NGA) has invited applicationdevelopers and engineers to comeand learn about the new GEOINT appstore that is being developed.Responsible for gathering and

analysing all of the geospatial intelli-gence for the US military and intelli-gence communities, GEOINT is look-ing to leverage modern mobiledevices by offering secure applica-

Digital map search tool unveiled A digital map-search tool, Landscape Explorer (LandEx), has been unveiledby University of Cincinnati Professor Tomasz Stepinski. LandEx is a GeoWeb-based tool for exploration of patterns in raster maps. Stepinski describesLandEx as a new, content-based geographic map search tool. LandEx usesNational Land Cover Dataset 2006, a very large map derived from Landsatmultispectral images, to enable example-based queries for localities acrossthe US having patterns of land cover similar to user-selected reference. Forexample, if a user selects a specific area within the US, LandEx will identifyall areas in the US with similar patterns of land-cover.


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tions that can be rapidly deployed tooperating units in the field. The newGEOINT app system will deploy cru-cial intelligence that could help a unitavoid a firefight altogether.

Google's new 'planetspanning' database

Google recently published a paper,describing its storage and computa-tion system that spans all its datacentres. The database, named Span-ner, is based-on TrueTime API. True-Time uses GPS antennas and atomicclocks to get Google's entire networkrunning in lock step. According toGoogle, it is the first database thatcan quickly store and retrieve infor-mation across a worldwide networkof data centres while keeping thatinformation 'consistent', meaning allusers see the same collection ofinformation at all times.

NASA mission toprotect GPS satellites

NASA launched a twin-spacecraftmission, Radiation Belt Storm Probes(RBSP), to explore the earth's radia-tion belts. Results from this missionwould enable designers and opera-tors to mitigate the impact of solarstorms able to knock out satellites,including those used for GPS naviga-tion and communication. "The infor-mation collected from these probeswill benefit the public by allowing us

to better protect our satellites andunderstand how space weatheraffects communications and technol-ogy on earth," said John Grunsfeld,associate administrator for NASA'sScience Mission Directorate.

OGC forms land infoworking group

The Open Geospatial Consortium has(OGC) formed a new OGC Land Infor-mation Domain Working Group (LandInfo DWG) to address CAD, LandInformation System (LIS) and GISinteroperability challenges facingindustry domains concerned with thebuilt environment. The goals of theLand Info DWG are to find the bestapproach for incorporating theLandXML schema into the OGC'sstandards base and to explore waysto incorporate land-related informa-tion into OGC standards.


Image courtesy: Wired

Sound map of South America unveiled A collaborative platform, audiomapa.org, dedicated to the soundscape of South America has been unveiled by Fernando M. Godoy, Director,Tsonami Sound Art Festival. Audiomapa is an online map of environmen-tal records, accounting auditory heritage or aesthetic qualities andsound from different geographies.

Anyone can upload records or soundscapes in audiomapa, whetherurban, natural, cultural, mechanical or others. The audios use freelicenses and are available for all noncommercial creative use.


APPLICATIONS

Urban floodingmapped using T-LiDARScientists at the US Geological Sur-vey (USGS) developed a new capabili-ty 'terrestrial LiDAR' or 'T-LiDAR' tomap urban flooding caused by Hurri-cane Isaac. According to the USGS'press statement, in a four-to-fiveminute scan, portable laser instru-ments collect millions of topographicdata points in a full 360-degree viewto quickly produce highly accuratetopographic information and can map areas up to two-thirds of a mile away.

The information gathered from thispilot project will be used by USGS todevelop 3D models of streets andstructures, including the levels flood-waters reached to form an interactive3D flood inundation map.

Smartphones detectobjects on battlefield

University of Missouri (MU)researchers developed new softwareusing smartphones' GPS and imag-ing abilities that determine the exactlocation of distant objects as well as

monitor the speed and direction ofmoving objects. The software couldeventually allow smartphone-armedsoldiers to target the location of theirenemies. On the non-military front,the software could be used by every-one, including golfers judging dis-tance to the green.

CHILE

Partnership for LIS inLatin AmericaThomson Reuters and Informatica ElCorte Ingles (IECI) formed a strategicpartnership to implement cadastralmapping and land information man-agement systems in Latin America.The two companies will deliver auto-mated land administration solutionsthat enable governments to manage

property rights efficiently, equitablyand with transparency. ThomsonReuters will implement systems forregistering property titles and owner-ship rights based on its GRM (gov-ernment revenue management) software. IECI will provide implemen-tation services for GRM including theintegration of technologies necessaryfor successful deployment of landinformation systems.

DOMINICA

Geospatial databasecommunity soonIn a bid to form a geospatial databasecommunity, Dominica introducedGeoNode platform for managementand publication of geospatial data.The new system will allow nationalministries and agencies to populate,catalogue, view and share data on acentral depository. Dr. Kenneth Dar-roux , Minister for Physical Planningwelcomed the initiative saying thatGIS databases already established onthe island have lacked managementand information sharing. Darrouxhopes that this new Geonode plat-form will address that concern.

Image Coutesy: engadget

Creating your own map from maps published by other users is just one of many ways to take advantage of the rich collection of data and resourcesArcGISSM Online makes available to you.

Welcome to the new frontier in geographic information systems.

30-day free trial: esri.com/gswagol

Copyright © 2012 Esri. All rights reserved.

G55098_GeoSpatialWorld_Sept2012.indd 1G d 1 8/17/12 2:04 PM8 PM

The geospatial industry in Indiahas done fairly well over theyears. Its expansion and

growth has been quite steady. Wayback in 2005, India revised the mappolicy and set up the National Spa-tial Data Infrastructure — two initia-tives that helped the geospatialindustry grow. This in turn helpedbusinesses and the government,and the common man. But therehas been a paradigm shift sincethen. Technology is advancing atsuch an enormous pace thatgeospatial industry can no longerexist on its own; it needs to integrateinto the mainstream of informationtechnology (IT). And I think thisindustry needs to be addressed inthat context as the real challenge is

to integrate geospatial informationwith the general flow of informationon the Net. We must connectgeospatial data with economic activ-ities to find solutions for the people.

Integration into mainstream

The Indian government is usinggeospatial technology in projectssuch as the Restructured Acceler-ated Power Development andReforms Programme, the Agricul-tural Resources Information Sys-tem, the Jawaharlal Nehru NationalUrban Renewal Mission and theNational Land Record Modernisa-tion Programme. The technologyhas given a fillip to urban planningand development of sustainablecities, power systems, land records,spatial-based agriculture and forestinformation. In non-traditional areastoo, geospatial technology is nowpervading all segments of consumerdevices and services and across ver-ticals of public and private sectorbusinesses.

Permeation of location-basedsocial media has also increasedpublic awareness and helped unveil

new geospatial application opportu-nities. This information now is vitalin car navigation systems, wirelessnetworking, mobile computing,automobile tracking systems, loca-tion-based services, transportationplanning, engineering, environmentmodelling and analysis, telecommu-nications, farming and public health.And it is important is because thereis no human activity that takes placeon Planet Earth without reference toa particular point on the planet.Geospatial information, riding on theshoulders of general IT information,can help decision-making to be farmore efficient and conducive foreconomic growth.

National agency to integrate

geospatial data

The Indian government is setting upfour regional data centres to houseall available data and applicationtechnologies that will be provided tothe industry and to the public atlarge. If you integrate geospatialinformation into the cloud comput-ing set-up, the end solutions will befully integrated ones. If an MSME

VIEWPOINT


“

Kapil Sibal calls for free flow of data; integration with IT industry to provide holistic solutions”

Geospatial data

should be housed in

one national agency

Geospatial data

should be housed in

one national agency

The real challenge is tointegrate geospatial

information with the generalflow of information on theInternet. We must connect

geospatial data with economicactivities in order to findsolutions for the people.

wants a particular solution, it canaccess the data centre. This centremay in turn be connected to thecloud, or the MSME may be directedto the cloud.

In urban planning, 3D represen-tation of the data along with inte-grated data processes is of mmensehelp. This is true of transportationand agriculture. The farmer thencan figure out what he should andshouldn't do. This data, made avail-able on a mobile phone, will be anempowering tool, helping him intimely decision making and con-tributing to economic growth.

The problem, of course, is thatmany of the agencies in India havedata but they are not integrated witheach other. For example, the Surveyof India is housed in the Ministry ofScience and Technology. All remotesensing data is housed in theDepartment of Space while the geo-logical data with Geological Surveyof India comes under the Ministry ofMines. But in the absence of anintegrated institution to collect,manage, disseminate, analyse andcreate applications with thedata, geospatial data is notbeing optimally utilised bycentral and state depart-ments or by the private indus-try. I think it's the right time tocreate an agency in India whichhouses [and manages] thisdata. This agency must absorbthe data that departments putin the public domain.

Free flow of data

However, this is a problem of mind-set elsewhere in the world too —every person believes that the datahe/she generates is his/her exclu-sive property. Governments andpeople must understand that as faras geospatial data is concerned,they may have some copyright overthe data for having created it, butdata essentially comes from MotherEarth. And Mother Earth doesn'thave any exclusive stamp of posses-sion which any entity or person canclaim anywhere in the world.

