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GISdevelopment.net ---> Application ---> Natural Resource Management
Regional Geographic Information
Infrastructure in the Hindu Kush – Himalayan Region Peter Bitter and Basanta Shrestha peter@icimod.org.np Abstract This paper outlines the role and present activities of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in general and its Mountain Environment Information Service (MENRIS) Division in particular. It then describes the current status of geographic information usage in the Hindu Kush – Himalayan (HKH) region in the context of present political and institutional arrangements and identifies the need to create a comprehensive Regional Geographic Information Infrastructure (RGII). The framework of such an infrastructure and a number of essential components are introduced. Some pragmatic steps to implement some of these components are discussed. Emphasis is being put on metadata, standards definition and generation of regional key data sets at 1:250,000 scale. Background ICIMOD is an International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, which serves as a mountain development forum for the sustainable development of mountain areas in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan (HKH) Region. The HKH Region encompasses eight countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,China, India, Nepal, Myanamar and Pakistan) covering more than 3500-km range of high Himalayan region (see map in Appendix). Most of the area is sparsely populated and due to the very limited agricultural and industrial potentials, plagued by rampant poverty. Due to the topographic difficulties and the remoteness from bigger population centres, the infrastructure is weak as well. The role of ICIMOD One of the main functions of ICIMOD is to be a multi-disciplinary Centre for research and training on integrated mountain development based on the systematic exchange of knowledge through a organised information network. This part of Centre’s mandate is based on recognition of the increasing impoverishment of mountain communities in the HKH region and need for integrated and sustainable mountain development. ICIMOD is a facilitator of integrated/holistic approaches to mountain development and the chief commodity that the centre deals with is information. The eight countries of the region are Members of ICIMOD; they delegate representatives into the Board of Governors. Through the Board, but perhaps even more through manifold contacts with scientific institutions and individuals, the centre is firmly anchored in the region. Internally, ICIMOD is structured into three thematic divisions (Mountain Farming Systems, Mountain Natural Resources, and Mountain Enterprise and Infrastructures). The thematic divisions are supported by a Documentation, Information and Training Service, the mountain Environment Natural Resources Information Systems Division (MENRIS), and the Administrative, Financial and Logistical Service. MENRIS Evolution of MENRIS The Mountain Natural Resource Information Systems (MENRIS) division of ICIMOD has been established in 1991 with initial support from the Asian Development Bank, British Overseas Development Agency, German Technical Cooperation and UNEP-GRID. The objectives have been and continue to be to [1].
Impact of MENRIS Since its inception, MENRIS has established a strong reputation throughout the region for leadership in GIS technology and has clearly introduced a substantial number of institutions to effective use of technology [2]. Although there were some initiatives in using GIS in many of the plain areas of the ICIMOD Regional Member Countries, very few such initiative were seen in the mountain areas of the HKH Region. As such, it is extremely important to note that the initiative taken by ICIMOD as formulated in the Regional Collaborative Programme (RCP), in close collaboration with its national, regional and global partners is the first and foremost in the dissemination of GIS, Remote Sensing and Global Positioning System (GIS/RS/GPs) technologies throughout the HKH Region . In the process of promoting an integrated approach to development and environment management in mountain areas, ICIMOD through its MENRIS program has served as a resource centre for the HKH Region for the study and application of the GIS, RS and GPS technologies. Its close contacts and collaboration with application research institutions space agencies and vendors have fostered the establishment of nodal agencies in participating Regional Member Countries (RMC) as part of the GIS/RS/GPS network of RCP, MENRIS has been able to make considerable impact, some of the important ones are listed below. Awareness on the use of GIS/RS/GPS (3-5) technologies One of the most important and noticeable impacts created by MENRIS under the RCP I framework is the awareness amongst senior decision-makers, middle-level managers and analysts about the usefulness of the modern technologies for improved decision-making. This has provided an initial thrust to eliminate infrastructural and institutional constraints on the use of geo-informatics technology in the region. Bridging the data gap MENRIS has been able to compile various bio-physical and socio-economic datasets at local and, to some extent, at national levels in close collaboration with the national institutions in the region. National institutions have felt the need to standardise data and information exchange. Efforts and initiatives are being made to develop various standards at local, national, and regional levels and to advocate for an open data policy. Recognition as a Resource Centre MENRIS has been playing a catalytic role as a regional coordinator resulting in the development of a mechanism to ensure non-duplication of efforts and information exchange among the institutions through a network approach. As a resource centre. MENRIS has one of the most advanced 3-S technology establishments in the region, a strong network of like-minded institutions within the region, and a host of international key partners and vendors. Growth in user