Transcript The Coastal Resource Information System: An Approach to the

The Coastal Resource
Information System:
An Approach to the Development of a
Decision Support System
Ian C King
Project Officer
Adapting to Climate Change in the Caribbean
(ACCC) Project
[email protected] tel. (246) 417-4579
The CPACC Project
• Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate
Change (CPACC) Project
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12 countries
9 components – 4 regional and 5 pilot
1997 – 2001
US $6.9 million (~$6.4 million)
• to support Caribbean countries in preparing to cope
with the adverse effects of global climate change
(GCC), particularly sea level rise, in coastal and marine
areas through vulnerability assessment, adaptation
planning, and capacity building linked to adaptation
planning
CPACC Components - Regional
1. Design and Establishment of Sea
Level/Climate Monitoring Network
2. Establishment of Databases and
Information Systems
3. Inventory of Coastal Resources and Uses
4. Formulation of a Policy Framework for
Integrated Coastal and Marine
Management
CPACC Components - Pilot
5. Coral Reef Monitoring for Climate Change –
Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica
6. Coastal Vulnerability and Risk Assessment –
Barbados, Grenada, Guyana
7. Economic Valuation of Coastal and Marine
Resources – Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago
8. Formulation of Economic/Regulatory Proposals
– Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis
9. Enabling the preparation of national
Communication in Response to Commitments to
the UNFCCC – St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Component 3 Objectives
• Originally, the Inventory of Coastal Resources and Uses
– Enhance participating countries’ inventories of coastal
resources so as to provide the necessary baseline data for the
execution of other project activities
– Capacity building based on a regional workshop
• Revised goals
– Develop a facility to enable wide access to spatial and
monitoring data for the purpose of decision making in a format
that the users understand and can utilise
– Develop the capacity within local institutions to apply and
adapt the facility – CRIS, to meet institutional and national
needs
– Promote sustainable data management
CRIS Facts
• Regional/Canadian consultants selected after RFPs
– Alleyne Planning Assoc, Barbados; Centre for
Geospatial Studies, Trinidad &Tobago; ESSA
Technologies, Canada
• Contract signed in 1999 and final products
delivered in 2001
• National Repositories identified as main
beneficiaries of training and recipients of CRIS
products
CRIS Process (1)
• Data Assessment
– To assess the status of coastal resources management
data in each of the participating countries.
• Metadata creation
– To establish a data catalogue for coastal resource
inventories of each participating country.
• Database Design and Management
– To develop a database system design and management
strategy for the coastal resource inventory.
• Data Collection
– To collect baseline coastal resource data for each
participating country.
CRIS Process (2)
• Data Automation/Conversion
– To convert the baseline coastal resource data
collected for each participating country into digital
form.
• Database Implementation
– To implement the CRIS and deliver it to the
appropriate agencies in each participating country.
• Training
– To develop the capacity to create, use and maintain
a coastal resource inventory in each participating
country.
CRIS System Objectives
• Facilitate storage, retrieval, updating,
analysis and manipulation of coastal
resource data
• Facilitate the sharing of coastal resource
data within each country
CRIS Functionality
• 2 types of functionality:
– Entry, storage, updating and retrieval of coastal
resource data; and
– Manipulation of these data
• Users
– Regular end users
– Systems administrators
CRIS Structure
• Spatial database
– Includes both raster and vector data, to be
stored directly within a GIS (i.e., ArcView).
• Attribute database
– Non-spatial data stored in a relational database
(i.e., Microsoft Access).
CRIS Interface
Access to CRIS Data
Report Generation
Displaying maps
Development of a Spatial
Database
• CRIS database utilizing:
– A generic dataset (e.g. coastline, coastal
landuse, bathymetry)
– Pilot specific data sets
– Country/theme specific datasets
– Existing analog and digital data
– RS imagery (to meet pilot & country needs)
• Development of metadata
Context for the CRIS
• Meeting of coastal resource managers in 1998 with resource
persons to identify broad goals of Component 3
• Data categories for coastal resource information system prepared
by regional consultants – 1998
• Meeting of regional GIS practitioners to identify needs and
priorities – 1999
• Build on experience of similar activity in Trinidad and Tobago
• OECS/NRMU study on GIS capacity adapted
• OECS/NRMU DFID funded initiative for St. Vincent, Dominica
and one other termed CRIS with same concept, features, software
and end users at same time initiated independently
• CEPNET approach for metadata development adopted
Capacity Building
• Strategy
– ID key agencies at national level for participation in the
process - repositories
– Involve agencies in CRIS process where capacity exists
– Training addressing major elements of CRIS process –
generally 2 persons per country, 1 from National Repository
and 1 from major coastal resource management institution
– Provision of tools to facilitate application and management
of the CRIS
– Support complimentary activities to the CRIS development
where strategically advantageous (SIDSnet training)
Capacity Building continued
• Focus on utilizing regional capacity where
appropriate
• Support development of a GIS laboratory in the
CERMES Building, UWI Cave Hill Campus to
facilitate the extension of the UWI CGLIS
program
• Sponsoring regional participants for the CGLIS
course
• Encouraging and sponsoring participation and
presentation in relevant conferences
Challenges
• Varying capacities amongst countries to absorb
technology transfer and participate in process
• Lack of national data access policy almost universal
• Uncertainty about existence and status of data generally
• Limited monitoring data and where exists, uncertainty
over quality
• Differing stages of pilot components and therefore
understanding of data needs
• Limited budget to serve 12 countries and 4 pilot
components
• Priority of project activities and limited uptake
Successes
• Establishment of a community of GIS practitioners
• Development of national and regional capacity to the extent that
some of the trainees have been able to offer technical support to
other national and regional institutions as well as the Component
3 generally
• Development of metadata for the countries
• Development and delivery of the country CRISs
• Creating a foundation upon which countries can develop their
own coastal/environmental resource decision support systems
• ESRI 2000 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award
• Adaptation of CRIS approach in a pilot activity in Guyana SDLIS
Limitations
• An independent review of the CRIS and
associated activities indicated several key issues
– CRIS not rigorously tested in terms of data
management and how well it can serve managers’ needs
– Cannot expect to change even institutional approaches
to data collection and management within the time
frame
• Limited resources did not allow adequate
promotion, testing and follow-up support
• Did not fully integrate satellite imagery
CRIS Potential
• The main potential is to build on the concept:
– capacity building at national and regional levels
– data management
– access to information by a wide range of users in a
fashion they can easily utilise
• Move towards a web-enabled approach
• Sector specific applications
Conclusions
• Improving access to and management of information
for decision-making
– Need for national policy on data and information as ad hoc,
institution specific approaches create tremendous challenges
– Proper management of data – metadata, data dictionaries
required (many agencies have very pretty maps of which
little can be said of the information being displayed)
– Given limited national resources, regional approaches can
be useful for support and guarding against loss of capacity
by changing personnel.
Examples of the Way Forward
• Guyana Sea Defenses Management
Information System (SDMIS)
• Online Mapping for Vulnerability
Assessment www.csc.noaa.gov
• BVI Island Management GIS
Additional Information
• www.caribbeanclimate.org
• www.cpacc.org
• Ian C King, [email protected]