So, basic essential data whichemerges from the Planet Earthmust be available free of cost acrossthe board. This is one thing thatneeds to be agreed upon if we wantto make use of data in a substantialway. You can build on it to claimpossessory rights, but basic data

should be freely avail-able. I have always

believed that govern-ment departmentswhich collect data

should use the data not just forthemselves but put it in publicdomain so that they too can use it.If a government department hasdata of location of schools, it mustshare it with the private sector,which can in turn help the govern-ment in providing solutions for larger social and economic benefits.

Another thing troubling me overthe years is the fact that we do nothave maps for planning. The mapswe have are at 1:50,000 and 1:25,000scales. But for urban planning, youneed maps at 1:2,000 scale. TheMinistry of Information and Technol-ogy recently decided not to wait forthe Survey of India to map things on


KAPIL SIBALUnion Minister for HumanResource Development, Communication and IT, Government of India

the ground. We decided totake what is at present avail-able through satellites andcreate maps at 1:10,000 and1:2000 scales. You may have alevel of inaccuracy of about ametre or even less, but formacro planning, these arenothing compared to the datathat is available. We can thenwait for the Survey of India tomake them more accurate asthe years go by.

I only talked about education and what we are doing in the IT Ministry. But geospatial data hasenormous use in every sector of the economy. I cannot think of a single sector where this data willnot be useful. And yet within theGovernment of India, we have notbeen able to decide so far as to what is the level and kind of data,and to what extent we can distributeand make it available to the public.

The government is currently inthe reform mode and we hope to getsome decisions for the geospatialsector as well. There is a group ofministers (GoM) which is looking atvarious issues that geospatialindustry faces and I happen to be amember of that GoM.

Reforms need not be only leg-islative ones; it is not just about get-ting bills passed in Parliament. Wecan do many things outside the Par-liament which will actually generate

the kind of activity that will help theprivate sector grow at the rate of 25-30% in the geospatial space. This isa sector which can create enormousjobs for the country.

Skill deficit and

curriculum revision

We have a population desperate forjobs and I am sure geospatial indus-try today does not have enoughskilled resources. We have beenworking with the industry to intro-duce some courses in this field. But,what we need to do is integratesome of the institutions to ensurethat the skill requirements of theindustry are generated throughthem. We can sit together with thehuman resource developmentindustry and prepare courses ofstudy and make sure that those syl-labi are tailor-made for the sector.Otherwise we will not be able to cre-ate the right course for the kid whomoves out of the college to get a job.

The University of Hyderabad willsoon house a special centre ofexcellence for which Rs 25 crore hasbeen sanctioned. But again, Rs 25-30 crore in one university will notproduce the numbers the industryneeds. It should be done on a muchlarger scale.

India needs to think andplan for 20 years ahead, proj-ect our manpower require-ments for the future, seewhere our technology will go,how cloud computing,geospatial sector, the IT sec-tor, mobile technologies, andother technologies will con-verge. If you have a road mapfor the next 20 years, you may

even come to a conclusionthat what you need is not a

worker skilled in geospatial technol-ogy but a multi-skilled individual.

Get a holistic approach

The geospatial industry needs tolook at things a little more holisti-cally. It is okay to provide solutionsbased on geospatial technology, butthat is a micro solution. What youneed is a macro vision and solutionshave to be at both ends. To create aframework in which geospatial tech-nology has an integral part, youneed to be multi-disciplinary in yourapproach and a platform that ismulti-disciplinary.

And your competitiveness willdepend on how much holistic solu-tions you provide to the economy.And in providing holistic solutions,geospatial technology is one part,and a very integral part.

I am neither an expert in thisarea nor a scientist, but as a policy-maker I believe this is the kind ofvision the industry and the govern-ment should have. At the end, it isthe ordinary consumer who has tobe empowered and benefited. If thatis not done, there is no point inhaving these technologies.

(Based on the speech delivered atGeospatial Artha Summit, in New Delhi inSeptember 2012)


Kapil Sibal addressing the Geospatial Artha Summit in New Delhi

We need to integrate some ofthe institutions to ensure thatthe skill requirements of thegeospattial industry are generatedthrough them. We must preparecourses of study and make surethat those ssyllabi are tailor-madefor the sector.


An eye on tomorrow

EU agency joins environment information dots to create interactive online networkfor industry, green community and citizens alike

Arecent map showing the vulnerability of Europeancities to heat waves owing to climate changereceived over 125,000 visitors in the first 24 hours

of hitting the Net. This is just one example of the commu-nicative power of mapping complex issues.

The interactive heat wave vulnerability map was pub-lished by Eye on Earth, an initiative by the European Envi-ronment Agency (EEA). It was crunched from a few mapsfrom a recent report, Urban Adaptation to ClimateChange in Europe, and allowed the general public toexplore climate change projections up to 2100, showingthe increase in number of "tropical nights and hot days"(occasions when the nights provide no relief to killer heatin the daytime) among others. A powerful aspect of themap was that it allowed users to explore projections fortheir city, while other layers yielded even more relevantinformation — for example, the amount of open space

and population density in each city, factors that can sig-nificantly influence the urban heat island effect.

Eye on Earth is an EEA network and community forsharing and discovering environmental informationonline. Ever since its inception in 1994, the EEA has beengathering huge volumes of environmental data — indus-trial emissions, water quality, air quality, forest cover, andso on. In 2011, it initiated Eye on Earth, the result of apublic-private partnership, bringing together expertisefrom industry leaders such as Esri and Micrsosoft withpublic organisations like itself. This new cloud comput-ing-based network of vast volumes of information fromorganisations around the world promotes the principlesof public data access and citizen science.

Eye on Earth users can easily explore maps and map-based apps made by others, contribute content andcreate their own maps and apps, translating complex

ONLINE NETWORKS

A map depicting the heat wave risk of European cities. The share of green (vegetated) and blue (water) areas within cities (2006) can influence the urban heat island effect

Cou

rtes

y: E

ye o

n E

arth


scientific data into accessible, interactive and visualonline representations. Moreover, the Eye on Earth pro-vides organisations with a secure central location formanaging their geospatial environmental content.

This innovative tool gives access to data based onGeographic Information Systems (GIS). It operates withfunctionalities provided by Esri's ArcGIS Online for han-dling a wide range of data for working with maps andgeographic information (within an organisation, across acommunity, and on the Web). Hence, the ArcGIS Onlinebackbone offers the users a complete online GIS for usingmaps and geographic information to collect, organise,manage, analyse, communicate and distribute data.

Why Eye on Earth?

What makes Eye on Earth stand out from the crowd ofinformation providers?

"Eye on Earth is a collection of various componentslinked together to connect the dots of environmentalinformation sharing," says Chris Steenmans, Head ofProgramme, EEA. "It offers a common platform for offi-cial as well as crowdsourced data, strives to add Near

Real Time as well as historical data, and scalability frominformation in your local environment to synoptic infor-mation at regional and even global level on different envi-ronmental topics. We need to have a common accesspoint to relevant and reliable information to better under-stand what is happening in our environment, and be ableto make informed decisions," he adds.

To connect the dots, we need to work together acrosspublic, private and civil society. The EEA is an agency ofthe European Union. With a task to provide sound, independent information on the environment, its task ofcommunicating to the public and policymakers meansthat it often considers innovative and effective ways to getthe message across.

Connecting the dots also means linking the vast supply of environmental data with those who can use it.National environmental authorities in the EU have legalobligations to report their environmental data and infor-mation to EU bodies such as the EEA. In turn, the EEAuses the information to assess whether the policies areworking or not. In tandem with this supply of information,there is a also a continuous demand. For example, publicauthorities at all levels need to know what is happening intheir area and use the information to prepare for emer-gencies such as floods or to manage accidents such astoxic or oil spills. At least 80% of all the environmentaldata and information that the EEA uses has a spatialdimension, so most of it can be compared and exploredusing mapping technology.

Furthermore, environmental information can empow-er citizens, so they can effectively influence public policyor make decisions that touch the environment. Business-es also use environmental information, for example, totrack their environmental footprints, predict future sup-plies of resources, or as an incentive to develop innovativecommercial solutions for environmental problems.

"Scientists, governments, universities and citizengroups can now contribute data and map-based visualiza-tions into this network. The portfolio of content is stillsmall, but growing rapidly, and includes daily ocean tem-perature forecasts, agricultural areas in Europe, USA landcover, and more. More than anything, this informationhelps set the baseline for the planet, in a very public,accessible way," notes MSDN blogger Shoshe in herrecent post.

Eye on Earth provides a single point of entry to global

The Eye on Earth website


environmental data. It offers improved accessibility and afront-end to represent the data to serve all stakeholders(including data providers and information consumerssuch as decision makers and the general public). Byencouraging data-sharing between different sectors,organisations and communities, and intelligent represen-tation of the information, Eye on Earth provides a knowl-edge base for sustainable development.

Why on Earth is sharing everything?

The motto for Eye on Earth is that 'sharing is everything',because only by sharing relevant information, we canexpand and improve our common understanding aboutthe state of and need for actions to improve the environ-mental situation. This outlook has been shaped by international agenda issues.

The key international political milestones that framethe sharing of environmental information trace theirroots back to the Rio Declaration, a short document produced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informallyknown as the Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration com-prised 27 principles intended to guide future sustainabledevelopment around the world. Besides inking the termsustainable development, Principle 10 is pivotal for Eyeon Earth's objectives, as it draws a close link betweenaccess to information and public participation. TheAarhus Convention follows the priorities of Principle 10 inthe form of a multilateral environmental agreementthrough which the opportunities for citizens to accessenvironmental information are increased and transpar-ent, and a reliable regulatory procedure is secured. Theagreement was signed by many countries and adoptedinto a EU legislation.

