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ting the Experiences and Lessons of GeoSUR: an Eye on Earth Activity

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Communicating the Experiences and Lessons of GeoSUR: an Eye on Earth Activity

GeoSUR

A Regional Initiative to Integrate and Disseminate Spatial Data in Latin America and the Caribbean

http://www.geosur.info

Authors: Eric van Praag, CAF Santiago Borrero, PAIGH Rubén Vargas, PAIGH/CAF consultant

ting the Experiences and Lessons of GeoSUR: an Eye on Earth Activity

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Table of contents

Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 5

About this report ........................................................................................................................... 7

Connecting the dots....................................................................................................................... 7

GeoSUR: Development process ................................................................................................... 10

GeoSUR: Building blocks .............................................................................................................. 11

GeoSUR seen through the users’ eyes ......................................................................................... 15

GeoSUR, the way forward............................................................................................................ 20

GeoSUR Program: Elements of success........................................................................................ 21

GeoSUR: Key messages, lessons learned and replicability ........................................................... 23

Annex 1: Survey report ................................................................................................................ 25

Annex 2: List of participating institutions..................................................................................... 32

© 2011 Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH)/CAF‐Development Bank of Latin America


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. . . . . .. . . List of acronyms

CAF: Latin American Development Bank

CAN: Andean Community

CARICOM: Caribbean Community and Common Market

DEM: Digital Elevation Model

EROS: Earth Resources Observation and Science Center

GBIF: Global Biodiversity Information Facility

GEOSS: Global Earth Observation System of Systems

GSDI: Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association

IABIN: Inter‐American Biodiversity Information Network

IGAC: Instituto Geografico Agustin Codazzi, Colombia

IGM: Instituto Geografico Militar

IIRSA: Initiative for Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America

ISO: International Organization for Standardization

LAC: Latin America and the Caribbean

OGC: Open Geospatial Consortium

PAIGH: Pan‐American Institute of Geography and History

PREDECAN: Disaster Preparedness in the Andean Community

TPS: Topographic Processing Service

SIAPAD: Andean Information System for Disaster Prevention and Relief

SDI: Spatial Data Infrastructure

SDI‐LAC: Spatial Data Infrastructure‐Latin America and the Caribbean

SICA: Central American Integration System

SRTM: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

WMS: Web Map Service

WFS: Web Feature Service

UNASUR: Union of South American Nations

UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme

USGS: United States Geological Survey

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Acknowledgments The authors wish to express their gratitude to the persons and institutions that made this report possible. We wish to thank the GeoSUR partner agencies that filled out the online GeoSUR questionnaire and the specialists who attended the GeoSUR review meeting in Mexico City in October of 2011. We also wish to thank Michelle Anthony, Matthew Cushing and Larry Tieszen (U.S. Geological Survey Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science), Graciela Metternicht (UNEP Office for Latin America and the Caribbean), and Mick Wilson (UNEP office in Kenya) for reviewing the manuscript and providing useful feedback; Teresa Flores for proof reading and Julieta Garcia for final edition. Financial support was provided by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, through UNEP and the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI).


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. . . . . .. . . Executive Summary

GeoSUR is a regional spatial data network established in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to support regional integration and informed decision making, providing a model for other regional data networks to be implemented in other regions of the world. This report provides key insights into the GeoSUR experience, describes the key causative factors that have contributed to GeoSUR's success in the LAC region and discusses which elements of this experience could be used as reference for the implementation of similar information networks in other parts of the world. GeoSUR was established by the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and the Pan‐American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH) in the year 2007, building on the experience of previous attempts to develop sub‐regional geo‐information networks in South America. These pioneering efforts included the Inter‐American Geospatial Data Network, the Spatial Data Infrastructure‐Latin America and the Caribbean (SDI‐LAC, led by PAIGH and GSDI), and the Andean Information System for Disaster Prevention and Relief ‐ SIAPAD (PREDECAN Project). Funding is provided by CAF, a regional information user that saw the need of facilitating access to spatial data in order to properly plan and monitor its regional project portfolio. The partnership with PAIGH has been important to ensure early buy‐in of national geographic institutes and to keep the initiative focused on serving the needs of users. The GeoSUR Program is being developed as a decentralized network of data providers responsible for generating and maintaining geographic and environmental information necessary to make strategic decisions in the region. The network brings together spatial and environmental data producers from the region, such as geographic institutes, environmental agencies, ministries of infrastructure and planning, academia, research institutions, and NGOs, among others. GeoSUR receives technical assistance from institutions with ample experience in the use and production of geographic information and geoservices, such as the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and the geographic institutes of Spain, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador. Current geographic areas covered by this Program include South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. GeoSUR’s contribution to the development of effective data dissemination mechanisms in the region is based on three premises:

• Making data/information available: building on existing initiatives and based on a collaborative effort, GeoSUR encourages institutions to develop geospatial services and emphasizes the need to reach interoperability of its various geoservices through the implementation of internationally accepted standards.

• Fostering information flow: promoting the exchange of information among individual members through the creation of tools and web services that enable the discovery and visualization of data; and, in some cases, performing of transactional operations.

