Realizing benefits of Spatial Data Infrastructure A user s perspective from Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi Anil Kumar Director, Environment Information Management 26 April 2012 Geospatial World Forum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Agenda Where is Abu Dhabi? Introduction to Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) What does EAD do? Geospatial initiatives a quick glimpse Evolution of AD SDI AD SDI Benefits/Advantages What Should SDI do? Conclusion PAGE 2
Introduction Governmental agency Established in 1996 (Law No. 4) as ERWDA Designated Competent Authority in 2000 Charged with implementing Environmental laws Overall function of Protection, Conservation & Management Promote sustainable development Assist the AD Govt in implementing environmental laws, policies and regulations PAGE 4
What do we do? Our key roles: Preserve our Natural Heritage Protect our future Educate & raise awareness Our priorities: To develop and implement an effective environmental regulatory & policy framework for Abu Dhabi To conserve groundwater through integrated water resources management To conserve and protect biodiversity To ensure our air is clean and minimize climate change & its impacts To promote sustainable communities and engaged stakeholders To continually improve the way we work Preserve our Natural Heritage Protecting our future Educate and raise awareness PAGE 5
Geospatial Initiatives Protected Area Delineation Groundwater Studies Soils Survey Coastal Sensitivity & Vulnerability Wildlife Conservation PAGE 6
Geospatial Initiatives Air Quality Monitoring Climate Change Studies Geospatial Analysis Environmental Baseline Database Mobile Solutions Imagery Database PAGE 7
EAD Geospatial Portal PAGE 8
Need for Information Rapid growth and development Socio economic changes Increase in awareness of local & global environmental issues National, Regional, International obligations Environment 2030, State of Environment reporting, EPI, Ecological Footprint, etc Information requests from leadership, stakeholders, etc. requires comprehensive, accurate, timely and relevant data & information. PAGE 9
AD-SDI Evolution EAD assigned Competent Authority Status in 2000 Comprehensive review of data & information requirements Major data elements held by other organizations Conceived Abu Dhabi Environmental Database (AD EDB) AD EDB leading towards SDI ADSIC launched AD SDI together with EAD & seven other entities in 2007 PAGE 10
AD-SDI Evolution Before 2007 Current Status GIS GIS Spatial Data + Spatial Data Base Map + Base Map Application Database Application Database GIS Spatial Data + Base Map Application GIS GIS Spatial Data + Spatial Base Map Data + Base Map Database Application Database Application Database GIS Spati GIS al Data Spati GIS al Data Spati GIS al Data Application Database Application Database Application Database Application Database Spatial Data Internet Private Sector General Public Academia GeoPortal Metadata Catalog SD Thematic Layers + Data Common Base Map Application Databases Entity s Geospatial Data & Applications Geospatial Data & Applications AD-SDI Central Node Utilities Utilities Municipal Urban Planning Municipal Urban Planning Natural Resources Others Natural Resources SDC Others Infrastructure Infrastructure Economy Safety & Security Economy Safety & Security PAGE 11
AD-SDI program supports inter-government and multistakeholder collaboration for better planning, analysis and decision making Information Sources Planning & Analysis Decision Support Inter-Government Collaboration Operations Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration PAGE 12
Decision Making Executive Council Advisory Social Economic Environment & Infrastructure Whole Government Analysis Strategy and Policy Unit Interdisciplinary Technical Analysis, Planning, Coordination and Performance Management Operations KPI s KPI s KPI s KPI s KPI s KPI s KPI s Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Interdepartmental analysis and coordination Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Entity 1 Entity 2 Entity 3 Entity 4 Entity 5 Entity 6 Entity 7 Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions Enterprise Info Solutions PAGE 13
An inventory of fundamental geographic data sets, being developed continuously, acts as a main source of geospatial information feeding multiple sectors AD-SDI Clearinghouse Community Facilities Environment Planning Infrastructure & Utilities Municipal Transportation FGDS Data Input A repository and archive of current and historic data A source for mapping services to support decision making A platform for spatially enabled e-government services Geospatial Application Community Facilities Municipal التطبيقات الجيومكانية Planning Utilities Transportation PAGE 14
AD-SDI Geospatial Portal PAGE 15
Evolution of the AD-SDI Community 36 governmental and semi-governmental Entities, with a limited number of academic and private Entities 51 Governmental & semigovernmental Entities, with increased participation of academic and private sectors, as well as partnerships with international organizations 2009 2010 2011 8 Entities 2008 2007 100 Layers 250 Layers 400 Layers PAGE 16
Instigate Geospatial thinking among the leadership Facilitates geospatial data sharing Acts as a data broker License Agreements AD-SDI Benefits Fundamental Geospatial Data Sets (FGDS) SDI Standards Technology, Data & Services Software licensing policy (Abu Dhabi) Spatially enabling eservices Unified spatial reference system Provision of geospatial data services Enabling entities to create portals PAGE 17
AD-SDI Benefits GeoMaturity Assessment Create a geomature society Assists agencies (in need) with GIS implementation Data acquisition and project/program alignment Communications Coordinators Regular meetings (Stakeholders) Technical Committee, Working Groups, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Focus on community GIS User Conference/GIS Day Publication (newsletter Coordinates ) PAGE 18
What should SDI do? Focus on Solutions Primarily SDI is all about making data or services accessible and available Contribution to decision making is rarely assessed Generic data quality one size fits all? True value realized only when solutions found for global & local challenges Global environmental challenges such as Climate Change, Water scarcity, land degradation, biodiversity loss, etc. Local challenges manifestations of Global Challenges Need to come up with solutions in a proactive manner leverage the power of our collective intelligence Empowering a billion+ geospatially PAGE 19
What should SDI do? Real Time Data We need real time understanding to make better informed decisions Real time data transformed into information and knowledge leading to understanding Rear view mirror driving or Bowling in the dark Take real time data and feed it back with minimal turn around time. GEO/GEOSS, UNEP Live, Eye on Earth Network, etc. Prerequisites Ability to collect, manage and process real time data Have the right capacity good % of decision makers are still not aware that the Geospatial community exist Most leading GIS software have limited capability to process large real time datasets & make sense out of it PAGE 20
Conclusion SDIs have played a major role in making data available Many interesting initiatives already in place NSDIs, UN SDI, GSDI, etc. Build on the solid foundation created Focus needs to shift to utilization for making informed decisions creating a better world Real time monitoring and ability to quickly turnaround the findings in making decisions Public Private partnership is essential for addressing the global challenges. Government needs to provide authoritative data Let us leverage our collective intelligence and empower a billion+ spatially PAGE 21
Thank you all for listening!!! Our site links : www.ead.ae www.geoportal.ae sdi.abudhabi.ae geoportal.abudhabi.ae