SDI for Disaster Management to support sustainable development

SDI for Disaster Management to support sustainable development

Spatial Data Infrastructure
Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) is an initiative intended to create an environment that will enable a wide variety of users to access, retrieve and disseminate spatial data in an easy and secure way. In principle, SDIs allow the sharing of data, which is extremely useful, as it enables users to save resources, time and effort when trying to acquire new datasets by avoiding duplication of expenses associated with generation and maintenance of data and their integration with other datasets. SDI is also an integrated, multi-leveled hierarchy of interconnected SDIs based on collaboration and partnerships among different stakeholders. With this in mind, many countries are developing SDIs to better manage and utilize their spatial data assets. As a result of these activities different models have been suggested for facilitating SDI development.

Recent studies on SDI initiatives (Rajabifard and Williamson, 2003) have highlighted that development of SDIs is a matter of different challenges such as social, cultural, political and economical challenges beside technical issues.

With respect to core components, an SDI encompasses the policies, access networks and data handling facilities (based on the available technologies), standards, and human resources necessary for the effective collection, management, access, delivery and utilization of spatial data for a specific jurisdiction or community (Rajabifard et al, 2002). Based on these components, Figure 1 illustrates a basic SDI model. According to this model, appropriate accessing network, policies and standards (which are known as technological components) are required for facilitating the relation between people (data providers, value-adders and decision-makers in disaster management community) and data. By clarifying each of these core components, an SDI conceptual model can be developed which can contribute to facilitating the availability, access and usage of spatial data for disaster management and hence facilitation of disaster management.

Figure 1: SDI Components (Rajabifard et al, 2002) Considering Geographical Information System (GIS) as underpinning technology for SDI and its role in facilitating data collection and storage as well as facilitating decision-making based on spatial data processing and analysis, GIS is a good tool for improving decision-making for disaster management. In this respect, a web-based GIS can be a good tool for facilitating disaster management due to need to high interaction between decision-makers in disaster management community, particularly during disaster response.

With this in mind, a web-based GIS using SDI can facilitate disaster management by providing a better way of spatial data collection, access, management and usage.

Case Study: Developing an SDI conceptual model and a prototype web-based system
In order to demonstrate the applicability of SDI and its facilitation role in accessing to data a research project in Iran has been designed and conducted with an aim to develop a system based on SDI through which access and usage of data and consequently disaster management can be facilitated. This research has emphasized on response phase of disaster management.

Two important outputs through this research are:

an SDI conceptual model as a framework to facilitate partnership of organizations in data collection, dissemination, access and usage; and
a web-based disaster management system as a tool for data sharing, data exchange and data analysis using an SDI model.

Figure 2 illustrates the overall structure of the research. The research began with a literature review on different subjects relevant to the research such as SDI, GIS, and disaster management. At the second stage disaster management community was assessed with respect to spatial data and those technical and non-technical factors that affect development of SDI. Results of organizational assessment showed that development of SDI for disaster management in Iran is a matter of social, technical and technological, political, institutional and economical challenges.

Figure 2: The Overall Structure of Research
Based on the results of organizational assessment, a primary SDI conceptual model was developed by clarifying each of the core components of SDI (including people, standards, policies, accessing network, and data). This model is a framework that can create an appropriate environment for participation of organizations in collection, sharing and usage of spatial data for disaster management.

A prototype web-based system using GIS engine with a user-friendly interface was also developed as a tool for spatial data collection, sharing and analysis. Figure 3 shows the overall structure of this system. As Figure 3 shows the web-based system is based on five core components including user interface for clients to access and analyze data, web server and application server for getting the clients’ request and sending it to map server, map server for data analysis and query based on clients’ request, data server for retrieving data from a database and serving them to map server for analysis, and database that includes spatial data.

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