To strengthen global information sharing, the Eye onEarth Summit was held in December, 2010 in Abu Dhabi.At the end of the four-day summit, a declaration, aiming

for greater access to open and shared environmental andsocietal data for enhanced decision making, was signed.It brought together the global leadership of the environ-mental information movement, a group dedicated tobringing the benefits of better information to people anddecision-makers around the world. Many global andnational organisations committed to contributing largevolumes of environmental data to the Eye on Earth net-work (such as the EEA, UNEP and USEPA). A follow-upsummit in 2014, again in Abu Dhabi, will take stock of theprogress.

The declaration fed into the recent global UN Confer-ence on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) held in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, in June 2012. There were great steps for-ward for the global political will to share information onadvancing sustainable development. Indeed, the OutcomeDocument explicitly referenced the Eye on Earth network.Here, world leaders see eye to eye about informationsharing being a cornerstone in building the 'The FutureWe Want', as the Outcome Document was called. TheRio+20 proceedings will undoubtedly have an influence onthe road ahead for Eye on Earth.

Now that the main framework of information sharinghas been commonly agreed, the Eye on Earth networkcontinues to grow and put sharing environmental infor-mation into action.

Jesse GoodmanProject Officer for Eye on EarthEuropean Environment Agency [email protected]

The web application of the heat wave map

Eye on Earth provides a single point ofentry to environmental data. It offers

improved accessibilitty and a front-end toserve all stakeholders. By encouragingdata-sharing between different sectors,

organisations and communities, it providesa base for sustainable development

What are the mandate and activi-ties of the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission?

The Intergovernmental Oceano-graphic Commission (IOC) is a com-mission of UNESCO. At the sametime, it also has a certain level ofprogramme autonomy. It is mandat-ed by the UN to address variousaspects of ocean science, includingcapacity building and technologytransfer. It is a commission of gov-ernment representatives fromcoastal states, although member-ship is not restricted to such states.These representatives constitute theAssembly which is the governingbody and decides on the activities ofthe commission which are executedby the secretariat. IOC is the onlyUN Commission dedicated exclu-sively to oceans and where decisionsare taken for the entire ocean com-munity.

IOC is leading a global effort toestablish tsunami warning sys-tems. Can you tell us more?

The tsunami warning system is oneof our flagship programmes. Afterthe 2004 tsunami in the IndianOcean, there was a lot of concern

not only from the affected countriesbut also from other countrieswhich wanted to assist. Therewas an urgent need for an inter-governmental organisation tocoordinate various activitieslinked to the tsunami and theylooked up to the IOC for it. TheIOC, therefore, took up theresponsibility and the mandate tocoordinate all the activities relatedto the Indian Ocean tsunami warn-ings. The outcome was that theIndian Ocean Tsunami Warning Sys-tem, coordinated by the IOC,became officially operational inOctober 2011 with alerts being sentfrom three locations - Australia,Indonesia and India.

Is there any information exchangemechanism between these threecountries?

There is an informationexchange mechanismbut it is not only

INTERVIEW


Ocean is an integral

part of the earth's life

support system

“

”

Dr. Mitrasen Bhikajee Director and Deputy Executive Secretary, IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission,UNESCO

between the three countries; it is ata global level. It is also one of themandates of IOC to promote dataexchange. Countries have their ownterritorial waters and exclusive eco-nomic zones and they collect theirown oceanographic data like sealevel, ocean currents, sea surfacetemperature etc. But this informa-tion remains within the countryunless there is a bilateral agree-ment with another country on infor-mation sharing, and even then theexchange remains limited. One ofthe mandates of IOC, therefore, is tobring together all the countries toshare oceanographic data instead ofeach one having to sign a bilateralagreement. Our InternationalOceanographic Data Exchange (IOD-programme, based in Oostende inBelgium, ensures that countriescontribute information and datafreely, both in real time and indelayed mode so that they becomeavailable, through our websites, toscientists around the world.

How is IOC using geospatial tech-nology for ocean observation?

IOC runs a programme called theGlobal Ocean Observing Systemwhich is an intensive user ofgeospatial technology. Participatingcountries use data captured by sen-sors on board satellites to obtaininformation of sea surface tempera-ture, ocean colour and altimetry.

One of the major effects of cli-mate change is on oceans andmarine ecosystems. How is cli-mate chhange affecting the oceansand how is the change in oceansaffecting climate?

Oceans make up two-thirds of the

planet and despite the fact thatoceans have different names, theyall are connected. Whatever hap-pens in one part of the world affectsthe rest of theworld also. Themost classicexample is themelting of thepolar caps. Weknow that thismelting willresult inincrease in thesea level whichwill affect all the coastal states butwill especially endanger smallislands and developing states.

The other factor affecting theocean is the activities causing cli-mate change, for example, theincreasing level of carbon dioxide inthe atmosphere. The worst part ofthis problem is that its effects arenot visible at present. The carbondioxide in the atmosphere shouldhave been a lot higher but it is notso because the ocean is absorbing itand a lot of carbon dioxide is gettingdissolved in the ocean. As a result,the ocean is becoming more acidic.Marine organisms with calcium car-bonate-based skeletons, like coraland oysters, are becoming morefragile.

Are there any mechanismsthrough which IOC is making itsmembers aware of these issues?

Yes. We have programmes runningon these issues. We are also tryingto raise these issues at a muchhigher level. During the last Rio+10Conference, the ocean was not givenmuch importance. During the recentRio+20 Conference however, IOC

rallied a number of countries tosensitise them on the issue.

How far has IOC been successfulin making themembersactually takesome action?

IOC participatedin a number ofevents atRio+20. IOCprepared ablueprint on theocean in collab-

oration with Food and AgricultureOrganization, International MaritimeOrganization and the United NationsDevelopment Programme whereinwe have put forth what we believethe ocean community should pro-pose. This has been distributed toall our member states and at Rio+20also. This initiative had quite animpact because in the final outcomedocument of Rio +20, titled "TheFuture We Want", nineteen para-graphs concerning the ocean andseveral of the proposals from theblueprint were included.

One way of sensitising memberstates is at the policy level.Another is by developing capaci-ties. Are there any initiatives byIOC in this direction, like training?

Yes, this is one of our major pro-grammes. Capacity building isdirectly my responsibility at IOC.Each of our programmes, whetheron tsunami or ocean science, haveinbuilt capacity building pro-grammes. IOC also runs courses ondata management from its office inOostende in Belgium. Right now, we are trying to get a larger audi-


The final Rio +20 outcomedocument, tittled The

Future We Want, listed19 paragraphs concerning

thee ocean and severalproposals from a blueprint

created by IOC.

ence for our live online courses. In addition, we run such activitiesfrom our sub-commissions inColombia, Thailand and Kenya. Oneof UNESCO's priorities is Africa, sothe office in Kenya is going to beextremely important for us.

Short term workshops work wellbut the problem is that when thepeople who follow these workshopsretire or change jobs, the knowledgeis lost. So we are thinking more interms of training for formal qualifi-cations so that the qualified peoplecan further increase capacity intheir country. This creates a selfperpetuating system in each coun-try. Once these people are trained,there will be a lesser need for foreign experts.

Is IOC providing any kind of fund-ing to sustain such systems?

We have several small funding pro-grammes. One such programme isParticipation Programme where themember nations have a free hand indeciding what they want to do irre-

spective of the mandate of IOC. Theysubmit a project which is then fund-ed by us and the countries managethe project on their own along withthe local population. If required, wesend in experts to supervise theproject.

We have another initiative calledUNITWIN. We invite universities todevelop UNESCO chairs. UNESCOprovides a limited amount of funds,depending on needs to the chair forthe activities that he or she wouldlike to organise, including work-shops, meetings and so on.

In addition, since December2011, UNESCO has been accreditedby the Climate Change AdaptationFund as the multi-lateral imple-menting entity. As a result, fundscan be made available for runningregional programmes on climatechange adaptation in certainregions.

In your view, what is the foremostchallenge for climate change interms of oceans? What can bedonee in terms of sensitisation?

There are two main concerns.One is the rise in sea level. Thiscan cause major disruption andcoastal infrastructure engi-neering problems especially insmall countries with significantpart of their coastal lands closeto sea level. The sea level prob-lem can also lead to what canbe called "climate changerefugees" where people mayhave to leave their homeland incase it is inundated over time.As a consequence of this, lan-guages and cultures may alsodisappear. Sceptics might saythat the rise in sea level is

cyclic and has always been likethat. I believe that even if it has beencyclic, there is more at stake nowthan at any other time, given theinfrastructure development on thecoasts. Ports, infrastructure, facto-ries and coastal towns - all are atstake. The other issue is acidifica-tion, though we need more conclu-sive studies on this issue.

The importance of the oceansneeds to be highlighted from theschool level in all countries, so thatpeople from very young age getaccustomed to the fact that theyhave to take care of the oceans. Thedifference between land and sea isthat one can see resources anddamages on land whereas in oceansone can only see the surface and notwhat is at the bottom. Managementtherefore becomes much more difficult. So there is a need for moresensitisation and education on theocean so that people take bettercare of it. The ocean is an integraland essential part of the earth's life support system and should be treated as such.