• Providing substantive evidence illustrating the benefits of creating user‐centred information systems: GeoSUR plays a leading role in the development of applications showing, through concrete results, the benefits of data sharing.

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.........GeoSUR has been instrumental in developing the first geographic portal and the first regional map service in the LAC region, and in establishing what is possibly the first regional topographic processing service in the developing world. These three services provide access to regional datasets and to national data available in map services and data catalogues operated by more than 60 partner agencies. GeoSUR has been successful due to several factors including: leadership of respected institutions with a clear mandate surrounding the use and production of geographic information, technical support by international leaders in SDI, funding provided over long periods of time, an inclusive participation policy with low barriers to entry, continuous capacity building, close follow up of partner agencies´ development, data decentralization (keeping data and services close to its producers), and a penchant for developing practical applications in a project with very limited staffing. All GeoSUR services can be found at: www.geosur.info

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The GeoSUR Program About this report This report provides insight into the GeoSUR experience describing the key factors that have contributed to GeoSUR's success in the Latin American region. Additionally, it discusses which elements of this experience could be used as reference for the implementation of similar information networks in other parts of the world. The report has been prepared by CAF and PAIGH with input from leading geospatial specialists from inside and outside the LAC region. The financial support has been provided by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, through UNEP and the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI). In October 2011 GeoSUR conducted an on‐line survey to see what data users and producers thought about this initiative (see annex I), and organized a Program Evaluation Meeting in Mexico City with a selected group of GeoSUR participants to review the advances of this initiative. All this wealth of information has been analyzed, interpreted and presented in the report bearing in mind the applicability/scaling up/transferability of this experience to other regions. The report is not prescriptive and does not try to draw final conclusions from an experience that has benefited from cultural, technological, political and social factors of the Latin American and Caribbean region. However, based on the acceptance shown by users it is possible to conclude that GeoSUR offers a relevant experience that could be replicated in other areas of the world. Connecting the dots: providing access to spatial and environmental data Ready access to reliable information is key to decision‐making but it has become increasingly difficult to realize due to the ever increasing volume of information produced and the difficulty producers have in making it available in adequate platforms. Since the late 90’s there has been a growing realization in the LAC region of the need to make spatial and environmental data freely available as a regional public good. PAIGH, the Andean Community (CAN), the Central American Integration System (SICA), the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and other regional entities have strived to increase the volume of data that is accessible to the public and have developed several regional initiatives that lay the foundation for the development of a region‐wide network: the GeoSUR Spatial Information Network. The mission of the GeoSUR Program is to facilitate access to spatial data and information and to promote the development of regional datasets. GeoSUR was originally developed under the aegis of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), which promotes the development of transportation, energy and telecommunications infrastructure. Since the Program’s inception in 2007, GeoSUR has grown to serve an audience interested in using reliable information to support development related processes, both regionally and within individual countries.

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GeoSUR’s contribution to the development of effective data dissemination mechanisms is based on three premises:

• Making data/information available: building on existing initiatives and based on a collaborative effort, GeoSUR provides technical support and encourages institutions to develop geospatial services and emphasizes the need to reach interoperability of its various geoservices through the implementation of internationally accepted standards.

• Fostering information flow: promoting the exchange of information among individual members through the creation of tools and web services that enable the discovery and visualization of data; and, in some cases, performing of transactional operations.

• Providing substantive evidence illustrating the benefits of creating user‐centred information systems: GeoSUR plays a leading role in the development of applications showing, through concrete results, the benefits of data sharing

The role of GeoSUR goes beyond providing technical assistance or enabling institutions to organize data dissemination processes. GeoSUR’s main role is to drive and create a culture of innovation and collaboration surrounding the use of spatial information. There is an urgent need to convince stakeholders that data is not an “add‐on” but is instead a crucial factor to take into consideration in diverse areas such as climate change, environmental conservation, infrastructure development, energy production, and risk and disaster reduction, among others.

“Our participation in GeoSUR is based on the coincidence of needs and opportunities in the following areas: the appropriate handling and use of spatial information for problem solving; the development of collaborative regional projects to integrate spatial information; enhancement and recognition of regional geospatial information management capacities; and independent management of national information platforms” (Jonathan Ochoa, Director, Ministry of Environment, Venezuela)

The GeoSUR Program was originally conceived to answer concrete questions related to regional integration in South America. Several regional projects needed spatial information and management tools to support planning, executing and evaluating development projects. The GeoSUR program took on this challenge and started developing its first information tools and services in topics related to environmental conservation and infrastructure planning. GeoSUR is a flexible, dynamic and collaborative program. By following a “learning‐by‐doing approach” the program has been able to continuously adjust its vision, objectives, and approach


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to best cater to the diverse and evolving needs of its continuously growing community. The focus does not fall on the data itself, but rather on facilitating its discovery and promoting its use.1 In the early stages of the Program (2007‐2009) only key national data producers (geographic institutes and ministries of environment in particular) were invited to join, due to the role they play in developing base maps useful for many applications. During the first three years of the project, the institutional arrangements and the technological infrastructure to develop GeoSUR in South America were put in place. The network was conceived as a decentralized network to keep data close to its producers and to convince potentially reluctant agencies that participation did not mean parting from their data. More than 25 agencies from 11 countries became active participants in this first phase, and started linking their data and services through a Regional Portal. Figure 1: Countries participating in the GeoSUR Program (see annex 2 for a complete list of participating

institutions).

