Title: Information as an Economic Resource: A Response from GeoInformation Perspective
1Information as an Economic Resource A Response
from Geo-Information Perspective
- Peter AdeniyiAddis Ababa25 April 2005
2Moubaraks Proposals to optimize potential
contribution
- Sensitizing African decision makers to the value
and utility of studies based on geographic
information systems - Formulating national policies for the management
of geographical information - Strengthening local capacities in the area of
geographical information systems - Improving access to geographical information
- Conducting studies on the use of geographical
information systems in policy formulation
3Focus of the Geo-Information Perspective Paper
- Explain briefly Geographic Information and its
economic significance - Provide an overview of the status of geographic
information in Africa - Examine the issue of Geo-Information Policy
Implementation
4Geographic Information and its economic
significance
5What is Geographic Information?
- Information that identifies the geographic
location and characteristics of natural or
man-made features and boundaries, in, on or above
the earth - Synonyms geo-information, geospatial
information, spatial data or geospatial data - Consists of locational information and attribute
information - Traditionally, a map is a typical Geographic
information
6A Typical Geographic Information - Box
- A large map of small region, depicting its land
forms, drainage, vegetation, settlement patterns
roads, geology, or a host of other detailed
distributions, make available the knowledge of
the relationships necessary to plan and carry on
many works intelligently. The ecological
complexities of the environment require maps for
their study. The building of a road, a house, a
flood-control system, or almost any other
constructive endeavour requires prior mapping. - Smaller maps of larger areas showing things such
as flood plan hazards, soil erosion, land use,
population character, climates, income, and so
on, are indispensable to understanding the
problems and potentialities of an area. Maps of
the whole earth indicate generalization and
relationships of broad earth patterns with which
we may intelligently consider the course of past,
present, and future events.
7Economic Significance of Geographic Information
- Africas economy primarily resource based
- Resources are fixed in space
- Cannot be conserved and exploited without the
spatial component of the information - Need also location of co-inputs for exploitation,
processing and delivery to markets - Location of labour inputs
- Location of markets and other inputs
- Routes between these locations
8Economic Significance
- Another major activity in Africas economic
development is tourism - Information for promotion and management of
tourism must include the geo component - Location of tourist attractions and routes to and
between them
9Economic Significance
- Other economic activities include manufacturing,
real estate development, general commerce - Manufacturing information on planning zones,
markets, inputs, demographics, etc - Commerce targeted advertising, general
navigation, etc - Real estate and land market planning zones,
value information, demographics, etc
10Economic Significance
- General referencing framework for integrating
large numbers of different data sets from many
application fields - Though we can present some of the information
with text, voice or statistical tables, they are
more intelligently communicated with
geoinformation tools and techniques
11Levels of GIS Application
- Operational GIS applications are concerned with
managing facilities and assets - Management (or tactical) GIS applications are
concerned with distributing resources to gain
competitive advantage - Strategic GIS applications are concerned with the
creation and implementation of an organizations
strategic business plan
12Status of Geographic Information in Africa
13Geoinformation Infrastructure
14Importance of GI
- 80 of all human decisions
- Everything that happens, happens somewhere
- Resources in their natural state are anchored to
a place - We have to get there
- We have to move the products to market
- Spatial distribution of suitable conditions,
factors, etc - Service delivery, voting patterns, inter- and
intra-zonal interactions, - Should investments in ICT reflect this ratio?
15Mapping Infrastructure
- Geoinformation content is expensive to create and
maintain - ICT requires operational utility infrastructure
sectors - GI in addition also needs mapping infrastructure
- Geodetic reference framework, base maps,
satellite receiving stations - Maintained by national mapping agencies
16Need Spatial Data Infrastructure
- Need to maximize returns from available GI
- Put in place policies, resources and structures
to make spatial information available to decision
makers and the community - When they need it
- Where they need it
- In a form they can use it (almost) immediately
- Concept of Spatial Data Infrastructure
17SDI Defined
- The SDI provides a basis for spatial data
discovery, evaluation, and application for users
and providers within all levels of government,
the commercial sector, the non-profit sector,
academia and by citizens in general. - The SDI Cookbook
- The technology, policies, standards, and
institutional arrangements necessary to acquire,
process, store, distribute, and improve the
utilization of geospatial datafrom many
different sources and for a wide group of
potential users - US Exec Order 12906
18Overview of the Status of Geographic Information
in Africa
- Tremendous progress in the field of Information
and Communication Technologies, exemplified by
wide spread of Internet services and the use of
mobile phones - Progress in GI has not kept pace with ICT
- Except in few countries, e.g. South Africa
- Inadequate Core geographic data sets and thematic
data sets
19Factors responsible for Slow Progress
- The lack of national geographic information
strategy - The mandates of most public organizations at all
levels of government are fundamentally defective - Public organizations slow to adopt contemporary
technology for resource and environmental data
acquisition, analysis and management - The organizations that were established to
acquire and provide core fundamental data have
largely been unable to meet the data demands of
other user organizations
20Slow Progress
- Coordination within and among organizations is
very weak - Overbearing power of the National Governments
over resources - Inadequate involvement of the community
- Lack of accountability, transparency, commitment
and opportunity to experiment and to learn from
mistakes
21Geoinformation Policy Implementation
22Concluding Comment on Geoinformation Policy
Implementation
- Two broad approaches for policy implementation
- The programmed implementation
- A well specified plan with a clearly defined
objectives - Unambiguous lines of responsibility
- Limited participation with tightly coupled
institution and minimal discretion - Adaptive implementation
- Allows people to learn by doing rather than
mechanically following a set of guidelines which
may not make a lot of sense for particular
situations - Recommended for Africa
23Conclusion
- Africa needs to invest more in ICTs to compete in
the information economy - We need to spread the investment and direct more
towards GI - Effort should be increased in GI infrastructures
to get maximum benefits from available from the
investment