The Tsunami warning system of IOC

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The International Union forConservation of Nature(IUCN) estimates that more

than 40 percent of all living speciesare at the risk of soon becomingextinct. In fact, during the pastdecade, the IUCN declared the fol-lowing 10 animal species extinct:the golden toad from Costa Rica,Yangtze River dolphin from China,Hawaiian crow, Pyrenean ibex fromSpain, Spix's macaw from Brazil(81 survive in captivity), Liverpoolpigeon from Tahiti, West Africanblack rhinoceros, black-faced hon-eycreeper from Hawaii, alaotragrebe from Madagascar, andHoldridge's toad from Costa Rica.

For its studies and in an effort toslow down this alarming rate, theIUCN uses GIS to show the where-abouts of animals in the wild usingan intuitive web map service.

The IUCN Red List of ThreatenedSpecies is the most comprehensiveinformation source about the con-servation status of wild species. Tounderstand geographically the chal-lenges facing individual species,IUCN launched its map browser(maps.iucnredlist.org).This interac-tive map service is built on Esri'sArcGIS for Server. It allows visitors toeasily explore the globe as theyexamine the abundance of scientificdata available on these threatenedand endangered species and seetheir ranges on a map.

The link to the species' observa-tion page shows the site visitor thelocations where Pantheraleo hasbeen most recently reported andphotos of the lion taken at theselocations. A tool quickly identifies thelimits of the lion's distribution range.Users can analyse habitat by overlay-

ing the provided basemap of aspecies range with protected rangedata layers.

In 2011, the entire Red List data-base contained assessments foralmost 65,000 species. Of these,about 30,000 species records includ-ed a geologic reference and could beaccessed through the map interface.Although the IUCN Red List data-base is quite large and complex, theonline mapping portal displaysresults and maps quickly.

The portal also draws sourcedata from iNaturalist, Encyclopediaof Life, Global Biodiversity Informa-tion Facility, ARKive, and World Data-base on Protected Areas from theUnited Nations Environment Pro-gramme (UNEP) World ConservationMonitoring Centre. Red List bringstogether these six different databas-es effortlessly and seamlessly in a


SWITZERLAND

A GIS-based website allows visitors to learn more about threatened and endangered species

Setting sights on conservation

JavaScript-based applicationdesigned by Blue Raster. In addition,the Red List portal links to thou-sands of geotagged wildlife images.

Challenges of growth

Before 2006, IUCN relied on its part-ners, Conservation International andNatureServe, to provide GIS services.But its scientists were working on anumber of projects that required dif-ferent types of analysis, so they builttheir own GIS capacity.

The project began with a grantfrom the Society for ConservationGIS, the non-profit organisation thatsupports the use of GIS and sciencefor the conservation of naturalresources and cultural heritage. NewGIS products and licenses wereadded every year because more peo-ple wanted to use the tool. Soon,there were plans for a threatenedspecies map viewer for the public.IUCN's first attempt was to build anautomated map application in VisualBasic for Applications (VBA) thatserved static map JPEG files. Unfor-tunately, the system had troublemanaging the large database. Gen-erating and managing maps wasextremely difficult, and it was obvi-ous that this was not a sustainablesolution.

GIS manager Vineet Katariyaexplored options for creating dynam-ic online environments. He learnedabout the capabilities of ArcGIS 10for Server and some interestingmapping applications. "We justcouldn't keep publishing static maps.This technology had the functionalitywe wanted out of the box."

Challenges met

Working with a developer, Katariya

set up a simple high-performancemap application. "This was a bigchange from our static maps, andpeople loved it," he says. "They wereable to explore our data, overlay datalayers with other data and analysespecies and protected areas."

Building on this success, IUCNwanted to scale up so that its servicewould be more efficient and havehigher performance. In 2011, IUCNasked Blue Raster to design a GISsolution that could handle its large,complex datasets and meet its per-formance requirements. Blue Rasterworked with IUCN to enhance thedata storage and index the complexspecies range and observation data.In early 2012, IUCN soft-launched itsGIS portal, IUCN Red List Map, andsince then, the site has been getting2,000 to 3,000 hits every day.

The application was deployedwith the latest JavaScript API ver-sion, which allowed enhanced userexperience and performance for aglobal audience. The complexspecies range data was optimised for

a web delivery that provides access to the entire catalogue ofspecies ranges without sacrificingdata display quality. Red List alsoleverages web services in open stan-dards from several sources to pro-vide a seamless web map thatincludes species observations (pho-tos), range data and protected areaintersections.

The entire system is hosted with Amazon Web Services on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud(EC2). This hosting option enablesIUCN to rapidly get its applicationsonline. IUCN is planning to upgradeto ArcGIS 10.1 for Server and is excited about its new features, especially the faster map renderingengines and the dynamic map. With a global audience relying more on the IUCN Red List for thiscritical data, the mapping tool isproving to be a very powerful devicefor conservation.

Barbara Shields, Esri Writer

[email protected]


Case Study

The IUCN Red List map shows lion habitat and protected areas


CLIMATE CHANGE

The online mapping tool has been developed by theClimate Change and African Political Stability(CCAPS) programme to integrate its various lines

of climate, conflict and aid research. The CCAPS pro-gramme was piloted by the Robert S. Strauss Center forInternational Security and Law at The University of Texasat Austin in 2009 after receiving a USD 7.6 million five-year grant from the Minerva Initiative with the Depart-ment of Defense. Their current mapping tool is based on

a prototype they developed to assess conflict patterns inAfrica with the help of researchers at the Texas AdvancedComputing Center (TACC).

CCAPS comprises nine research teams focusing onvarious aspects of climate change, their relationship todifferent types of conflict, the government structures thatexist to mitigate them and the effectiveness of interna-tional aid in intervening. The mapping tool is a key part ofthe programme to produce new research that could sup-

Children in the foothills of Drakensberg mountainsin South Africa who still live in traditional rondavels

on family homesteads. Credit: Todd G. Smith, CCAPS Program.

Many of the real challenges of the 21st century aren't always in traditional state-to-state interactions, butare transnational in nature and require new ways of dealing with. With climate change devastating Africancommunities through droughts, floods and other disasters, researchers have developed an online map-

ping tool that analyses how climate and other forces interact to threaten populations

Breaking new ground

port policy making and the work of practitioners and gov-ernments in Africa.

Climate simulations

The initial prototype of the mapping tool used the ArcGISplatform's geographic information systems to projectdata onto maps. Working with its partner DevelopmentGateway, CCAPS expanded the system to incorporateconflict, vulnerability, governance and aid research data.Later this year the maps will also incorporate data onfuture climate vulnerability, derived from regional climatemodel simulations designed by Edward Vizy and KerryCook, both members of the CCAPS team from the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texasat Austin.

Vizy and Cook ran three, 20-year nested simulationsof the African continent's climate at the regional scales of90 and 30 kilometers, using a derivation of the WeatherResearch and Forecasting Model of the National Centerfor Atmospheric Research. One was a control simulationrepresentative of the years 1989-2008 and the others represented the climate as it may exist in 2041-2060and 2081-2100.

The researchers ran regional future simulations byadjusting the control simulation's parameters to matchexpected warmer conditions with increased greenhousegas forcing derived from atmosphere-ocean global climate models. Each simulation took two months tocomplete on TACC's Ranger supercomputer.

Africa is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its reliance on rain-fed agricultureand the inability of many of its governments to help communities in times of need.

"Africa is a region of increasing importance for U.S.national security. On the positive side, it is a place with agrowing population, growing economic strengths andgrowing resource importance; on the negative side, people are worried about non-state actors, weak statesand humanitarian disasters," says Francis J. Gavin, professor of international affairs and director of theStrauss Center.

Data sources

The vulnerability mapping programme within CCAPS isled by Joshua Busby, assistant professor at the Lyndon B.Johnson School of Public Affairs. To determine the vul-

nerability of a given location based on changing climateconditions, Busby and his team looked at four differentsources: the degree of physical exposure to climate hazards; population size; household or communityresilience and the quality of governance or presence ofpolitical violence.

The first source records the different types of climatehazards which could occur in the area, includingdroughts, floods, wildfires, storms and coastal inunda-tion. However, their presence alone is not enough toqualify a region as vulnerable. The second source - popu-lation size - determines the number of people who will beimpacted by these climate hazards. More people createmore demand for resources, potentially making theentire population more vulnerable.

The third source looks at how resilient a community isto adverse effects, analysing the quality of their educationand health, as well as whether they have easy access tofood, water and health care. "If exposure is really bad, itmay exceed the capacity of local communities to protectthemselves," Busby said, "and then it comes down towhether or not the governments are going to be willing orable to help them." The final source accounts for theeffectiveness of a given government, the amount ofaccountability present, how integrated it is with the inter-national community, how politically stable it is and


nsls

ds.m.

The composite picture highlights areas of chronic insecurity where thefour sources of vulnerability coalesce. Image courtesy Joshua Busby et al.

whether there is any political violence present. Busby and his team created composite maps by combining thefour equal weight sources of vulnerability and dividingregional scores into five rankings going from the 20 per cent with lowest vulnerability to the 20 per cent withthe highest.

