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EIS ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS

July 2001

GisWeb Training Project

 

By Dr Christophe Nuttall (UNITAR, Geneva, Switzerland)

Background

During the past decade, considerable effort has been invested by developing countries in the field of information technologies, and more specifically, in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This has involved institutional adaptations, the building of data collection storage and management mechanisms, the acquisition of equipment and training of personnel. Through co-operative projects, national institutions an specialized sub-regional bodies in developing regions have set up their own statistical and spatial databases, creating a valuable asset.

GIS products have proved very useful for collecting information, planning and improving decision-making processes in environmental management. However, even though there may be enough reliable information to proceed with assessments of environmental issues, countries and regions are facing real difficulties accessing and sharing their information because of a lack of access to data sources, appropriate GIS software and a high level of technical skills in the field.

Thus decision makers and managers are not in a positions to benefit fully from the efforts put into information gathering and management, in monitoring environmental trends and impacts, and to develop relevant environmental policies.

The GisWeb Concept

The GisWeb application has been designed as a tool allowing non-GIS experts to access homogenous geographic information layers and databases through the internet, which may be remotely stored.  No GIS software is needed, only a simple web browser.

Hosted on a web server, the GisWeb application offers users the possibility of displaying high quality maps, overlay several information layers (e.g. land use, administrative boundaries, rivers) and to perform queries and analysis involving logical and mathematical operators. An example can be seen at the following URL:

http://maps.grid.unep.ch/scripts/esrimap.dll?name=gisweb&cmd=map.

Objective of the training project

The aim is to strengthen the technical capacity of the national and/or regional GIS institutions in data handling, processing and management, enabling them to design and build harmonized spatial databases, and to set up their own GisWeb. This should serve to enhance the value of their information store. Further information is available from http://www.grid.unep.ch/activities/capacitybuilding/africagis/index.html.

Experience and results

OSS, UNITAR and UNEP/GRID Geneva have jointly designed and developed the GisWeb concept and the related training materials. They are providing technical assistance and capacity building for the implementation of fully operational GisWeb applications. The application may be tailored for various geographic zoes, ranging from the local level to national and sub-regional levels, as well as very specific and thematic zones such as river basins, early warning systems etc.

Implementation

Services provided by UNITAR and UNEP/GRID Geneva cover a wide range of capacity building activities and technical assistance, including the following:

ACTIVITY	OBJECTIVES
Preparation of training activities (1 month)	§         Develop and adapt training packages §         Organise traiing workshops in collaboration with local counterpart institution
1st training workshop (2 weeks) Data handling, processing and management	Through a participatory process and hands-on training: §         List and gather existing statistical and spatial databases; §         Define common data formats, standards and protocols; §         Harmonize databases according to defined standards; §         Integrate databases into the GisWeb application; §         Establish a work plan for the following two months
Distance follow up (2 months)	§         Provide a hotline for remote technical assistance
2nd training workshop (2 weeks) Communicating with the GisWeb	§         Install the GisWeb application on a local server; §         Local adaptation of the web interface; §         Creation  of the CD-ROM version
Project assessment (1 month)	§         Evaluation of training activities §         Assessment of GisWeb application

 

Cost

For the full suite of activities above, the budget ranges from US $ 50 000 (covering the time and travel costs of international expertise, the production of training materials and an administrative overhead) to US $ 75 000 (the variable remainder deriving from costs associated with the use of local expertise and facilities, as well as investment in the necessary hardware and software).

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