Spatial Data Infrastructures: An Initiative to Facilitate Spatial Data Sharing

The need for environmental data is continually changing. In recent years nations have made unprecedented investments in environmental information and the means to assemble, store, process, analyse, and disseminate it. The present global challenge is not only the lack of environmental data, but also the development of the infrastructures that will enable citizens, the business community and the government agencies to use, in the most efficient way, the available technologies that the information society has made available in recent years. These have not only created new needs for environmental data, but new ways of making existing data available to the user on a real time basis at the global level. Given the high costs of data collection and database creation, nations needs to develop policies that are designed to invest and allocate environmental data resources wisely to ensure the greatest possible efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in the use of information. The resources throughout the world should not be wasted on duplicated effort. By organising environmental databases at a global level, people can far better contribute to and influence the development of global rules and standards for the sharing and use of environmental data. Geographic information together with environmental data at the global level is primarily required for research and monitoring of sustainable development. Within the context of “Agenda 21” and the Kyoto Protocol, such information is essential to monitor such trends in global weather patterns, the preservation of rain forests, sustainable agriculture, radioactive contamination, etc. Spatial data infrastructures (SDI) are a promising initiative intended to create an environment in which all stakeholders (users through producers) can cooperate with each other and interact with technology, to better achieve their spatial data objectives at different political A. Rajabifard and I. P. Williamson 2 and administrative levels. They are a key component in allowing for the better utilisation of spatial data throughout the spatial data industry. 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 data sets. With this background, many countries throughout the world are developing SDIs to facilitate better management of their spatial data including environmental data by taking a perspective that starts at a local level and proceeds through state, national and regional levels to a global level. This has also resulted the development of an SDI hierarchy model in which each SDI at the local level or above is primarily formed by the integration of spatial data sets originally developed for use in corporations operating at that level and below. This chapter aims to demonstrate the value and growth of SDIs to facilitate inter and intra-jurisdiction spatial data sharing, and to fulfil their roles in collaborative spatial data management including environmental data management. The chapter begins with a brief description of the concept of an SDI and present different aspects of its nature. It then discusses the role an SDI can play in sharing spatial data. This draws on the experiences of an SDI initiative in the Asia and Pacific region as a selected case study region, but touches on initiatives in other part of the world. Finally, the chapter demonstrates the inter-relationships between human and technical aspects of such initiatives, and concludes by discussing the issues inherent in the development and implementation of an SDI.