The researchers gathered data from a variety ofplaces, including the historic models of physical exposurefrom the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), population estimates from LandScan, as well ashousehold surveys and governance assessments fromthe World Bank's World Development and WorldwideGovernance Indicators. After completing the first versionof their model, Busby and his team carried out the

process of ground truthing their mapsby visiting local officials and experts inseveral African countries, such asKenya and South Africa. "The experi-ence of talking with local experts wastremendously gratifying," Busby says."They gave us the confidence that thethings we are doing in a computer labsetting in Austin do pick up on some ofthe ground-level expert opinions."

Busby and his team complementedtheir maps with local perspectives onthe kind of impact climate was alreadyhaving, leading to new insights thatcould help perfect the model. Some ofthe countries most vulnerable to cli-mate change include Somalia, SierraLeone, Guinea and Sudan. Having this

information allows local policymakers to develop securitystrategies for the future, such as early warning systemsagainst floods and investments in drought-resistant agri-culture.

"What this project has showed us is that many of the real challenges of the 21st century aren't always intraditional state-to-state interactions, but are transna-tional in nature and require new ways of dealing with,"says Gavin.

Diego Cruz

Science and Technology Writer Texas Advanced Computing Center

The University of Texas at Austin, United States

[email protected]


A shortage of adequate housing and the large influx of migrants often lead to large informalsettleements that lack in water, sanitation, electricity or government services like Enkanini outside ofCaape Town, South Africa. Image courtesy: Todd G. Smith, CCAPS Program.

Climate security vulnerability in Somalia is the greatest in and around the capital of Mogadishuand the far north. Image courtesy: Joshua Busby et al.


COASTAL RESOURCE MAPPING

A collaborative project in the US will provide geospatial data for informed decision making to meet humanand energy needs while protecting coastal and estuarine environments

What lies beneath

Long Island Sound is the drainage basin for NewYork City and much of New England, a region thatis home to nearly nine million people. Long Island

Sound region is vital to the economy, security, cultureand ecology of the United States, but sustaining itscoastal resources necessitates a balance between grow-ing and often competing uses and activities. A new col-laborative effort by state, federal and academic partnersis helping managers and officials strike that balance byintegrating various seafloor mapping technologies, sci-ences and capabilities. When finished, the data will pres-ent the most comprehensive picture of the Sound,improve understanding of the area's underwater environ-

ment and provide mapping tools critical to ocean andenvironmental planning.

Evaluating proposed development activities, such astelecommunication cables, gas pipelines and other large-scale infrastructure, and ensuring effective coastalplanning requires the availability of marine informationalproducts to help inform the decision-making process.While informative geospatial products (e.g., aerial pho-tography, terrain/elevation models, environmental GISdata layers, etc.,) for terrestrial environments are gener-ally available, this is lacking or inadequate for marineenvironments. Even where data of sufficient temporal andspatial scale is available, the thematic focus tends to be

Image courtesy: University of Connecticut, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection,National Undersea Research Center, and Long Island

Sound Resource Center

too narrow to support alternatives.In response, the Connecticut Department of Energy

and Environmental Protection, the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency, the New York Department of Environ-mental Conservation, and the Connecticut and New YorkSea Grant programmes are guiding efforts to developimproved benthic data products for Long Island Sound.While sufficient funding is not available to map the entireSound, regional stakeholders were able to prioritiseareas to identify locations of greatest need. These priorityfocus areas represent the convergence of several factors,including ecological value, multiple uses and potential forfurther development. A pilot area was chosen from thefocus areas to serve as an operational testbed.

The mapping is being implemented by the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA)National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science(NCCOS), NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) and aca-demic consortiums led by the University of Connecticut(UConn) and Columbia University's Lamont Doherty EarthObservatory (LDEO). This partnership exemplifies NOAA'scommitment to integrated ocean and coastal mapping —"map once, use many times." The philosophy emphasisescoordination with state and regional partners, reducingredundancies, improving efficiencies, developing com-mon standards and stimulating innovation and techno-logical development.

"Ocean floors are amazingly dynamic and we have tochart those changes to provide precise and accurate nav-igational data for today's maritime economy," explainedCmdr. Lawrence Krepp, commanding officer of the NOAAShip Thomas Jefferson. "Our data are used to updateNOAA's nautical charts, but as is the case in the LongIsland Sound project, the hydrographic information alsosupports a number of non-navigation uses, ranging frombenefits to fisheries management to support of regionalocean planning efforts like this."

Benthic habitats and ecological processes

Benthic habitat maps provide information about theextent and composition of marine resources. Under-standing benthic habitat structure and ecological charac-teristics are critical to their management and conserva-tion. Current benthic maps for Long Island Sound prima-rily depict geological attributes and are based on datalargely collected before 1990. For new maps, the data will

be integrated using a habitat classification schemedesigned specially for Long Island Sound to produce newbenthic habitat and ecological mapping products.

Acoustic intensity and seafloor topography

To provide meaningful information about the distributionand composition of seafloor habitats, backscatter-derivedimages (also known as acoustic intensity products)depicting the composition, roughness, and texture of theseafloor are required. These data, when combined withadditional products that provide depth and topographicrelief, are the foundation for building tools that addressbenthic habitats and other environmental conditions.

Portions of the pilot area were previously mapped bythe OCS but were based on data collected in 2001 and2003. There are significant portions that remainunmapped. To address this, scientists will reprocessexisting acoustic data with contemporary software andmethodologies. Survey vessels will provide new data frommulti-beam echo sounders (MBES), vertical beam echosounders (VBES), and side scan sonar (SSS) forunmapped areas.

Sediment texture and grain size distribution

Mud, sand and gravel-dominated areas provide very dif-ferent habitats, so sediment grain size composition andtexture are essential components for habitat classifica-tion. While existing geologic data products for the Soundcan be re-used, researchers need additional sedimentgrain size information to support the detailed habitatclassification. They will use acoustic backscatter infor-mation gathered by survey vessels to determine wherenew samples are needed and then collect them.

Sedimentary environments

The stability and suitability of different habitats for vari-


The project will deliver raw data andinterpretive geospatial products

such as shapefiles, rasteriised imageryand digital maps in convenient GeoPDFformats. The team will utilise a centraldata manaagement system for storage

and transfer of information

ous species depend on processes such as erosion, depo-sition and transportation of sediment. Mapping thesesedimentary environments is not only important forunderstanding habitats, but also helps planners antici-pate the potential for change. Sedimentary environmentmaps exist, but are based on data of limited resolutionand accuracy. Reviews found that new, high-resolutionacoustic products were needed for accurate interpreta-tions. Additionally, data on what lies below the sea-floorsurface is needed; this will help in, for example, differen-tiating true sandy bottoms from thin layers of sand simplyresting on bedrock.

Physical and chemical environments

Lastly, the project will create products depicting temper-ature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and bottom stress. Theseare central elements of habitat classification and are crit-ical in predicting and monitoring the impact of manage-ment decisions and marine resource conservation.

A fair amount of information is available, but the pro-ject's gap analysis indicated there were no geospatialproducts that describe the physical-chemical environ-ment near the seafloor. The project will therefore deploybottom sensors for salinity, temperature and dissolvedoxygen and will measure bed stress, turbidity and re-sus-pension rates. They will also collect common oceano-graphic data while mapping surveys are being conducted.

Data to support marine

spatial planning

The types of products to be producedfor Long Island Sound have a myriadof applications to assist in marinespatial planning. These issues rangefrom site-specific regulatory and per-mitting assessments of developmentproposals, to broader long-term mon-itoring of ecological conditions withinthe Sound. For instance, these datawill help answer specific questionsneeded for environmental analysesincluding:• Which ecologically significant areas inthe Sound should remain untouched?

• Are current ecological sampling strate-gies appropriate for monitoring biologicalhealth?

• Which biological communities are most heavily impacted byhuman stressors and where are they at maximum risk?

• Are current resource management strategies effective inmaintaining a healthy Long Island Sound ecosystem?

• What are the areas that could support infrastructure sitingand why?

The project will deliver raw data and interpretivegeospatial products such as shapefiles, rasterisedimagery and digital maps in convenient GeoPDF formats.The project team will utilise a central data managementsystem provided by the LDEO and UConn to facilitatestorage and transfer of information during the project. Asdata sets are finalised, they will be made available to thepublic through the data system as well as to appropriaterepositories such as the US National Geophysical DataCenter.

Frank Nitsche, a geophysicist at LDEO says, "Thewealth of the new seafloor data that we collect duringthis project will provide a scientific basis for managementof the seafloor ecosystem and provide an excellent basisfor future research."

Tim Battista

NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, United States

[email protected]

Kevin O'BrienConnecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection,

United States, [email protected]


A spatial depiction of ranking factor information compiled from regional stakeholders used toidentify priority mapping regions within Long Island Sound.

Biodiversity conservation is one of the pressingconcerns for environment. Biodiversity hasbeen lost mainly because of habitat loss and

fragmentation, over harvesting, introduced species,chemical pollution, global climatic changes and agri-cultural and forest industries. Geospatial technology,such as GIS, remote sensing, and GPS, is expected tocontribute to the field of biodiversity conservation.