1 2006 objective: To provide decision‐makers and the public with national and regional digital maps that

facilitate the planning of physical infrastructure development and regional integration. 2009 objective: To facilitate access to spatial information useful for planning and infrastructure development

and decision‐making in Latin America.


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GeoSUR: Development process GeoSUR was created jointly by CAF and PAIGH in 2007, building on the experience of previous attempts to develop sub‐regional networks in South America. Funding has been provided by CAF, a regional user that saw the need of having data available to properly plan and monitor development projects in the LAC region. A partnership with PAIGH, a well known and respected institution with a clear mandate to promote the production, integration and dissemination of spatial data in the region, has been key to ensure early buy‐in of participating agencies and to keep the initiative focused on serving the needs of users. CAF was drawn to this initiative due to the regional roles it plays as both a development bank and an information user. CAF is comprised of eighteen countries of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe, and lends more than 12 billion USD a year to its member countries for diverse development projects, with emphasis on initiatives that achieve regional integration. Since the early 2000s CAF had been looking for ways to have access to supranational data to assess integration projects. The development of national SDIs in several countries of Latin America and the Caribbean during this period provided the impetus needed to start thinking about a regional SDI. CAF recognized early on that spatial data was a key factor to incorporate in the planning, development and assessment of its project´s portfolio. This mindset is exemplified by the development of the Condor Environmental GIS system for project impact assessment in 2002. The Condor datasets and tools were initially distributed on CDs and DVDs until the platform was migrated to a web service. Nowadays, Condor is part of the GeoSUR Regional Map Service, and its development shows some of the early thinking at CAF that lead to the launching of GeoSUR in 2007. PAIGH has been a natural partner for the development of GeoSUR. It has, for many years, been supporting member countries in the establishment of national and regional SDIs. Its members, the geographic institutes of the Americas, are the producers and/or certifiers of the spatial data developed in each LAC country. Thus, GeoSUR was first built with the support of a cradle of geographic institutes from the region. Once they accepted the methodologies and approach proposed by GeoSUR for the establishment of a regional network other agencies were invited to join the network. Institutions providing technical assistance to GeoSUR include the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and the geographic institutes of Colombia, Spain, Chile and Ecuador. More than 60 national agencies have agreed to participate in the GeoSUR Program, with more expected to join. Current geographic areas covered by GeoSUR include South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

“GeoSUR has made it possible to promote the treatment of geographic data as a common resource of mutual benefit to us all,” says Larry Tieszen, Branch Manager, EROS Center

The following elements exemplify the approach and methods used by GeoSUR to build an inclusive and decentralized regional network:


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• Support for regional integration by making data available for crossborder projects and

by creating the conditions to seamlessly integrate supra national data. Data integration allows development of different type of applications fitting into the regional integration agenda.

• The establishment of a network of early adopters to spearhead the initiative: During the first stage of the Program key national spatial data producers, among them geographic institutes, and environmental agencies, were invited to participate. In the region, these agencies are in charge of generating and safekeeping basic national spatial information (like topographic maps and maps of protected areas) as well as validating spatial information generated by other state and private institutions (e.g., the geographic institutes). These agencies hold a legal and institutional mandate to generate spatial information and were considered key partners to be included in the Program’s inception.

• A solid conceptual and technical design: Part of the first year of the Program was spent evaluating existing SDI architectures and selecting the standards and protocols to be used in GeoSUR, with support from a handful of partner agencies and guidance from the USGS/EROS. GeoSUR emphasizes the use of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and ISO standards and protocols to reach interoperability of its various geoservices. Participating agencies have the liberty of choosing the hardware and software platforms for sharing data with the Network, provided they adopt accepted standards.

• The development of concrete and useful applications – leading the way by example, with the implementation of a GeoPortal, a Regional Map Service (RMS) and a Topographic Processing Service (TPS) and with a clear understanding that technology should be viewed as a means to reach a specific goal. Therefore, a key driver for GeoSUR has been the implementation of concrete applications that address the fundamental needs of its partners and stakeholders.

GeoSUR: Building blocks It is arguable that building a network like GeoSUR is similar to building a Lego castle: build a strong base first and continue from there. The foundation was built early on by establishing partnerships with well respected institutions, by convincing key agencies to join and by developing key regional services to allow access to national data from partner agencies. GeoSUR services allow users to do three basic things: find, view and analyse data. Each function is served by a geoservice: a Regional Portal, a Regional Map Service and a Topographic Processing Service, correspondingly. The network architecture is decentralized in order to keep the data updated and close to its producers. These three pieces of the Network were developed during 2008 and 2009, using proprietary software components. Access to these services is open and free and no special software is required to use them:


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Figure 2: GeoSUR building blocks.

