Last modified: 2016-09-17
Abstract
Biodiversity conservation and land use planning are inherently spatial, and as increasing pressures are placed on land use, it is vital for decision-making to be well-informed and integrated. Within the environment sector open, accurate, and exchangeable spatial data can empower the organisations responsible for environmental decision-making. Critically, it can help them prevent and resolve land use conflicts by encouraging early engagement in ‘problematic’ development projects. These are all functions that a NSDI can provide if effectively mobilized within a country. This study investigated spatial transparency issues in eight WWF-UK priority countries through interviews and questionnaires sent to in-country spatial data users and experts. The research also gained an insight into awareness of NSDI, use of NSDI, and potential applications and need for improvements, with the ambition of highlighting the importance and potential of effective spatial data infrastructures for the environment sector. The conclusion drawn was that a way of assessing progress towards SDI at a national scale was greatly needed. The scoring that a comprehensive and stakeholder relevant Index to assess NSDI provides will allow investment and decision-making to be directed towards problematic areas of NSDI development, and will promote collaboration and motivation between government departments and other stakeholders to improve their spatial data quality, management and availability. This would have long-term benefits for development and environment agendas.
I would like to thank the following people for their input into the conceptual aspects of this work, and for their comment and review on the preceding work that has contributed to this paper: Paul Jepson: University of Oxford, Conservation Governance Lab and Susanne Schmitt: WWF-UK, Extractives and Infrastructure Manager.
Keywords
References
BirdLife (2016) Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, BirdLife, Available: http://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/programmes/sites-habitats-ibas, Accessed: 31/07/16.
Chandler, G. (2015) How can countries better integrate biodiversity conservation and development needs into spatial land use planning? Developing an index to benchmark the state of NSDI globally, in part fulfilment of MSc Biodiversity Conservation and Management (2015), University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment.
Chandler, G., Jepson, P., Schmitt, S. And Mulyani, M. (2016) A National Spatial Data Infrastructure Index: Justification and Design, Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, Oxford University, UK, Available: http://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/research-programmes/protected-area/Chandler-NSDI-DiscussionPaper.pdf Accessed 31/07/16.
Crompvoets, J., Rajabifard, A.,van Loenen and Delgado Fernandez, T (eds.) (2008) A Multi-view framework to assess SDIs, Space for Geo Information (RGI), Wageningen University and Centre for SDIs and Land Administration, Department of Geomatics, The University of Melbourne, Available: http://www.csdila.unimelb.edu.au/publication/books/mvfasdi/MVF_assessment_SDI.pdf, Accessed: 31/02/16.
Eken et al., (2004) Key Biodiversity Areas as Site Conservation Targets, BioScience, 54(12): 1110-1118.
Mulyani, M. (2014) Chapter 5, PhD Thesis, University of Oxford, School of Geography and the Environment, UK.
Samadhi, T. N. (2014) Indonesia ONE MAP: Forging a functioning National Geospatial Functioning National Geospatial Information Network Infrastructure, Locate14 Conference, National Convention Centre, Canberra, 8th April 2014, Available: ggim.un.org/knowledgebase/Attachment279.aspx?AttachmentType=1 Accessed: 31/07/16
Schmitt, S. And Tibaldeschi, P. (2016) WWF-SIGHT Integrating spatial data to guide land use planning, policy and investment, WWF-UK, Available: http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/2016_wwf_sight_mapping_platform_1.pdf Accessed: 31/-7/16
Shapiro, A. C., Nijsten, L., Schmitt, S. and Tibaldeschi, P. (2015) GLOBIL: WWF’s global observation and biodiversity information portal, The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XL-7/W3, 36th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, 11–15 May 2015, Berlin, Germany, Available: http://www.int-arch-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/XL-7-W3/511/2015/isprsarchives-XL-7-W3-511-2015.pdf Accessed 31/07/16.
Snell, J. and Carpenter, J. (2013) Future trends in geospatial information management: the five to ten year vision, Ordnance Survey (UK) at the request of the Secretariat for the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, Available: http://ggim.un.org/docs/Future-trends.pdf Accessed: 31/07/16.
Technische Universitat Wien (2015) European Smart Cities 4.0: Why Smart Cities?, Technische Universitat Wien, Vienna, Available: http://www.smart-cities.eu/?cid=1&ver=4, Accessed: 31/07/16.
Trainor, T. (2015) in UN News Centre (2015) UN body stresses vital role of geospatial data to achieving sustainable development goals, Available: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51608#.V53wY7grLb1 Accessed: 31/07/16.
UN-SDSN, CIESIN and Open Data Watch (2015a) Data for Development: An action plan to finance the data revolution for sustainable development, UN-SDSN, Available: http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/data-for-development-an-action-plan-to-finance-the-data-revolution-for-sustainable-development/ Accessed: 31/07/16.
UN-SDSN, Open Data Watch, CIESIN, PARIS21, SFU, UNESCO (2015b) Data for Development: A needs assessment for SDG monitoring and statistical capacity development, UN-SDSN, Available: http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Data-for-Development-Full-Report.pdf Accessed: 31/07/16.
Vandenbroucke, D., Crompvoets, J. and Jenssen, K. (2011) INSPIRE and NSDI State of Play: D1.1 - Report on the Methodology, K.U.Leuven Spatial Applications Division, Research and Development, Available: http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/reports/stateofplay2009/INSPIRENSDISoP-D.1.1-ReportonMethodology-v2.1.3.pdf Accessed: 31/07/16.
WWF-UK (2015) Safeguarding outstanding natural value: The role of institutional investors in protecting natural World Heritage sites from extractive activity, WWF-UK, Available: http://www.wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/press_centre/?unewsid=7683, Accessed: 31/07/16.