PRIORITY HABITAT AREAS

The first case study identifies priority habitat areas of theAsiatic black bears in Japan by applying the species' dis-tribution model or the process of using computer algo-rithms to generate predictive maps of species distribu-tions". Figure 1 shows a conceptual diagram on speciesdistribution model. A raster dataset regarding environ-ment, which has potential influence to target species,was prepared by mobilising geospatial technology. A pre-dictive distributional map was produced using informa-tion on species such as presence data or absence data. Inthis case study, after applying MaxEnt model, which wasone of the species' distribution models, it was concludedthat the total black bear population of the Fuji-Tanzawa

region was "endangered."

SPECIES MONITORING

The second case study is real-time monitoring of OrientalHoney Buzzard, which is a species of hawks. TheHachikuma Project, an open-to-the-public project of birdmigration, is currently under operation (http://hachi.sfc.keio.ac.jp/). Bird migration attracts great interest of manypeople in Japan and other parts of the world. While it wasdifficult to track the migration of birds in the past, satel-lite tracking has been recently established and trackingthe migration of large-size and medium-size birds hasbecome possible for an almost real time use. Satellitetracking is done through the ARGOS system, whichenables collecting tracking data remotely by utilising thesatellites of the NOAA and the METOP-A. Figure 2 illus-trates the conceptual diagram of a mechanism of ARGOSsystem and this project.

Tomoko DokoLaboratory of Ecology, Research, Institute of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Japan Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, [email protected]


JAPAN

Two instances highlight the use of geospatial technology in biodiversity assessment and conservation

G-tech to the rescue

Figure 1: Conceptual diagram of a case study of Asiatic black bear's distributional prediction by MaxEnt

Figure 2: Conceptual diagram of the ARGOS satellite tracking system of Oriental Honey Buzzard and HACHIKUMA Project


URBAN PLANNING

Marrying GIS with

cultural psychology

41

What is common between a safety campaignlaunched by Italy’s Viterbo Province and theCoastal GIS portal of the country’s Lazio Region

to monitor erosion along the coastline and the AnieneRiver Linear Park project to safeguard the water corridorand set up a water-sensitive urban design?

The three projects are classic examples of urban andregional planning riding on GIS technology and culturalpsychology to overcome present drawbacks and crises toimprove communication and awareness at all levels. TheAniene River Linear Park, for instance, analyses the different human needs that resulted in the complex relations at the base of the formation of urban settle-ments near the riverine areas to discern the multiplicityof the components, and of the multidisciplinary approachof the stakeholder involved in its development.

CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY AS A TOOL

Psychology and GIS can go together in telling us howpeople perceive and represent spaces around them andhow they use perceptual information to guide their move-ments in those spaces.

We live in difficult times. The fast-changing globallandscape and culture are likely to make people vulnerable and anxious as they attempt to cope with theincreasing level of uncertainties.

The surest way to allay such fear is to apply moderntechnology, minimise waste, make each job more efficient through new skills.

But how do we go about that? How do we locate people, bring them together, teach them new skills, and make them understand they are not the only ones

troubled in the world?The answer lies in GIS portals, which, in addition to

spatial and environmental data, can also take into consid-eration psychological aspects of the people.

There are different occasions to launch new web por-tals: from planning to road safety, and from coastal moni-toring to utilities management. The technical personnelin charge of the new infrastructure usually get togetherusing the best information technologies — equipped withthe most recent standards — in order to achieve a realinterchange of structured information among the variousstakeholders. However, what cannot be purchased is theability to overcome the cultural differences and thediverse background of the people involved.

HOW SUCH A PORTAL HELPS?

The main objective of a GIS portal and related informationsystem that lies at its base is to support the planning

From their combined experience and perspective, a psychologist, an urban planner and a GIS expert describe setting up urban and regional designs for GIS projects and the cultural-psychological approach to achieve a common multi-thematic and multi-cultural model

Webportal of the Mediterranean Regions, an Interreg EU project


phases, engineering knowledge, the management and thedecision-support models with the related fields. Toachieve this, there is a need to overcome existing difficul-ties in exchanging territorial information among variousadministrators and stakeholders.

The GIS portal is a system of structured geospatialinformation organised according to various themes ofinterest, each based on a different technical sphere, col-laborating together to form a new unified set of knowl-edge. It can also provide proposed models and tools fordata integration, interpretation and decision support.

The system is composed of a geographic database ofintelligent geographic features (points, lines, areas) linkedto applications based on relational database that not onlycharacterises and qualifies the information associatedwith the basic elements, but provides a working tool withmodel and quarry reports ready to use for different appli-cations. A rich raster dataset is placed under the vectordata. The website is now ready for anyone to gather data

out of a single office and form a new set of information. The GIS portal gives access to maps of detailed car-

tography. The main mapping frame provides a diversifiedgeographic database ranging from different visualisationscales to a variety of themes. The services and the appli-cations are also diversified according to target users. Aperson can remain within the GIS portal as a viewing plat-form, or gain from such new innovative techniques newknowledge to develop additional skills. In a new emergingeconomic situation, this approach provides tools for anindividual to develop a powerful expertise, thus reducingfinancial resources and achieving better goals for himselfand for the community.

To set up GIS portals, there is a need for collaborationto overcome different cultural and expertise barriers aswell as the fragmentation of various technical languages.However, understanding the multiple perspectiveapproach means overcoming the anxiety of the changes— of language, perspectives, technology, communication

Waterways are privileged contextsfor urban and environmentalregeneration policies every-

where in the world. Those policies provide for the creation or strengtheningof new urban public spaces, regional andurban parks connected to soil conserva-tion and water-sensitive designs. Withthe tools of cultural psychology, theAniene River Valley Development Projectseeks to define a new grid of under-standing, using the idea that an aware-ness of various cultural needs, should tobe incorporated into the planner's vision.

Aniene is Tiber river's last major tributarybefore Rome that contributes with a flowrate of 31% to the waters passingthrough the ancient city. The aim of theproject is environmental rehabilitation ofthe riverine green corridor, which isachieved by combining soil conservationmeasures with enhancement of theplaces the river crosses.

The multidisciplinary approach reflectsthe great demand for spatial, ecologicaland cultural enrichment in order toencourage the use of river resources andcreate the relationship between protec-tion and fruition. The goal is to realise ariverside park along the Aniene, allowing

the widespread environmental regenera-tion and reconnecting territorial break-downs such as the space left over afterplanning that can be used by severalstakeholders with varying needs andexpectations.

The goal is to enhance the common element — the river. In this way the river axis of the linear park becomes thespine of the project and is able to bring abetter quality of life to the riverine com-munities. The project functions bysearching for territorial sustainable devel-opment — the approach is geared topreserve quality and quantity of the localancient heritage and natural resources,without compromising the ability of future

generations to endure the same development.

The landscape is the result of complexphenomena, and the planning processrequires a multidisciplinary approachinvolving a team of specialists from different disciplines such as sociology,architecture, urban design, biology, economics, politics and hydraulic engineering to achieve an integratedsolution. The team group developed bydifferent experts to understand thepotential of each type of landscape is the best solution to balance variousneeds and unveil, safeguard, enhanceand boost better environmental sustain-ability and human well being.

Aniene River Linear Park: A study in spatial-psychological relationship

The motto of the project: take care, re-establish, let interact


and in the organisational chart. This results in a vehiclefor greater trust, gaining from the richness of variedapproaches.

COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT

Once the urban development planning process begins,the activity of creating the related geographic informationsystem to systematise the knowledge is underway. Thisphase is then analysed with the tools derived from cultur-al psychology. This way, one can develop an awareness ofmany of the complex aspects involved in the GIS projectand gather the means for overcoming cultural barriersnormally encountered in dealing with professionals withvaried backgrounds.

Simply put, relational database is analysed againstgeographical data based on a more quantitative analysisapproach versus a more spatial relation analysis of geo-graphic elements.

As in psychology, different models are analysed andsetting up a GIS system that involves the use of variousmodels is reviewed through the eyes of a psychologist inorder to have different cultural groups interacting together.Even the presentation of the visual interface is important.

Once the portal is set up, the private sector can act onthemes such as tourism and recreation, to be imple-mented on the informational layers such as base mapsand existing or planned land use, and create new com-mercial activities.

WAY FORWARD

Today one can’t just go on the old way — the old way is

gone and paper maps are history. It is being replaced by anew way of working and thinking which requires combin-ing the efforts of people with different expertise and newskill sets. And nobody knows what this new data set andnew system will lead us to tomorrow. The old system pro-duced knowledge that made an individual professionalmaster in his field; now we are getting to a networkapproach in which any individual needs the network ofcontacts and the support of others. The individual is stillimportant and essential if he can pool in the information,develop and maintain his skill of multiple perspectivesand incorporate the views of others for a more complexand comprehensive understanding of data.

With the tools of cultural psychology, it is possible togo a step forward; not only the system benefits from mul-tiple perspectives of different problems, but the approachbecomes more humane and multidisciplinary in both themaking and use.

We have to reinvent ourselves. As President BarackObama says, “Do not take the crisis as a drawback; takethe crisis as an opportunity”.

