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Spatial Data Infrastructure: The Road Map for Middle East Development
El Fatih Wadidi
Senior GIS Engineer
Greater Nile Petroleum Operating
Company (GNPOC), Sudan
K. A. Abdalla
Department of Surveying Eng,
Faculty of Engineering & Arch.
University of Khartoum. Sudan
Abstract:
The information technology and geoinformation systems of today, require integration and adoption of an accurate reference systems and unification of datums and spatial data infrastructure standards and specifications for the implementation of information systems within Middle East, this will be vital for spatial data sharing, integration and mitigations. The unification of the geo-referencing systems within Middle East countries will assist in improving the organizational integration and data sharing capabilities as well as increasing the ability to link data sets based on common location data, such as local or regional tracking and monitoring applications and exchange of information.
The unification of spatial data infrastructure standards and specifications will also help in increasing the integration capabilities of databases between different countries in the continent in performing a number of operations in cost effective and manageable manner. These operations may include information analysis, map production, creation of unique opportunity for identification of common information. This trend will assist each country to expand its capability for the enhancement of data collection and management that dramatically improve the level of support for spatial data activities and providing solutions that enable the effective and efficient integration, sharing and delivery of spatial data.
The paper discussed the technical considerations urging Middle East countries to design and operate a number of interconnected systems for spatial data infrastructure and to create relations between different geospatial data sets and improving the existing systems functionalities. The paper also outlined the benefits of adopting one or geo-related geoinformation systems, emphasizing that the spatial data infrastructure is the basic central resource to be considered as the road map for development.
1. Introduction
Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is often used to define the matrix of technologies, policies and institutional arrangements that will facilitate the availability and access to spatial data for all levels of government, the private sector, and academic organizations. The importance of Spatial Data Infrastructure can be considered as crucial in the world of today, as it support all terrestrial applications, many decision making processes and management of resources in the growing national, regional and global levels. So SDI is vital for sound applications at the local level as well national and regional levels. SDI can be useful in many applications such as crime management, flood mitigation, environmental restoration, community and land use assessment and disaster recovery, these are just few areas in which Middle East countries may be benefiting from Spatial Data, and can support their information discovery, access and use of the information. As Spatial data is an expensive resource, this will increase the need for corporation between Middle East countries in the acquisition of spatial data, this will require an establishment of regional programs and projects to obtain and access the spatial data, promote its use and ensure that continuous additional investment in spatial data collection, and management of results in an ever growing, readily available and useable spatial data. The authors call for Middle East initiatives for Spatial Data Infrastructure, starting with the harmonization of standards and specifications for spatial data capture and exchange, coordination of data collection and maintenance activities, and studying the use of common data sets by Middle East countries. The initiative can also concentrate on mapping the changes in Middle East to anticipate future conditions, devise a course of action and evaluating its results, these may include the use of spatial data to:
- show where and how, local or regional changes have taken place and their behavior over a period of time, such as changes in meteorological conditions, sea rise, ground water, geological activities and recent crustal movements.
- show map changes to anticipate present and future needs, such as an increase or decrease in urbanization, farming, crime patterns from year to year.
- study conditions before and after an action or event take place and to investigate its impact, such as studying the changes of Middle East environment, natural resources through establishment of monitoring systems.
Most of the infrastructures required for Middle East development in have spatial component, thus spatial data is an important asset for decision making and exploitation of natural resources required to be handled in an integrated process, within Middle East in a multi disciplinary network. Spatial data infrastructure can be used for sustaining the development, creating impact in the necessity of having strong commitment in data sharing and integration (Muggenhuber, 2004). This will increase the demand and use of spatial data, and the benefits of the society in handling the human resources, natural resources and physical infrastructure.
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