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Spatial Database Infrastructures
As the importance of geographic information in addressing complex issues facing the region’s development is growing, the establishment of a common geography network to support spatial data sharing, whether nationwide or on the organizational level, has become vital.
The SDI Concept
Through the National Spatial Database Infrastructure, GIS organizations can publish their own data via map & metadata services, and search for data available at other agencies as well. The NSDI is available to private, public, and commercial users, in addition to data publishers, and service providers as well. The data services can be used over the Internet/Intranet for those agencies and organizations that require authorized access to information. Content may be provided in the form of raw data, maps, or metadata services, dealing with, for example, lifestyle mapping, population demographics, crime mapping, climate modeling, real-time weather reports, , address geocoding, network routing—the possibilities are endless.
Following ESRI SDI technology, ESRI NeA initiated successfully the implementation of National Spatial Database Infrastructures in the region. The trigger for the development of this service was the rising need for spatial data sharing among organizations, maximizing the number of GIS users locally and regionally, and expanding the scope of implementing GIS web-based applications.
The underlying concept with SDIs is to promote the vision of a framework for GIS users to openly share geographic information with one another. The SDI is designed to address the needs for users to interconnect their existing GIS nodes across the Internet/Intranet in order to share information with one another openly. Applying SDI nationwide in the Middle East is confronted with many obstacles; however ESRI NeA has achieved high experience in overcoming cultural and mental difficulties facing the national SDI implementation nationwide.
What Can Users Do with SDIs?
The SDI concept plays an important role at a number of levels in the GIS community.
Client access: Any GIS user wishing to access information and services remotely can connect to and use metadata servers and GIS portals. ESRI's client technology (desktop, web, and mobile clients.) are built to access these portals openly.
Metadata servers: With ArcGIS, users can create and update metadata. Using the Metadata Server, users can manage and serve metadata catalogs on a local network, a secure network, or the World Wide Web.
GIS data and services: GIS users can build map services using ESRI Server technology, build data and other information, and serve this openly.
The Benefits of implementing SDIs
- Unifying the central access point for GIS data and information
- Making relevant, harmonized spatial data easily available for the community (citizens, technical users, investors, decision makers…)
- High up-to-date data availability for decision makers allowing transparency, accurate planning, efficient formulation, better monitoring & evaluation.
Sample List of References
- Egyptian Geography Network- Egypt. (www.egn.gov.eg)
- Libya SDI- Libya
- Abu Dhabi SDI- UAE
- GIS for National Water Quality & Availability Monitoring (NAWQAM)-Ministry of Irrigation-Egypt
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