F. Paolo Di Giacomo Manager, Alpha Consult srl

[email protected]

Tullia Valeria Di Giacomo Research Assistant, University

"Sapienza" Rome, Italy, [email protected]

Jerry Cross Professor, Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill, California

[email protected]

Pauline Bondonno Health Educator, Community Health Education

Institute, Berkeley, California

The urban plan of Viterbo Township

The prototype of Lazio Region's Web GIS System for

Coastal Zones

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46

FIRST PERSON

Traversing

the road

less

travelled

Traversing

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travelled


Prof. Josef StroblChair, Department of GeoinformaticsUniversity of Salzburg, Austria

As a child, I moved around a lot with my family.Losing my parents early in life involuntarilybroughht me into a leadership position. As a

teenager, I took to mountaineering in a big way for asense off freedom rather than any objective achieve-ment. It was here that I got exposed to the geospatialelements as I acquired map reading and navigationskills.

CAREER CHOICES

I was not overly inclined towards academia once I fin-ished high school. With my mountaineering back-ground, I volunteered for the Austrian Army - I was nottoo interested in the armed forces, but in Austria, mili-tary meant mountains and I wanted to make a careerout of that. However, after a short while I realised thatit was not my calling. I was very happy to go back toacademics and attend university. But the question was,what discipline to pursue? My orientation towardsmountaineering and navigation led me towards mapsand cartography. To study cartography, there were twoavenues at that time - going through the Technical uni-versity with a surveying and cadastral focus, or as partof geography. In geography, one had to study generalgeography for two years and then specialise in areaslike planning or cartography. I opted for the geographyroute and I had the privilege of several excellent teach-ers in geography, motivating me to major in this field.

At that time, there were not many career options afterstudying geography other than teaching in highschools. But I didn't plan to be ateacher, because I was driven byan emerging interest in digitaltechnologies in spatial research.Offered a place on the cartogra-phy programme, I discovered thata lot of manual drafting and scrib-ing was required. While I agreedthat one should learn first learn toapply basic concepts before doingquality digital work, it was clear tome that there was limited futurepotential in doing maps like theywere done at that time. I was try-

ing to make it clear that I considered cartography to bea 'communication science'.

I finished my Masters in Geography analysing statisti-cal relationships between climate factors and agricul-tural yields which gave me some skills in multivariatestatistics. For my PhD, I combined my interest inmountain climbing with the opportunity to assist withdetermining glacier mass balances. This meant dig-ging into the snow pack, measuring density and waterequivalent - a great excuse for spending time in themountains and even getting (some) pay for it. I did mydoctorate on the energy balance part of glacier massbalances.

INTRODUCTION TO GIS

I completed by PhD in 1984 and started looking for anacademic position, preferably in a smaller town since Iam not a big city person. In 1985, I was hired at theUniversity of Salzburg. The job description was won-derful - taking care of 'everything that has to do withcomputers in our geography department'.

One very early European installation of ArcGIS was atBerchtesgaden National Park, close to Salzburg. Afriend, who worked for the National Park, suggestedthat I should teach GIS and do research with what wasback then called ArcInfo. From the university point ofview, it was completely unfeasible to pay for an ArcInfolicence. Then there was an announcement for PCArcInfo and we ended up with one of the first licences,

simply because we could notafford 'the real thing'.

ESTABLISHING UNIGIS

In addition to our residential stu-dents, we had several requestsfor assistance from professionalsacross the domains of spatial sci-ences. This demand from profes-sionals ultimately led to thefounding of the UNIGIS distancelearning programme. A smallcommunity of people who hap-pened to work with extremely FF

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In the mountains during PhD field work

innovative Canadian software product called SPANS(Spatial ANalysis System) - including Jim Petch, Ian Hey-wood and Sarah Cornelius in Manchester and HenkScholten in Amsterdam - shared the insight and motiva-tion to develop a postgraduate certificate and degree pro-gramme for in-service professionals, to be delivered bydistance learning. We realised that what people on the jobactually needed was a combination of GIS knowledge withformal qualifications. There were no such degrees yet.We suggested to our institutions to collaborate andaddress the industry need for academic qualificationswhich were not available in standard study programmes.

Distance learning turned out to be an area that has tokeep reinventing itself - technology supports novelapproaches to online teaching and learning. This year weare celebrating 20 years of UNIGIS programmes, aremarkable achievement in such a dynamic field. Aunique characteristic was that UNIGIS was not a spin-offfrom any project and did not receive any external funding.Luckily, the University of Salzburg back then allowedsuch an unorthodox programme to launch and thenflourish, while many of our peer institutions worldwidewere suffocating endeavours to address the differentneeds of the professional education market with red tapeand 'we-have-not-done-this-before' arguments. Twentyyears ago, the term 'business model' was not widely usedat universities. UNIGIS had to establish its business mod-el, because it was self-funded from fees, covering all

development and operational costs.

EVOLVING GEOSPATIAL CONFERENCES

Our 20-plus years of history includes UNIGIS, GIS com-munity building through conferences and a couple of oth-er things. The AGIT and GI_Forum symposia were origi-nally inspired by software users’ conferences. In contrast,we wanted to have an academic conference. In 1989, weheld the first 'Applied Geographic Information Technolo-gies' (AGIT) conference. Without this being the originalintention, it turned into an annual platform for exchangebetween academia, public administration and the GISindustry.

With our growing network of partners and contacts, AGITadded an international, English language face under the'GeoInformatics Forum' - 'GI_Forum' brand. It has nowestablished academic reputation as an interface betweenscience and practice, research and applications.

These initiatives show that a personal history rarely everis strictly individual. Without a stable and growing team ofmotivated and challenging co-workers, all of these initia-tives could not have been sustained in the long run andsuccessfully institutionalised.

BEING A TEACHER

I always have considered myself a teacher first and thenan academic researcher. I get personal satisfaction frombeing a teacher, from working and interacting with stu-dents and young researchers. This is what I identifymyself with, perhaps more than with the research papersI have published. I might have had a few good ideas, but itis mostly my students and peers who have taken theseforward. Being a teacher offers a unique opportunity ofbeing a multiplier. If people do not share what they arelearning, one's own learning will ultimately stop. Andbeing driven by insatiable curiosity is the stimulant inacademia.

People should follow their own calling. Some succeed bylocking themselves up in a cabinet and win science prizes- of course it is a matter of personality. I am more of asocially communicating person. I am lucky that I had thechoice and opportunity to do a little more as a teacher.A few years ago, I was elected as a full member of theAustrian Academy of Sciences. I took it as an honour


With the ‘Doctor honoris cause’ degree received from the University of West Hungary


because people who have their main credentials in edu-cation do not frequently get elected there. Interestingly,one negative amidst all this was that I was 'accused' ofbeing too entrepreneurial. While my activities with theCentre for Geoinformatics are entirely as an academicuniversity department, this observation revealed to methat the outside perception was different. In that sense,may be I am very entrepreneurial of making new thingshappen! This however does not require a commercialentity; it could be done within university structures.

INDUSTRY RELATIONS

We have always had excellent support from the geospa-tial industry and I am saying this because the industry byand large recognises the critical significance of educa-tion, qualifications and individual competence and capac-ities. I believe that talking about 'geospatial industry' is avoluntary self-limitation which is not a good idea. I preferto work across, or without sectoral industry and technol-ogy definitions for the simple reason that potentials forleveraging spatial knowledge and competences arereaching across traditional sectors. Mobile data commu-nications, DBMS, visualisation etc. are all criticallyimportant for GIS without being considered core actors ina 'geospatial industry'.

EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES

"Spatial" could be an educational principle, not a disci-pline. While I strongly feel associated with geography andidentify myself as a geographer, what I am arguing for isthe strength of the discipline and what we have to offer tothe society.

We are now leading a European network called DigitalEarth. It is essentially teachers' continuing educationacross subjects. Academic disciplines should not beorganised like boxes. Boxes are limiting, even thoughthey may be helpful in getting started and building a con-ceptual framework. This is why the most recent evolu-tionary step of Z_GIS from a 'centre' to a full academicdepartment resulted in the creation of what is called anInterfaculty Department of Geoinformatics at the Univer-sity of Salzburg.

FUTURE PLANS

I am known for coming up with new ideas every now andthen. While I am happy with the position I am in, I want to

continue learning, which essentially means continuing togenerate novel concepts and approaches. I hope to pro-ceed in the vocation of teaching because it is the mosteffective mechanism at our disposal. But the importantthing is how we handle it. For example, while mentoring-based teaching is limited by the time available, it is alsovery valuable. "I increasingly observe geographic infor-mation science emancipating itself from geography andthat sometimes leads to raised eyebrows within my homediscipline."

FAMILY AND PERSONAL INTERESTS

I am married and have three children. One of my childrenis an IT professional while another one is into financialmanagement. My daughter is studying environmentalsystems science which is geography in disguise - maybegeography like it should be.

I am keen on exploring the potential of new technologies- which are increasingly not dominated by hardware. Asan example, let's just look at positioning and navigation:GNSS has been around for a long time, only now it ismoving towards being a ubiquitous technology, support-ing citizens' everyday lives. I had the chance to getinvolved in IT when it was not a part of geography. I justtook the advantage of combining IT with 'spatial'.

I still go for hikes sometimes, but they are very shortones!

At a teacher training workshop organised by Z_GIS at the Princeof Songkla University, Thailand

Geospatial Media & Communi-cations organised GeospatialArtha Summit in New Delhi,

India on September 24, 2012. Theoccasion was to commemorate the500th anniversary of the world's firstmap maker Gerardus Mercator, 50thanniversary of GIS that was firstestablished in 1962 by Prof. RogerTomlinson in Canada as a tool fornatural resource management andland management in Canada, and the15th anniversary of Geospatial Media& Communications. As the Sanskritterm "artha" refers to purpose, value,wealth and economy, the Summitexplored these dimensions in thecontext of geospatial industry.

