1. NAME OF NATION: URUGUAY

2. Name of Person Supplying Information: Carlos Lopez

Title (if any): Dr. Ing.

Mailing Address: Cerro Largo 1321

E-mail Address: carlos@clearinghouse.gub.uy

Telephone Number: +59829028904

Fax Number: +59829028904

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

**** 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: Clearinghouse Nacional de Datos Geograficos - Ministerio de Transportes y Obras Pzblicas

Mailing Address: Rincsn 575 3rd. floor

E-mail Address: carlos@clearinghouse.gub.uy

Telephone Number: +59829260920

Fax Number: +5982 9152673

Name of Agency Head or Primary Contact Person: Ing. Agrim. Ricardo Birtola, rbertola@clearinghouse.gub.uy y/o Roberto Oliveira Mattos, oliveira@clearinghouse.gub.uy

5. AVAILABILITY: What are the primary types, categories or forms of spatial digital data being made available through your nation's NSDI?

Digital cartography, original scale 1:200.000 and 1:50.000, with national coverage. Includes hydrography, contour lines with 10 m resolution, roads, political boundaries, vegetation cover, etc. Digital Cadastral (rural and urban) from original scale 1:20.000. Geological maps, land use and type.

Utilities network (electric, water, gas, telephone) mostly urban.

6. MECHANICS OF ACCESS: Through what technical and organizational mechanisms are spatial data being made available through the NSDI?

Through the Clearinghouse Nacional de Informacisn Geografica gateway (http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy)

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?

They are highly dependent on the data itself. Some datasets are not intended for the general public, but only to the owners of the parcels. Others are available for a fee, and (few) are for free.

8. DATA COLLECTION COORDINATION: What parties are involved in collecting data for the NSDI and how is data collection coordinated?

Currently most of the collection is carried out by governmental bodies in charge of such activity. The Clearinghouse is expected to coordinate all of them in terms of standardization, base cartography, etc. The Clearinghouse project itself has created a digital version of the paper maps of scale 1:50.000, the highest resolution with full coverage for this country. The digital version is currently under correction with GPS technology

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?

They are fixed by the supplier.

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

The Clearinghouse Nacional de Datos Geograficos itself is a public service, operated by a private company. The private sector is also involved by (for example) the above mentioned GPS field work. It will be carried out partially in exchange for the digital cartography by a milk processing company.

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?

We currently distribute at no cost, digital versions of the country maps originated from scale 1:500.000. Their FGDC-compliant metadata can be browsed here http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy/meta/ica/500.000/hidro.html http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy/meta/ica/500.000/localidades.html http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy/meta/ica/500.000/rutas.html

Through "little" cost, similar layers obtained from 1:200.000 maps can be obtained for each of the 19 counties ("departamentos") of Uruguay. As an example you can browse one of them here

http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy/meta/dinatopo/departamentales/artigas.html. These files are available for all those providers who join the Clearinghouse. The fees for the general public for this and other products are available here http://www.clearinghouse.gub.uy/precios_en.html

We have not tracked the downloads for the freely available datasets.

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.

There is none

13. PRIVACY: Please describe how the information privacy of individual citizens is protected relative to data that may be accessed through the NSDI.

This can be interpreted in two ways: first citizens as clients, and secondly as individuals. Currently the clients are required to fill a register in order to download, but there is no control for the information supplied (which might be completely false)

Regarding the information about the citizens themselves, they are simply not available to the general user. There exist specific laws which preclude the collecting agencies from publishing information about individuals. Among others, some clear examples are census data, bank accounts, etc.

**** 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.>

NO

15. FUNDING: Have funds been specifically budgeted and acquired for NSDI activities? <Please answer YES or NO.>

YES

If YES, please describe the purpose of the funds and the amounts.

Through a contract with a private company, the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP hereinafter) requested the creation of a digital version of the 1:50.000 paper maps, as well as a GIS system for their own use. They cover part of the expenses, and in addition under the same contract they granted us the right to create and operate a National Clearinghouse for five years. So the Clearinghouse (first milestone for the NSDI) is currently funded mostly by a private company under the auspices of the MTOP, which also supplies working areas, some computer and Internet connection resources, and datasets.

16. INCLUSIVENESS: Please describe the types and extent of participants involved in building the NSDI and their roles.

The NSDI as well as the Clearinghouse is a cooperative project, which currently involves the institutions (private or not) described in our homepage. At present (December 1999), they are:

ANTEL (National Telephone Company), belonging to the state

OSE (National Wastewater and Waterworks Company), belonging to the state

CONAPROLE (Milk producer), private company

CJJPU (Part of the Social Security System)

Ministry of Transportation and Public Works

National Cadastre

PRENADER (National irrigation coordination body)

DINAMIGE (Geology and Mining national administration body)

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

18. RESEARCH: Have funds been specifically budgeted and spent on research projects to advance NSDI concepts?<Please answer YES or NO.>

NO

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

Z39.50 for searching engines

US FGDC for the metadata standard

HTML + Internet for communication

20. GLOBAL SPATIAL DATASETS: Does your NSDI provide access to spatial datasets with global coverage? <Please answer YES or NO.>

NO

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)?

US NSDI

Inter-American Geospatial Data Network

Mercator Project

22. LONG TERM VISION OR STRATEGIC PLAN: Has a long term vision statement or strategic plan been developed for your country's NSDI? <Please answer YES or NO.>

NO

23. GRAND CHALLENGES: Name one of the most pressing challenges for NSDI development in your nation.

Legal aspects, cultural changes in terms of information handling and diffusion, Quality of data and associated standards, Funding

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.

If brochures are other written materials exist describing NSDI efforts in your nation, please provide an address for requesting copies of these materials.

info@clearinghouse.gub.uy

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.

This has not been undertaken yet