SURVEY OF NATIONAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURES

 

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QUESTIONNAIRE

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Please respond to the following and return by e-mail

(preferred) or fax as indicated at the end.

 

1. NAME OF NATION: NEPAL

 

2. Name of Respondent Supplying Information:

 

Title (if any): Director General

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 9435, Survey Department, Kathmandu, Nepal.

E-mail Address: survey@dept.wlink.com.np

Telephone Number: 00 977 1 482713

Fax Number: 00 977 1 482957

 

3. Does your nation have an active or proposed initiative for

developing a national spatial data infrastructure (or its

equivalent)? <Please answer YES or NO> Yes

 

If the answer is NO, please return the questionnaire now to

onsrud@spatial.maine.edu

 

If the answer is YES, please respond to all remaining questions.

 

**** POLICY ISSUES ****

 

4. LEADERSHIP: Which agency or organization is coordinating or

leading national spatial data infrastructure (NSDI) development

efforts in your nation? (If no single agency is coordinating, please

provide a primary point of contact from whom we may learn more.)

 

Agency/Organization Name: Survey Department

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 9435, Survey Department, Kathmandu, Nepal.

E-mail Address: survey@dept.wlink.com.np

Telephone Number: 00 977 1 482713

Fax Number: 00 977 1 482957

Name of Agency Head or Primary Contact Person: Mr. Babu Ram Acharya

 

5. AVAILABILITY: What are the primary types, categories or forms of

spatial digital data being made available through your nation's NSDI? Topographical

 

6. MECHANICS OF ACCESS: Through what technical and organizational

mechanisms are spatial data being made available through the NSDI? Yet to formalize

 

7. LEGAL AND ECONOMIC FRAMEWORKS FOR ACCESS: What are the legal and economic constraints under which citizens, businesses or others may gain access to data available through the NSDI? Yet to formalize

 

8. DATA COLLECTION COORDINATION: What parties are involved in

collecting data for the NSDI and how is data collection coordinated? Survey Department

 

9. PRICING: If charges are assessed for spatial data made available

through the NSDI, what is the basis or method for determining the

price of various forms of spatial data? Yet to formalize

 

 

10. COMMERCIAL INVOLVEMENT: Please describe how private commercial firms are involved in helping to build the NSDI. Government Only.

 

11. PUBLIC DOMAIN DATA SETS: Please describe those digital spatial

data sets for jurisdictions within your nation that are available to

anyone without any licensing or intellectual property restrictions

imposed on the data sets and the data sets are available at no cost

or little cost. How may copies be acquired of these public domain

data sets? Yet to formalize

 

 

12. PUBLIC GOODS ASPECTS OF NSDI: Please describe any additional

services or goods provided by government in support of the NSDI for

which individual users are not charged. Topographic Maps.

 

13. PRIVACY: Please describe how the information privacy of

individual citizens is protected relative to data that may be

accessed through the NSDI. N.A.

 

**** OPERATIONAL ISSUES ****

 

14. AUTHORITY: Do the laws or formal orders of any legislative or

executive branches of government explicitly recognize the need to

establish or further develop the NSDI? <Please answer YES or NO.>

If YES, please provide citations to those laws or orders.

If YES, to whom has authority been granted and for what tasks? Yes, Survey Department responsible for Survey and Mapping according to Survey Act.

 

15. FUNDING: Have funds been specifically budgeted and acquired for

NSDI activities? <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes, for National Topographic Data Base development. If YES, please describe the purpose of the funds and the amounts.

 

16. INCLUSIVENESS: Please describe the types and extent of

participants involved in building the NSDI and their roles. Survey Department.

 

17. COMPONENTS: Please indicate whether the vision of an NSDI for

your nation incorporates the following components or concepts.

 

A. METADATA <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes

B. CLEARINGHOUSE <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes.

C. DATA STANDARDS <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes

D. CORE DATA <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes

(Yet to be formalized)

Definitions for these concepts are as follows:

Metadata - standardized data about spatial data sets that is

used to document and catalog the spatial data sets. Metadata

describe the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics

of spatial data sets.

Clearinghouse - a distributed network of data producers and

users that is used for discovery and access to standardized metadata

and geospatial data. It might typically use the Internet,

internationally accepted protocols and standard methods that enable

spatial data discovery and access in ways not currently available

through standard web engines.

Data Standards - standards for data content, classification and

management that are available for the entire community of spatial

data producers and users. These standards might be imposed on some

producers, such as national agencies.

Core Data - common base sets of data with broad geographic

coverage meeting specified standards that are important to a broad

variety of users. Other themes of data are built upon or referenced

to these framework data sets. These data sets might typically be

available to all users through the networked clearinghouse with few

or no restrictions.

 

18. RESEARCH: Have funds been specifically budgeted and spent on

research projects to advance NSDI concepts? <Please answer YES or NO.>

No.

If YES, please describe the types of projects that have been funded.

 

19. LINKAGE TO GENERAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS - Which international or national information and communication technology standards has the NSDI adopted? Standard developed by Survey Department.

 

20. GLOBAL SPATIAL DATASETS: Does your NSDI provide access to

spatial datasets with global coverage? <Please answer YES or NO.> No

If YES, which datasets and how may access to these datasets be achieved?

 

21. GLOBAL OR REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES: Is your

NSDI formally affiliated with or connected to any global or regional

 

spatial data infrastructure initiatives? <Please answer YES or NO.> Yes

If YES, which initiative(s)? Global Mapping Project

 

22. LONG TERM VISION OR STRATEGIC PLAN: Has a long term vision

statement or strategic plan been developed for your country's NSDI? No.

<Please answer YES or NO.>

If YES, how may a copy be obtained?

 

23. GRAND CHALLEGES: Name one of the most pressing challenges for

NSDI development in your nation. Fund

 

24. FURTHER INFORMATION:

 

If an NSDI WEB SITE exists where information about NSDI efforts in

your nation may be found in the future, please provide the web site

address. No

 

If brochures are other written materials exist describing NSDI

efforts in your nation, please provide an address for requesting

copies of these materials. No

 

If a user requirements analysis or cost-benefits analysis was

undertaken to estimate the benefits of building a spatial data

infrastructure for your country, please provide an address for

requesting a copy. No

 

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