base and introduction of University level GIS courses The GIS user base has grown considerably in the HKH over the past five years through prioritised MENRIS training programmes. Universities and educational sectors are getting attracted towards developing geo-informatics as a part of their curricula which will eventually contribute to sound human resources’ development in the region on a continuous basis. Improved Institutional capacity and Network Through its programme, MENRIS has been able to build the capabilities of national institutions in utilising geo-information technologies for sustainable mountain development. The region now consists of moderate capability to utilise modern technologies. The network formed by MENRIS is serving as a mechanism to bridge the gap between users, end-users and data providers. Application of 3s-technologies in mountain-specific research and development Under the collaboration with various other institutions, MENRIS has been able to develop mountain specific 3-s technology applications, which has clearly demonstrated the usefulness of these modern technologies. The applications thus developed are being replicated in other parts of the region. Excellent linkages with global partners and vendors Over the past several years, MENRIS has built up excellent linkages with external partners engaged in the generation of environmental and natural resources data and involved in geo- informatics technology. Some of the partners are UNEP, CSSTPE, ESRI, ERDAS, SPAND, ITC, NRSA, NASDA, AIT, UNIGIS, IDRC, etc. Status of Geographic Information in the HKH region Present status Comparatively little has been achieved by MENRIS and others to date in terms of a comprehensive geographic database of the region . The many case studies were confined to particular project areas and the resulting datasets remained essentially patchwork. The few bits and pieces that actually are available are often not comparable from one country to another, or they are extracts from global datasets like the Digital Chart of the World or IGBP’s Global Land Cover [3] data. These datasets are typically of a 1:1 mio scale and have limited suitability for mountain areas with their high variability of conditions. Considering the political situation, it is not surprising that data on territory and natural resources, like mapsor hydrological records have traditionally been highly sensitive material in most of ICIMOD‘s Regional Member Countries. In some off them, large and medium scale maps are still completely off limits despite the fact that we have been down the age of reconnaissance satellite for quite some time. Further, the mountain areas are marginal border zones of the bigger countries like China, India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, and consequently enjoy a relatively low priority on the agenda of the National Mapping Agencies. But there are some rays of hope: Since Nepal has adopted an open data policy earlier, MENRIS has been able to build an extensive digital database of Nepal at 1:250,000 scale. Bangladesh and Bhutan have joined this open data policy recently and it seems that MENERIS will be able to populate the regional spatial data base with the from those countries as well. Significant are also the very encouraging news that have come from India recently: The Government has set up a national task force on information technology which recommended, inter alia, that the Survey of India makes the existing digital topographic data at 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 scales available to the public at no cost and without copyright restrictions. However, the Defence Ministry still has to overcome its reservations [4]. Standards Standards, being essentially agreements on how things should be, guarantee a certain quality to the user (or buyer) of a dataset. They thus save the user from blindly trusting what he receives or investing lots of time into cumbersome quality assessments. For standards to be effective to that point, it is essential that they are widely recognised, and that claims of compliance are checked by independent bodies. Therefore the setting of standards requires the involvement of all major stakeholders. While National Mapping Agencies, being the only stakeholders, have long used standards in conventional mapping, the mushrooming of GIS projects and the diversity of data source has so far hindered the establishment of universally recognised standards for digital geospatial data. However, it is understood that the International Standards Organisation (ISO) has appointed a technical committee (TC211) to develop those standards. Standards on geospatial data should regulate at least:
Policies Coherent policies on a number of issues are a very important component of a spatial data infrastructure. While each of these issues can be solved in a variety of different ways with their own advantages and disadvantages, the important fact for the user is that there exists a coherent policy, on which he can base his investments. Policy issues are:
What kind of usage can be made from a regional geographic information infrastructure? This question can be answered from three different perspectives: GIS, science, and general development. GIS perspective From the relatively narrow perspective of the GIS profession, it can be said that an organised geographic information infrastructure would make GIS applications much more viable than they are now. We still spend around 80% of the money and time in any typical GIS project on building the database, and very little effort can go into analysing the data and putting the finding into action. Moreover, the time required to come out with some findings is usually measured in years rather than days – much more than any policy-maker can wait. Be efficiently using existing data, we could reduce this money and time investment significantly, and thus bringing GIS from the academic into the policy and business realms. Science perspective Scientists interested in the HKH region face the problem that the region as a whole is hardly a feasible unit of analysis. Hence