• Geospatial Portal of Latin America and the Caribbean: the Regional Portal provides access to the metadata holdings of all the participating agencies. Spatial data and metadata generated by participating agencies can be consulted via this web service. This service keeps an updated and central metadata database that is periodically updated by an automatic harvesting mechanism that fetches metadata from the participating agency´s catalogues. The portal also contains a map viewer that allows the user to pull, open and view layers available in partner map services. Currently there are more than 90 Web Map Services2 linked to the portal and more than 10,000 metadata records available within the portal database. This is the first portal to offer access to spatial information for all the countries of the region in one place.

2 The Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images generated by a

map server. In short, WMS is a way for a client to request map tiles from a server. The client sends a request to a map server, then the map server generates an image based on parameters passed to the server in the request and finally returns an image. Source: OpenGeo, website http://workshops.opengeo.org/geoserver‐intro/overview/wms.html


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Figure 3: GeoSUR portal.

• Regional Map Service: A great variety of regional spatial data of Latin America and the Caribbean is available through the GeoSUR Map Service, including information such as political‐administrative divisions, soils, topography, ecosystems, hydrography, biodiversity, water bodies, geology, cities and towns, elevation models, land cover, aerial photos, ecological regions, satellite imagery, and infrastructure, among others. The service has become a clearinghouse for staging regional datasets developed by regional agencies that do not have platforms to serve this type of data.

• Topographic Processing Service: GeoSUR offers a Topographic Processing Service (TPS), the first of its kind in the developing world. The TPS allows the user to produce Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derivative products for any point or region in LAC. Users can run the service models using an assorted set of DEMs at different resolutions, including 1 kilometer, 500 m., 250 m., 90 m., and 30 m. The available TPS models include elevation profile, slope classification, dynamic watershed delineation, hill shade, elevation classification, aspect, and raindrop trace.

• Geoservice Network: More than 60 agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean participate in GeoSUR by implementing map services and data catalogues. It is a decentralized network and every participating agency is responsible for the development, operation, and maintenance of its geoservices. Partners have “publisher” accounts in the GeoSUR Portal, allowing them to register their catalogues and geoservices and organize metadata harvesting.


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Figure 4: GeoSUR´s topographic processing service. GeoSUR in numbers The following table provides a birds‐eye‐view of GeoSUR with some key numbers that are easy to grasp.

Years since inception 5

Full‐time staff members 1

Part‐time staff members 5

Participating countries 23

Participating institutions 60

Virtual/classroom courses offered 19

Hours of technical assistance offered 800

Technical staff trained in 4 regional workshops 150

WMS services available in the Portal 90

Metadata catalogues available in the Portal 10

Digital maps available in the Network 2,000

Registered metadata records 11,000

Searchable metadata records 160,000

Money invested / year (USD) 300,000


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GeoSUR seen through the users’ eyes GeoSUR is a collaborative effort. After five years of working on the project, it was a time to ask our partners what they thought about the whole initiative, to judge how beneficial it was for their institutions, and to determine if decisions were taken using data available in GeoSUR. With support from UNEP and PAIGH, an online survey with more than 35 participating agencies (see annex 2 for a complete list of participating institutions) was conducted. In conjunction with this effort, a meeting was held in Mexico City in October 2011 with a selected group of representatives from partner agencies to evaluate GeoSUR´s achievements and shortcomings. Figure 5: Representatives from partner agencies that attended the Mexico City meeting. The following sections provide some excerpts from the survey findings, meeting discussions and feedback received from partners and GeoSUR´s coordinating agencies through different mechanisms (the complete survey results are included in annex 1). Hopefully this information will help evaluate how unique GeoSUR is and which components could be replicated in other areas of the world. Accordingly, below are some of the survey results concerning key components of the Program and the motivation of the partners to join:

Motivation to join General finding: Institutions are eager to participate and contribute to the development of the network due to GeoSUR´s commitment to supporting institutional processes that underpin data and information management projects to build National Spatial Data Infrastructures.

User comment:

“Our decision to join GeoSUR has not been made lightly; on the contrary, we have seen it as an opportunity to support the implementation of plans concerning the development of projects such as the institutional portal, metadata catalogues and our Spatial Data Infrastructure. GeoSUR provides an opportunity to enhance and strengthen our mapping agency’s data management and dissemination capacity” (Isis Tejada, National Geographic Institute, Panama)


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Figure 6: Isis Tejada, National Geographic Institute of Panama, participating in one of the GeoSUR meetings. General finding: Participation in a regional network is another reason motivating partners to join GeoSUR. Geoservices linked in the regional network provide additional visibility to members, promotes horizontal cooperation among national and regional members, encourages healthy competition among implementing institutions, and creates expectations regarding the possibilities opened by the integration of spatial data at the regional level.

User comments:

“One of the strengths of the Program is the promotion and facilitation of interagency cooperation both within and among participating countries” (Hermann Manriquez, Chief International Relations Office, National Geographic Institute, Chile)

Figure 7: National and regional partners exchanging ideas about GeoSUR´s future developments.


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“GeoSUR is a successful program that has managed to integrate spatial information from different countries, something not easy when you consider how hard this is to achieve, even within the same country”(Marta E. Aguilar, National Geographic Institute, Costa Rica)

General finding: Users find effective and cost‐benefit use of information to support planning and decision making as a key reason to join GeoSUR.

