Last January 2010, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Buildings collapsed, roads heaved, and the damaged to power and communication lines virtually left the city blind. People were confused in the absence of guidance on where to go; the rescuers did not know where to begin. As the world stood still, humanitarian support poured in. In the midst of chaos, a direction was made. Roads were cleared with singular intent of providing the veins through which rescue and emergency support passed through. Unknown to many, the provision of such passable roads amidst the ruins was made through the use of Spatial Data Infrastructure.
Spatial Data Infrastructure is composed of policies, standards and procedures under which organizations and technologies interact to promote more efficient use, management and production of spatial data. SDI becomes a necessary tool for communications and for building stability in this uncertain world. But, as the SDIs continue to grow, a lot of questions, challenges and opportunities also arise to test the capabilities of this base data.
In answering the calls for help in the Haiti earthquake, various sectors and organizations created geospatial/mapping data to help the rescuers. The problem, however, was the differing interfaces and web protocols that made it difficult to bring data together and analyze them.
Some of the key challenges facing the implementation of SDI are: how to incorporate new technologies, how to deal with the differing quality of data, how to expand SDI into different fields or practices (ex. Business or environment), how to put in place the policy, financing, and governance mechanism that will promote and sustain SDIs through time.
Technology grows faster than one can imagine. Almost on a daily basis, a new technology or gadget is being introduced to us. This holds true in the use of SDI. Most SDIs have developed new functions such as mapping services and web features. Also, new tools are now available like the satellite imagery viewer, participatory mapping and mobile applications. All these make important how data can be readily available for use by the public.
The rapid access to data and information is crucial to the economic, environmental and social well-being of our global society. Geographic reference is needed in areas such as health, education, and social welfare, and in answering this challenge, there is a need to have standard protocols that will cut across uses and demands in our current situation.
An example where there is a growing requirements for spatial data infrastructure is in the area of environmental management. To achieve sustainable economic development and protection of sensitive natural resources, land managers need to have a deep understanding of the characteristics and special features of the territory they are working on. This understanding comes from developing an SDI on their own or making an inventory of what information already exists from other sources.
The US National Research Council’s Mapping Science Committee produced a report that recommends guidelines that can help SDI through its challenges and opportunities. These recommendations are as follows: (1) Effective national policies, strategies and organizational structures for integration of national spatial data collection, use, and distribution, (2) procedures should be established to foster access to information, and (3) a spatial data sharing program should be established to enrich national spatial data coverage. This defined the elements of NSDI and provided a conceptual framework for an enhanced spatial data infrastructure.
The key ingredient to a successful SDI implementation then is the cooperation and willingness to respond to society's needs. There are still hindrances, but solutions are also available. Metadata, data access mechanisms, standards for interoperability and other suggested best practices for implementing geospatial technologies are now accessible to those who are interested. The challenge is for us to open up our eyes to all the tools available in our quest for sustainable development.
Condensed from the original article by:
Other sources:
National Academy Press
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