they turn to case studies, where detailed process research is undertaken at large scales. However, this brings about two important issues: Selection of representative areas for case studies, and generalising the findings (‘upscaling’). In both these tasks a comprehensive geospatial database of the region would be very helpful. General development and policy perspective National Government, donors, and international organisations need good data and tools to identify target areas for their development projects. Moreover, the spatial impact of programmes and policies can be estimated and evaluated. Finally, a greater abundance of spatial data on the HKH region will generally stimulate research in and thus assist development. Also, it will help to put and keep the mountain regions on the agendas of international organisations. The above usages of the GII are not limited to any particular thematic fields: (potential) applications can be found in agriculture, social science, natural resources conservation and management, infrastructure development business, to name but a few. Implementation Strategy Some of the steps that have been envisaged in MENRIS are discussed below. The primary objectives of these activities are:
The substantial capacity-building activities that have been started in the previous programme will continue under the Regional Collaborative Programme 1999-2002 (RCP-2). However, it is hoped that the already existing curricula and training materials and the increasing availability of qualified staff in the partner institutions will gradually ease ICIMOD,s burden in this regard. The increasing prevalence of standard computers in government and academic offices will also gradually reduce the demands to supply such equipment. However, demands for software and special equipment (digitizers, plotters) will remain high. Facilitation of data exchange Metadata Server A substantial amount of geographic information on the Himalayan region has been compiled by many institution, development co-operation projects, and individual researchers . To date, most of it exists in analogue form, but there is also a growing number of institutions and projects using GIS facilities to compile their own databses. The problem is that this valuable information is hardly accessible, especially after the end of the respective projects. Moreover, it can be extremely cumbersome to retrieve ancillary information; even such basic things as the projection system of a map are often unknown. To improve the access to existing and new geographic data, MENRIS tries to take a lead to provide metadata services to the user community in and outside the region. This has also been one of the recommendations of the Space Informatics Seminar 1996 [7] which was held in Kathmandu. In a first step, it is planned to document all the MENRIS data holdings. In a second phase, other existing data on the region shall be documented as well. This would not mean that ICIMOD actually holds that data, it just provides a pointer to the holding agency. It goes without saying that we are again dependent on the co-operation of our regional partner institutes and the many researchers outside the region. Finally, it is also envisaged to make this catalogue accessible through Internet. The Metadata server shall document the following types of geographic data:
However, in order to be included in the metadata server, a dataset should fulfil certain minimal conditions:
Development and promotion of standardised applications It is also planned to develop a number of standardised applications that can be adopted by institutions in the region. This would improve the comparability of geographic information being produced in the region. The focus will be on applications that produce information relating to phenomena that are a primary concern in large parts of the region:
Establishment of Data Standards With regard to the envisaged regional geographic database, standards are required to ensure the compatibility of the data which will be created by various institutions (see 6.3.2). To save time and effort and to achieve interoperability with the ‘outside world’, existing standards shall be adopted as far as possible and modified only where absolutely necessary. Standards are required primarily in three fields:
ICIMOD is also trying to compile a number of multi-purpose geospatial datasets at a scale of 1:250’000. These are datasets which play a key role in ICIMOD’s and other institution’s research on mountain development and mountain environment. Some examples are:
Conclusions and Perspectives GIS and related technologies have improved the capabilities of handling geographic information, and they have made it necessary for different stakeholders to re-examine their roles with respect to the supply and availability of such information. The demand for good, reliable and homogenous geographic data on mountain areas has been established clearly in scientific circles and international organisations. However, in the case of the Hindu Kush – Himalayan region there is at present hardly any corresponding drive from the governing political institutions. The prevailing security concerns have traditionally been inhibiting the creation of and dissemination of geographic data. As those restrictions are gradually easing, more qualified manpower becomes available, and an increasing number of local and national geographic databases are being built in the region, it is felt that the time is right to start building a regional spatial data infrastructure for the benefit of scientific and international organisations . In the absence of large budgets and grand designs, a pragmatic approach shall be taken by MENRIS/ICIMOD to integrate existing pieces and improve their accessibility. It is envisaged that MENRIS will assume a clearinghouse function for the region mainly by providing metadata services and continued networking of professionals in the region. A limited number of generic datasets shall be created mainly existing maps and from remote sensing images. References:
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