User comments:

“The GeoSUR Program is a very important tool to support the implementation of drinking water and sanitation policies surrounding planning, dissemination and government issues” (Atilio J. Zaldivar, Assistant Public Works Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Public Works and Communication, Paraguay)

Figure 8: Gloria Muñoz and Hermann Manriquez from Chile participating in one of the GeoSUR meetings.

“The potential applications of GeoSUR are the design, implementation and monitoring of infrastructure projects such as those projected by IIRSA” (Gloria Muñoz, Director GIS and Cartography, Roads and Highways Department, Ministry of Public Works, Chile)

Perceived benefits General finding: GeoSUR provides training and technical assistance to all partner agencies as they develop the map services and metadata catalogues to be linked to the GeoSUR Geoportal. GeoSUR specialists are on‐call to offer technical assistance that agencies may need, both remotely and on‐site. GeoSUR also sponsors peer‐to‐peer communications among participating specialists and periodically conducts web seminars on GeoSUR‐related topics.


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User comments:

“Participation in the program allows for the transfer of technology needed to enhance mapping agencies capacities and better cater to the needs of national development” (Commander Javier Salinas, Military Geographic Institute, Bolivia)

Figure 9: User’s perception about the benefits of joining GeoSUR. Challenges to join GeoSUR General finding: Lack of trained staff and lack of financial resources are cited as the main obstacles to fully participate and take advantage of GeoSUR.

Figure 10: User’s perceptions regarding the challenges to join GeoSUR.

Benefits of joining GeoSUR

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Access totechnicaltraining

Disseminationof information

Institutionaladvertising

Organizeproduction

process

Informationexchange

Instittutionaldata inventory

andorganization

Informationmarketing

Access toinformation

User’s perceptions regarding the challenges to join GeoSUR

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Lack of trainedstaff

Lack of f inancialresources

Lack of technicalresources

Restrictinginstitutional data

policies

RestrictedInternet access

Not clear aboutthe benefits ofjoining GeoSUR


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GeoSUR services General finding: Institutions mainly use GeoSUR services to search for and access data. Figure 11: Use given by users to services provided through the GeoSUR portal. Some examples of specific applications of the data and tools provided through the GeoSUR services The GeoSUR services are open to the public; there are no tools to keep track of the applications given by the users to the GeoSUR geoservices, except when feedback is received directly from the users by different mechanisms. Some examples of the real uses of the system are provided below:

• Search for data and information to support: the assessment of protected areas (Ministry of Environment, Venezuela); mapping and locating mining areas (CAF consultants); locating suitable areas to build shelters in Haiti after the 2010 Earthquake; assessment of potential threats to bird conservation areas in the Amazon related to the development of IIRSA projects.

• Visualization of Peru‐Bolivia border maps to evaluate the feasibility of undertaking several crossborder projects.

• Use of the topographic processing service and SRTM derivative products to support a large variety of projects such as: mapping and assessment of hydropower potential (Sao Paulo State, Brazil); assessment of the impact of infrastructure projects on protected areas and indigenous communities in Colombia; updating drainage network maps (Guayacan project, Ecuador), development of flood and landslide hazard and susceptibility maps in Venezuela; development of a regional catchment management plan (Bolivia); modelling of eolic and hydraulic potential (Patagonia, Argentina); modelling the optimum routes for new roads (Tarija province, Bolivia); development of natural hazards early warning systems (25 municipalities, Brazil).

Use g ive n b y ins titutio ns to se rv ice s p ro v id e d thro ug h the Ge o SUR Po rta l

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Data Search Supportgovernmentinstitutions

decision makingprocess

Avoidunnecesary data

duplication

Download dataand information

SupportInstitutional


Data processingand analysis

Marketing ofself-produced

informationproducts


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GeoSUR, the way forward GeoSUR is in the process of becoming the main spatial and environmental data network for Latin America and the Caribbean. This process poses interesting challenges to its developers and stakeholders:

• How to consolidate the GeoSUR platform? • How to increase the number of participants without decreasing the quality of the

technical assistance? • How to better serve the needs of the user community?

In the coming years, GeoSUR will be concentrated on incorporating new agencies into the Network, in particular from sectors that are currently underrepresented in GeoSUR: health, agriculture, planning, infrastructure, and so on. To consolidate the network continuously it will stage some partner services in the Cloud,3 improving the performance and functionality of existing data services, incorporating social networks into the platform, and expanding technical assistance programs ‐ with emphasis on providing on‐line capacity‐building and remote technical assistance, using Webinar and similar on‐line tools to be in permanent contact with an ever expanding group of partner agencies. One special area of research that should greatly benefit our partners has to do with the establishment of geoservices in the Cloud. Cloud computing represents an interesting solution for data producers in the developing world that lack the ICT infrastructure needed to stage data on the web in reliable services. LAC countries hold a vast amount of spatial and environmental data that is not available to decision‐makers due to simple technological infrastructure limitations (e.g., hard drive breakdowns that take a long time to be fixed, slow servers, poor Internet connectivity). These problems could be overcome by having partners who lack adequate ICT infrastructure host their data and services on the Cloud.

Figure 12: User’s perception about GeoSUR future development.

