Survey on Development of Supporting Structures and Capacity for Producing and Using Spatial Data in Africa

 

  1. Name and contact details of respondent:

    2. Uzo .G. O. Okafor

     

  2. What is the name of the programme or project in which you are involved?

    3. Map Revision and Geographical Information System for Namibia

  3. What are the overall aims of the programme / project?

    4. To Revise the topographic maps Namibia

    To build a GIS database

    To develop capacity for the GIS and map revision

  4. What is the geographical area within which the programme operates?

    5. Namibia, but the Kavango region was used as a pilot.

  5. Duration of the programme:

    6. The pilot project lasted two and half years.

    1. When was the programme initiated? 1995
    2. When is the programme scheduled to finish?
  6. Who are the major role-players1 in spatial data production, distribution and maintenance, as well as the major users, within this geographical area? (Note: please do not limit the answer to digital spatial data only)

    7. Production:Directorate of Survey and Mapping (DSM), Lux-Development and Private GIS firms

    Distrubution and Maintenance: DSM, but we intend to involve privatre GIS firms in the future.

    Users: Government departments, Planners, Engineering consultants, Farmers, Tourists, etc

  7. How is spatial data distributed? (Please do not limit your answer to digital spatial data only)

    8. Direct sales from the DSM office. The hard copies are currently only available in the head office but regional distribution is envisaged. For the digital copies, they could be made available on CDs , diskettes or through email. There is also plans to make it available over the INTERNET as a medium term measure.

  8. Co-ordination mechanisms and support:
    1. Is there currently any formal or informal co-ordination of publicly funded programmes involving spatial information? YES YES / NO
    2. If YES, please describe briefly

    The body was formed late last year. It is still in its infancy. There is still some resistance but it is hoped that once the fears of the minority is addressed they would all come on board

     

  9. Please indicate whether the programme on which you are reporting is involved in any of the following:
    1. The collection of metadata 2 YES
    2. Making metadata readily available to (potential) spatial data users YES
    3. The development of spatial data standards 3 YES
    4. The creation of basic data sets (i.e. base sets of data that could be used by a broad variety of users, for example, the road network) YES
    5. If the answer to 9.4 is YES, please list these data sets

      6. Contours, roads, hydrography, settlements, boreholes/water points, vegetation, administrative boundaries, water surfaces, etc

    6. Developing a legal framework for accessing and distributing spatial data YES / NO
    7. Developing pricing policy for spatial data YES
  10. Liaison:
    1. Is there any formal affiliation of the programme / project with any global or (other) regional spatial data infrastructure initiatives? NO
    2. Is there informal networking with other initiatives? NO
    3. If the answer to either 10.1 or 10.2 is YES, please list these initiatives.
  11. What, if any, are the particular challenges facing the development of NSDI / RSDI development within the region?
  1. Fears of the unknown, eg losing autonomy
  2. Existence of incompatible systems
  3. Dearth of professionals and competence
  4. Absence of legislation to compel compliance

 

  1. Any other information or comments ?
    2.
  2. If there are there any sources of additional information (e.g. web-sites or brochures) , please list these or indicate how the information might be obtained.

 

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND EFFORT IN COMPLETING THIS QUESTIONNAIRE!

 

Please forward the completed questionnaire to the Interim Task Team for SDI Africa, by e-mail, facsimile or post. The contact details for the ITT are as follows:

 

The Interim Task Team for SDI Africa

C/o Directorate: National Spatial Information Framework

Private Bag X954

Pretoria

0001

South Africa

 

E-mail: nsif@csg.pwv.gov.za

Phone: +27 12 322 5400

Fax: +27 12 322 5418