Integration with

mainstream IT

Kapil Sibal, Minister, the Indian Min-

ister for Human Resource Develop-ment and Communications andInformation Technology, observed thegeospatial industry had done fairlywell over the years, with steadyexpansion and growth. But sincetechnology had advanced at such afast pace, geospatial industry todayneeds to integrate into mainstreaminformation technology. It needs totake a holistic approach for futuregrowth. Calling geosptial sector cru-cial for all aspects of the economytoday, Sibal also called for free flowof data for public benefit andempowerment.

The beginnings

Peter Large , Vice President ChannelDevelopment of US geospatial giantTrimble traced the relevance of thepioneering efforts of Gerardus Mer-

cator, the world's first scientificmapmaker whose 500th anniversarywas commemorated with this event.As the world today puts geospatialdata to work to make the worldmore efficient, productive, safer andcleaner, it was Mercator's printedmaps that are among the earliestinstances of making geospatialinformation accessible. Mercator'slegacy, observed Large, was to havespurred the utility and value ofgeospatial information.

Economic value proposition

Suresh Prabhu, Indian Parliamentar-

CONFERENCE REPORCONFERENCE REPOR TT:: GEOSPATIAL ARTHA SUMMIT


ian and Former Union Ministertouched upon the economy of thecountry and obversed that the problem of Indian economy lay inthe fact that agriculture engagedtwo-third of the country's populationbut contributed to only 16 per centof the GDP. The challenge is theuplift of this segment of the popula-tion. It was here that geospatialtechnology can play a crucial role,he said. Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secre-tary, Department of Earth Sciences,showcased the economic value ofoceans and the need for discovery,understanding and application ofknowledge regarding oceans. MVKotwal, Director and President(Heavy Engineering), Larsen &Toubro Ltd, said geospatial technol-ogy was being applied at L&T inapplications like property andboundary, government/environmentclearance, flora mapping, topogra-phy visualisation, shoreline monitor-ing programme, and property infor-mation system. CP Baid, Deputy MD,Monnet Ispat Energy Ltd, India dis-cussed geospatial technology as an

enabler in natural resources withleast adverse ecological impact. Dr.NP Gupta, Chairman and ManagingDirector, DESEIN Private Limited,India discussed the relevance ofgeospatial technology in the energysector. Informing that the plannedadditional capacity in the 12th FiveYear Plan is 75,785 MW, Gupta saidgeospatial technology could be beneficial in guiding and clearingprojects, as well as in transmissionand distribution.

Ola Rollen, President and ChiefExecutive Officer, Hexagon Group,observed that it was one thing tocreate maps but the main issue wasto make something meaningful outof it so that it could contribute to thesociety moving into the 21st century.He stressed that combining geospa-tial technology with real time infor-mation created new systems thathelped to understand complex situa-tions, resulting in huge economicbenefits.

GLOBALISATION OF

GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY

Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairmanand Managing Director, InfotechEnterprises India, traced the global-isation of the geospatial industryover the last 20 years, providing afirst-generation entrepreneur's per-spective on how Indian GIS compa-

nies contributed to globalisation ofthe geospatial industry.

3D CADASTRE

Kees De Zeeuw, Director, KadastreInternational, The Netherlandsobserved that buildings on any givenpiece of land were not alwaysstraightforward — there could belayered buildings, complex build-ings, above buildings, and underbuildings. The answer to better reg-istration and visualisation was 3Dcadastre.

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS

Google's Chief Technology AdvocateMichael Jones highlighted theincreasing involvement of non-pro-fessional, common people in cre-ation of maps and the evolution oftechnology from being secretive towhere everyone was involved, andwhere there was flooding of infor-mation. Dr. Kumar Navulur, Direc-tor, Next Generation Products, Digi-talGlobe, USA said the industryneeded to offer better quality, higheraccuracy, complete coverage, fresh-er imagery, easier access, andshould be economical.



CONFERENCE REPORT: ASIA GEOSPATIAL FORUM

G-tech for better governance

Held for the first time in Viet-nam, the 11th Asia GeospatialForum, jointly organised by

Geospatial Media & Communicationsand the Vietnam Association of Geo-desy, Cartography and Remote Sens-ing, brought together stakeholdersfrom over 30 countries to deliberateupon the geospatial developments inthe region and exchange of knowl-edge, with the theme "Enabling Geo-Governance".

Inaugural session

Nguyen Van Duc, Vice Minister, Min-istry of Natural Resources and Envi-ronment, Vietnam said the world ingeneral and Vietnam in particular isfacing severe effects of climatechange and economic recession. Toaddress the demand from govern-ment agencies in pursuing theirnational objectives, Vietnam is active-ly working on building its own capa-bilities in space science and geospa-tial technology. Trinh Anh Co, Secre-

tary General of the Vietnam Associa-tion of Geodesy, Cartography andRemote Sensing urged the delegatesand stakeholder communities to col-laborate for a win-win situation. Inhis guest address, Prof Dang VuMinh, President, Vietnam Union ofScience and Technology Associationsinformed that the country has experi-enced rapid economic developmentin the last 20 years but there are sev-eral challenges it is still working on.

Mainstreaming geospatial

information for national

development

Tracing the evolution of SDI conceptand benefits of SDIs in enabling e-governance, Hoang Lam Son,DeputyDirector, Dept of IT, Ministry of Nat-ural Resources and Environment,said that the national coordinateshave been constructed based onnational geodetic reference system,VN-2000. According to Hoang, thefirst version of geographic data stan-

dards, cadastral data standards andland registration standards are com-pleted, approved and are already inuse. However, information servicestandards are yet to be approved.

Underscoring the significance ofgeospatial technology in nationaldevelopment, Matt Delano, BusinessArea Director, Cadastral Solutions,Trimble, said that several industrieslike energy, oil and gas, mining, tele-com, infrastructure, transportation,water, agriculture, local governmentsand business enterprises, which arekey to sustainable socio economicdevelopment, depend on geospatialinformation. Winson Wang fromIntergraph said governments areunder tremendous pressure toensure infrastructure is safe for thepublic, to increase transparency indecision making, to improve publicservices and offer services at lowercosts.

Atty Ernesto d Adobo, Undersec-retary for Staff Bureaus, Department


of Environment and NaturalResources, Philippines highlightedthe department's initiatives in landadministration. According to Ernesto,even though Philippines has a historyof using land titling system, there areseveral challenges on the ground.

Strengthening technology

capacity for geo-governance

Prof Duong Ngoc Hai, Vice President,Vietnam Academy for Science andTechnology (VAST), said that alongwith satellite launching programme,the country has also developed thenational research programme onspace science and technology. KapilChoudhery, Director, Spatial Deci-sions exhorted that geospatial indus-try should go beyond the ordinary androutine to provide solutions, drawupon multi-sectoral, multi-domainexpertise, create synergy and compe-tition so that the industry moves upthe value chain.

Discussing the rationale of devel-oping a smartphone app for moun-tain-climbing accident rescue innational parks in South Korea,Yeong-Deok of Korea National ParkService said that there had been adramatic increase in the number ofpark visitors in South Korea recently,simultaneously increasing the moun-tain-climbing accidents. The Korea

National Park Service has created ageodatabase of the trekking trials,accident-prone spots and a host ofother layers. Lim Ser Chin, RegionalSales Director, DigitalGlobe, Singa-pore, said that imagery is seen as thebasic building block for geo-gover-nance and said imagery can addressseveral geo-governance needs liketopographic mapping, elevation mod-els, land cover, cadastral/parcelmapping etc.

Exchange forums

For the first time, the Asia GeospatialForum presented exchange forumsthat aimed to provide a dialogue plat-form among stakeholders and facili-tate exchange of knowledge andexperience in the region. The full dayForum "Land Administration for Eco-nomic Development" featured twelvespeakers representing land authori-ties in Asia and the leading technolo-gy providers in cadastral solutions.The Exchange Forum "EngagingSMEs in National Development" wasconducted entirely in panel discus-sion format. The first panel, "ValueProposition of SMEs in NationalDevelopment" discussed theapproach taken by SMEs in securingnational projects, the challengesfaced, their synergy with multi-national companies that they repre-

sented and roleof government inproviding moreopportunities forSMEs' survivalon the ground.The panel on"Relevance ofSMEs in NewGeospatial Busi-ness Order"

highlighted the impact of economicrecession to SMEs and the mergersand acquisitions trend among princi-pal technology companies that affecttheir distributor/reseller network.

Seminars and special

session

Asia Geospatial Forum presentedfour seminars on the major topics ingeospatial activities in Asia Pacific -forest management, utilities andtransportation, disaster managementand public safety and a special topic of interest in Vietnam, MekongRiver - Integrated River Basin Management.

Asia Geospatial Excellence Awards

Category Winner

Disaster management Atomic Energy Council, Taiwan

Emergency services Telekom Malaysia Berhad

Archaeological application PT McElhanney, Indonesia

Surveying and mapping Survey Department, Brunei, Darussalam

Mobile-based application Korea National Park Service

Natural resource managementMalaysian Centre for Geospatial Data Infrastructure

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