3 Cloud computing in simple terms can be described as virtual servers and services over the Internet.

Imp ro ve me nts tha t Ge o SUR sho uld und e rta ke in o rd e r to ma ke it mo re e ffe c tive

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Improve technical capacity building programs Enable online options to integrate data into local GIS

Extend data sources Provide options to download data

Provide wider variety of information processing tools Provide data at higher spatial resolutions

Provide options to download data Extend thematic areas

Improve data search capabilities


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Another important line of work is the development of new initiatives that build on the geoservices and data sets made available by GeoSUR. This shows real and practical applications and builds support to continue the development of GeoSUR for the longer term. One example of this approach is the use of high resolution DEMs available in GeoSUR to conduct spatial analysis. Having access to a digital elevation model of LAC (the SRTM 30‐meter restricted distribution dataset) has allowed CAF to undertake assessments of hydropower potential in several areas of LAC. The first project started as a partnership with the Sao Paulo Energy Secretariat in Brazil and was concluded in June 2011. The data generated by the project, more than 10,000 points along the river network with individual readings of their generating potential, will be made available through a web service in GeoSUR. Having the SRTM dataset available for analysis for the LAC region will allow us to replicate this approach elsewhere. It could also be replicated in other areas of the world thanks to the global coverage (except high latitudes) of the SRTM data. Other new and promising areas for GeoSUR involve the estimation of forest carbon stocks and the construction of early warning systems. CAF is initiating a project to estimate the carbon stocks of forests in the Andean region to support future carbon trade in REDD+ credits. Endeavours such as this require supranational datasets on forest conditions to be maintained in transparent geoservices on the Web available to the user community. In Brazil CAF has initiated a project to develop an early warning system for floods and landslides, in cooperation with the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology and the Planetary Skin Institute. The system will be using the GeoSUR geoservices to stage new datasets and to run some of the prediction models. The SRTM‐30 meter dataset and local data will feed some of these models. These and other lines of work clearly show the potential of the GeoSUR network to become a useful tool for decision makers. GeoSUR Program: Elements of success GeoSUR has certainly achieved the objectives set at the start of the Program. Why has GeoSUR worked so well thus far? This section provides some insight on the success of the Program and is helpful to analyse if a similar undertaking could be replicated in other regions of the world. The analysis is informed by the survey results and consultation process described in the previous sections. These are some of the key elements underpinning GeoSUR’s development strategy that has contributed to its consolidation in the region:

• A clear sustainability strategy: From the moment of inception it was clear that implementing GeoSUR would require a long term and continuous commitment from its founders, therefore CAF and PAIGH agreed to secure funds and resources to support the first five years of the project. Subsequent phases were to be undertaken pending a review of the first project phase.


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• Transferability of process: Partners are able to assume leading roles in their specific

area of expertise, thus avoiding dependence on regional agencies. This is reflected, for instance, in the implementation of “train the trainers” workshops and in the fact that partners operate their geoservices under their own policy rules.

• Ease of joining the network: Participating institutions are asked to formalize their participation in a hassle‐free way: 76% of institutions participating in GeoSUR have formalized their membership either through a letter of intent (38%) or through a letter of intent and a work plan (38%). Moreover, about 97% of the institutions that have not signed a letter of intent have expressed their interest to do so. Subscribing the letter of intent and a work plan creates a sense of ownership and at the same time reinforces the commitment at the institutional level.

• An inclusivity policy: Any data producer can participate in GeoSUR regardless of its technological platform or choice of software, as long as it implements accepted protocols and standards to make its systems interoperable in the Network. GeoSUR welcomes data producers from fields as diverse as mining, agriculture, health services, indigenous rights, environmental protection and many others.

• Continuous capacity building: GeoSUR caters to user’s diverse technical needs. Hands‐on workshops are designed to identify and help remove barriers to develop interoperable geoservices. These are complemented with periodic Webinars to follow‐up the advances made by trainees and to teach topics of interest or reinforce formal training.

• Decentralization: GeoSUR promotes a decentralized approach following key Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) principles, in particular those which indicate that: a) data should be collected once and maintained at the level where this can be done most effectively; and b) spatial data should be collected at one level of government and shared between all levels. In this regard, GeoSUR encourages horizontal cooperation between national and regional organizations aimed at the development of projects involving exchange of knowledge, capacity, data and information.

• Promote/encourage development of information services: Users know what they want, which requires providers to permanently search for innovative approaches to meet the needs of all users and society in general. GeoSUR, leading by example, encourages data providers to explore possibilities offered by available data and technology; again in agreement with key SDI principles, in particular those stating that a) It should be easy to discover what spatial data is available, to evaluate its approriateness and to know which conditions apply for its use and b) it should be possible to seamlessly combine spatial data from different sources and share it between many users and applications.4

• Early launch of services: SDI initiatives can take a long time to be developed, so GeoSUR decided to launch some key and simple geoservices early, such as the Regional Portal and the Regional Map Service, to start with a firm footing and show some concrete successes early on. The first geoservices do not need to be complex or provide access to a great wealth of data, but they should show the way forward and offer a test bed to build upon.

4 European Commission, Inspire website: http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.cfm/pageid/48 Inspire principles.


