Transcript The Status of CODI and Implications for SDI Developments

By Dozie Ezigbalike
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
• Pretoria Initiative of 1999
• UNECA and the Committee
on Development Information
• CODI-2 SDI
Recommendations
• ECA’s SDI activities
• Other relevant initiatives
• Conclusion
• Conference of ‘Earth Data Information
Systems’ (EDIS) in Pretoria in July 1999
• Workshop to consider a spatial data
infrastructure for Africa
• Organised by NSIF and World Bank
Programme on Environmental
Information Systems for SSA (now EISAfrica)
• Four Areas:
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Networking
Incentives and Obstacles
Technology
Framework for African SDI
• To share, assist, participate, learn
and link-up with other initiatives
worldwide (GSDI)
• Identified Initiatives:
– The Program on Environment
Information Systems in Sub-Saharan
Africa (EIS)
– The Food Security Programme/
Regional Remote Sensing Unit of the
Southern African Development
Community (SADC)
– The South African National Spatial
Information Framework (NSIF)
Directorate – as host of the Network
• Money saving
• Transfer of tools and knowledge
among countries
• Trans-boundary decisions
• Disaster mitigation and prevention
• Multi-disciplinary approach
• Alignment of regional projects
• Lack of awareness
• Perceived control of SDI by
national mapping agencies
• Political systems and legacies
• Initiatives driven by donors with
different agendas
• Financial constraints
– Coordination of the initiative
– Travel for meetings and conferences
• Leadership and trust
• Need to use standards and
technology endorsed by GSDI
• Internet and network connectivity
across Africa
• Need for a test project involving
traditional and non-traditional
mapping agencies
• Short term: Metadata and
clearinghouse, with virtual nodes
• Long term: Education, software
access, metadata and permanent
clearinghouse nodes
• Role of CODI-Geo recognised
– Request a standing committee on
African SDI
• Request NSIF to provide tools and
initial coordination
• Interim task team until GSDI-4 in
Cape Town
• Bottom-up approach using existing
initiatives
• Identified individual ‘champions’
did not necessary commit their
organisations
• No resources–human and
financial–to run the initiative
• Not enough time for activities
planned before Cape Town 2000
• Outside CODI meeting cycle
– No CODI meeting by time of Cape
Town 2000 for report
• Committee On Development
Information
• Established in 1997 by the Conference
of African Ministers responsible for
Planning & Development
• Therefore it is one of the parliamentary
organs of ECA
– Makes recommendations to the Conference
of ministers for implementation
• Provides policy and technical guidance
for the implementation of the program
on “harnessing information for
development”
– Resolutions influence design of ECA/DISD
work programmes
• Brings together practitioners in
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Statistics
Geoinformation
Libraries and documentation
Information and communications technology
• Official delegates are government
officials in these fields
• Observers from academia, private
practice, non-governmental
organisations, community-based
organisations, etc
• Before CODI, different United Nations
Regional Conferences
– E.g., UN Cartographic Conference
• CODI meetings have two
functions
• Parliamentary:
– Make resolutions and
recommendations for
governments and ECA to
implement
• Educational:
– Intellectual think-thank and
exposure to new concepts and
technology
• Divided into discipline-based
subcommittee
– CODI-Geo
– CODI-Stats
– CODI-ICT (incorporating librarians)
• Targeted workgroups in subcommittee
• Report back in plenary for interfaces and
synergies
• CODI-Geo assumes functions of
UNRCCA
– With information society focus on the issues
• Current emphasis on SDI developments
• Priority should be given to
establishment of NSDI
• Also establish RSDI, with an African
Geographic Database
• ‘Permanent Committee’ on SDI in Africa
• Participate in international
developments and efforts
• National GI policies should be integral
part of national information and
communications policy
• Appropriate legal, institutional and
technical framework for integrated SDI
• Adapt ECA model policy guidelines
• Pre-CODI II, prepared position paper on
“Future orientation of GI activities …”
– Adopted by CODI II
• Participation in workshops and
seminars to raise awareness
– FIG, AfricaGIS, UNEP meetings, GISD,
US/NRC, OOSA’s disaster management and
GNSS workshops, etc
• Study on use of GIS in statistical offices
• Study on status of SDI in Africa and way
forward–ongoing
• Group of experts meeting to produce
SDI Africa handbook
• Planned symposium to set up regional
body for coordinating SDI activities
– Similar to permanent committees of AsiaPacific and Latin America
• Clearinghouse node for search and
discovery of spatial data resources with
African content
– With country spaces for interim hosting of
metadata on behalf of member states
• Mapping services for dissemination of
ECA information
• Continuing efforts on AFREF
• CODI Secretariat – ECA Geoinformation
Team – has studied and adapted
statement of PCGIAP, PC-IDEA, EUROGI
and GSDI Association
• Will make proposals to the ‘Way
Forward’ experts meetings on structural
positioning of the body
– Funding and continuity are big issues
– Reporting and supervisory arrangements
• Symposium in 2003 to adopt
recommendations
• CODI-III in May 2003 to ratify and
operationalise
• EIS-Africa
– Successor to World Banks EIS-SSA
– Grew out of need to harmonise spatial
data resources for NEAPs in the 1980
– including institutional arrangements
and partnerships
• UNEP’s African Environmental
Information Network
• FAO’s Africover project
• US State Dept’s GISD
• Forum on Information for
Sustainable Development
• ‘SDI Africa’ is on track
– Slow but making progress
– May or may not be called PC
– Structure likely to be ratified at CODI-III
• What has changed?
– More understanding and communication
between several initiatives
– More understanding and cooperation among
national mapping organisations and other
national agencies
– More willingness among donors to
cooperate
– More targeted assistance from GSDI, FGDC
and FIG towards SDI initiatives in Africa and
the ‘PC’
• CODI III planned for May 2003
• Theme will be on “Information for
Governance”
– To feed into 4th African Development
Forum (ADF IV) theme of Governance
• Usual pre-meeting and side
workshops and seminars
• Suggestions for workshop themes
welcome
• Expression of interest to organise
or sponsor workshop or seminar
welcome
• Karima Bounemra
– Director, Development Information Services
Division
– [email protected]
• Orlando Nino-Fluck
– Team Leader, Geoinformation Team
– [email protected]
• Dozie Ezigbalike
– Development Management Officer
– [email protected]
• Web site:
– www.uneca.org/codi
– www.uneca.org/disd/geoinfo
Thanks