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• Trustworthy partners: GeoSUR owes part of its success to the leading roles played by agencies such as CAF and PAIGH in its development and the technical support of the USGS‐EROS to help insure adequate training, application of best practices and international standards. This has been especially important to get the Program off the ground, as early adopters need to place trust in the institutions leading such an innovative effort in order to stimulate their participation and tilt the balance towards commitment of resources to join a regional initiative.

GeoSUR: Key messages, lessons learned and replicability

Key messages

• Be inclusive from the start, let potential participants know that they have to meet only a minimum set of conditions to join.

• Ensure capacity building and training on an on‐going basis. • Early establishment of simple and useful web services that help provide momentum for

the initiative and that have practical and real uses for decision makers. • Work with data users to ensure the network does not become self‐serving and that you

develop useful tools. • Define a clear long ‐ term funding strategy (covering at least 3‐5 years as a starting

point). Key to the success of GeoSUR has been the possibility to commit resources on a long term basis.

• Streamline the process to join the initiative and encourage commitment by asking new participants to subscribe a letter of intent (required) and an institution‐specific work plan (optional). This helps create a sense of ownership and commitment for participants and simplifies the paperwork required to join on both sides. Institutionalization also facilitates the allocation of resources required to implement the institutional work plan.

• Design and implement a permanent capacity building program, make use of Webinars and other online collaborative tools to keep partners up‐to‐date with technological advances, provide remote technical assistance whenever possible to keep costs down.

• Promote horizontal cooperation: create a work environment that encourages innovation and collaboration; promote horizontal cooperation; identify technical institutional strengths and ask key partners to assume leading roles in their specific area of expertise.

Lessons learned

• Engage the senior executives of participating institutions to keep them well informed of progress made.

• Define a clear communication strategy targeting all the different stakeholders. • Make participants understand that they join under their own terms; don’t place

restrictions on how or when they join, be flexible. • Define a clear strategy to deal with legal and organizational issues at both the regional

and national level. • Establish clear and simple coordination mechanisms with related regional and national

initiatives. • Establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism; follow up of commitments made by

partners and other institutions. • Define and publish clear technical guidelines for the creation and publication of geo

services. Define mechanisms to periodically evaluate and update quality of services.


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Replicability Replicability of an experience is dependent on the extent to which the technical, financial and institutional measures adopted are appropriate and sustainable in a context different from the original one. Replicability depends on political commitment as well as on the institutional capacity to assign resources, design and carry on with the project activities. Is there potential for the GeoSUR Program to be replicated in other contexts, or by other organisations? Some of the elements that a similar project must account for to stand a chance of succeeding have been reviewed in the previous sections and provide general guidelines and best practices that could be applied elsewhere. Given the advances provided by several international efforts, in particular by the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association (GSDI), Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and recent advances in computing and information technology, it can be ascertained that most countries of the world now have at their disposal —or could have in the short term— the basic resources needed to establish SDI components and networks that can be integrated at the regional level. This fact is of particular importance for developing countries, given the prominent role they can play in following a sustainable path in infrastructure development and for safeguarding the integrity of key biodiversity hotspots across the world. Data producers in the developing world understand the importance of staging data in open platforms, but they require outside support to establish geoservices and environmental services to open this data to the public. Regional platforms, such as GeoSUR in the LAC region, show the potential of this approach and the possibility of the establishment of regional networks in relatively short periods of time (3 to 5 years). Experience shows that national agencies are willing to be part of regional initiatives when their outcomes are clear, the role of participants are well defined and, most importantly, the decentralized nature of these information platforms guarantees that the control of the national data and services staged remains with the participants. The mandate and/or umbrella cooperation agreements needed to establish these regional information mechanisms can be provided by regional institutions in different parts of the world. In Latin America, for example, the mandate is provided by the likes of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Andean Community (CAN), the Central America Integration System (SICA) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). All these institutions have in place environmental and data agreements that, although not binding, can provide the framework needed to nurture and sustain regional networks. In summary, this report demonstrates the key role regional information networks can play worldwide to inform decision making and to safeguard the environment. Building and strengthening the GeoSUR Network in the LAC region will continue over the coming years, and it is hoped to be of assistance in the development of like‐minded initiatives in other areas of the world.


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Annex 1: Survey report Background The survey was prepared jointly by the Latin American Development Bank CAF (Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina CAF), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Pan‐American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH), in order to get users impressions about the services currently provided by the GeoSUR Program and ideas about its potential development. The survey results will serve primarily as input to prepare the GeoSUR plan of action for the upcoming years. Additionally, the outputs will be used to prepare a publication to be presented during the Eye on Earth Summit, which will take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from December 12th to14th, 2011. Methodology

• Surveys were sent by e‐mail and followed up through direct phone calls. Results were complemented with a face‐to‐face consultation meeting held on October 13‐14 in Mexico City.

• Target audience: GeoSUR users and producers of geo‐information services. The survey was conducted among 35 national institutions and 8 regional organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean (include list).

• There were open and multiple choice questions. • The survey was conducted during a 3 week period.

Basic data about the survey

• Number of institutions invited to participate in the survey: 34 • Number of national institutions that answered the survey: 32 (i.e., 95%) • Number of regional institutions that answered the survey: 3 (only 30%)

Answers by type of institution

• National mapping agencies: 61% (19 out of 31) • National environmental agencies: 29% (9 out of 31) • National public works/road and infrastructure agencies: 6% (2 out of 31) • Others: 1% (1 Electoral Office of Jamaica)


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Detailed survey results Figure 13: GeoSUR membership. Figure 14: Degree of membership formalization.

T ime s ince jo ining the Ge o SUR Pro g ra m

45%

24%

21%

10%

More than 3 years

1 to 2 years

Less than 1 year

Not yet GeoSURmember

De g re e o f me mb e rship fo rma liza tio n

38%

38%

24% Through a letter ofintent

Has not yetformalized itsparticipation in theGeoSUR Program

Through a letter ofintent and a work plan


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Figure 15: Intent to formalize GeoSUR membership.

Figure 16: Benefits of joining GeoSUR.

Benefits of joining GeoSUR

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Access totechnicaltraining

Disseminationof information

Institutionaladvertising

Organizeproduction

process

Informationexchange

Institutionaldata inventory

andorganization

Informationmarketing

Access toinformation

Inte nt to fo rma lize Ge o SUR me mb e rship

97%

3%

Yes No


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Figure 17: User’s perception regarding the Challenges to join GeoSUR. Figure 18: How to deal with identified challenges.

Ho w to d e a l with id e ntifie d cha lle ng e s

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Strengthen capacitydevelopment

Strengtheninstitutional data

managementpolicies

Improving technicalfacilities

Improving Internetcapacity and speed

User’s perceptions regarding the challenges to join GeoSUR

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

Lack of trainedstaff

Lack of f inancialresources

Lack of technicalresources

Restrictinginstitutional data

policies

RestrictedInternet access

Not clear aboutthe benefits ofjoining GeoSUR


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Figure 19: Institutions use GeoSUR to. Figure 20: Use institutions give to services provided through the GeoSUR portal.

In g e ne ra l te rms, ins titutio ns use Ge o SUR to :

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

Obtain technicalassistance toimprove web

services

Obtain technicalassistance todevelop web

services

Providingaccess toinformation

generated atyour facility

Accessinformation

generated byother institutions

Integration ofnational data

into the regionallevel

Use g ive n b y ins titutio ns to se rv ice s p ro v id e d thro ug h the Ge o SUR Po rta l

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

Data Search Supportgovernmentinstitutions


Avoidunnecesary data

duplication

Download dataand information

SupportInstitutional


Data processingand analysis

Marketing ofself-produced

informationproducts


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Figure 21: Geoservices availability. Figure 22: Available geoservices and demand level.

Ge o se rv ice s d e ve lo p e d thro ug h Ge o SUR te chnica l a ss is ta nce a nd whe the r tho se se rv ice s ha ve b e e n ma d e p ub lic ly a va ila b le

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

WMS Services Map viewer Metadatacatalogues

WFS services

Registered and made public Created

Geoservices type and users demand

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

Regional geoservicenetwork (map viewerand WMS services)

Terrain modelingservice

Geoportal for LatinAmerica and the

Caribbean

Regional map service


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Figure 23: Conditions and terms to access and use available information.

Co nd itio ns to a cce ss a nd use a va ila b le info rma tio n

88%

12%0%

Free access and use

Access and use subject tospecific terms and conditions

Access and use subject topayment of specific fees


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Annex 2: List of participating institutions Country Institution name

Argentina Instituto Geográfico Nacional Belize Land Information Centre

Instituto Geográfico Militar Bolivia Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estadística (IBGE) Ministerio del Medio Ambiente

Brazil

Instituto Socio Ambiental Instituto Geográfico Militar Ministerio del Medio Ambiente Ministerio de Obras Públicas

Chile

Centro de Información de Recursos Naturales (CIREN) Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi (IGAC) Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM)

Colombia

Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) Instituto Geográfico Nacional Ministerio del Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones (MINAET) Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos

Costa Rica

Programa de Regularización de Catastro Instituto Geográfico Militar Dominican Republic Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales Instituto Geográfico Militar Centro de Levantamientos Integrados de Recursos Naturales por Sensores Remotos (CLIRSEN)

Ecuador

Ministerio del Ambiente Instituto Geográfico Nacional El Salvador Ministerio de Desarrollo Urbano Instituto Geográfico Nacional Ministerio del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

Guatemala

Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia (SEGEPLAN) Jamaica Land Information Council Mexico Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía

Instituto Geográfico Tommy Guardia Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM)

Panama

Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas Instituto Geográfico Militar Secretaría del Ambiente

Paraguay

Ministerio de Obras Públicas Instituto Geográfico Nacional Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (MINAM)

Peru

Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico (INGEMMET) Surinam Land Management Institute Trinidad & Tobago Surveys and Mapping Division

Instituto Geográfico Militar Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente

Uruguay

Intendencia de Montevideo Instituto Geográfico de Venezuela Simón Bolívar Venezuela Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC) The Nature Conservancy University of West Indies Inter‐American Biodiversity Information Network (IABIN)

Regional institutions

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