MARCH - APRIL 2006 VOL 2 ISSUE 2

22 LAND AMINISTRATION
SYSTEM - A TOOL OF
E-GOVERNANCE
El-Ayachi Moha, Semlali El
Hassan, Ettarid Mohamed,
Tahiri Driss

32 DEVELOPING AN
ENTERPRISE GIS
Angela Ionita

38 SOLUTIONS FOR CENSUS

OPERATION Integration of GIS and
Aymen A. Solyman
16 e-Government
- Prof. Mohamed Aziz
www.gisdevelopment.net
 2 n d I N T E R N AT I O N A L
C O N F E R E N C E O N P O S I T I O N I N G,
N AV I G AT I O N A N D T I M I N G

2006
L CATI N
7-9 June 2006
Hotel Grand Ashok
Bangalore, India

SUBMISSION DEADLINES

Abstract submission 10th April 2006

Acceptance 20th April 2006
Full paper submission 15th May 2006
Submit Abstracts at papers@location.net.in

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 16 Integration of GIS and e-Government I Prof. Mohamed Aziz, Kuwait University

D E PA RT M E N T S Schwieger The basic idea of an enterprise

EDITORIAL 07 NEWS 08 EVENTS 50
E-GOVERNANCE
16 INTEGRATION OF GIS AND
E-GOVERNMENT
Prof. Mohamed Aziz
Integration cases are seldom lim-
ited for governmental authorities
that succeeded...
22 LAND AMINISTRATION
SYSTEM - A TOOL OF
E-GOVERNANCE
El-Ayachi Moha, Semlali El
Hassan, Ettarid Mohamed,
Tahiri Driss
The objectives of the majority of
countries are to conduct new
The Knowledge pertaining to
geoinformation techniques and the
required basics is essential....
ENTERPRISE GIS
32 DEVELOPING AN ENTERPRISE
GIS
Angela Ionita
38
GIS is to address the needs of GIS Development Middle East is intend-
departments collectively ed for those interested and involved in
instead of individually. GIS related activities. It is hoped that it
38 SOLUTIONS FOR CENSUS will serve to foster a growing network
by keeping the community up to date on
OPERATION
many activities in this wide and varied
Aymen A. Solyman
field. Your involvement in providing rel-
The preparation of the next cen-
evant information is essential to the
sus operation began in 2003... success ofthis endeavour. GIS Develop-
42 ENTERPRISE GEODATABASE ment Middle East does not necessarily
IMPLEMENTATION subscribe to the views expressed in the
A. Deva Kumar Varma publication. All views expressed in this
This philosophy underlies the new issue are those of the contributors. It is
not responsible for any loss to anyone
paradigm that is rapidly taking
due to the information provided.
shape with...
GIS Development Pvt. Ltd. Printed and Published by
C O N F E R E N C E R E P O RT Sanjay Kumar. Press Yashi Media Works Pvt. Ltd. B-88,
Okhla Industrial Area, Phase - II, New Delhi - 110 020.
Publication Address: P-82, Sector-11, Gautambudh Nagar,
Noida. Editor Ravi Gupta

reforms enabling their systems... 48 SEMINAR ON SPATIAL DATA GIS Development Branch
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Email info@mapmiddleeast.org
Website www.mapmiddleeast.org
Thilo Kaufmann, Volker

Editor in Chief Ravi Gupta Managing Editor Maneesh Prasad Publisher Sanjay Kumar Sr. Associate Editor (Honorary) Hrishikesh Samant Associate Editor
Ayon Kumar Tarafdar Sr. Manager - HR and Administration Shivani Lal Marketing Co-ordinator Megha Datta Sr. Graphic Designer Deepak Kumar I Middle East
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From the Editor
ravi.gupta@gisdevelopment.net
MARCH - APRIL 2006
Geospatial sciences and
e-Governance
‘e’ has now become an inseparable part of governance around the globe. Without
e-Governance, governments tend to lag behind and lose whatever power they have. It
is no more merely computerization drives, but far beyond that. Governments from
national to local level, are talking of delivering services and addressing concerns via
the e-route. And GIS is increasingly forming a part of the entire movement.
e-Governance has become the hot word for decision makers everywhere, from the East
to the West and from the North to the South. As per the UN Global e-Government
Survey 2005, e-services have continued to expand around the world. Website
assessment in 2005 indicated that of the 191 Member States, 179 were online in some
form or another in 2005, compared to 178 in 2004 and 143 Member States in 2001. This
is definitely encouraging.
In the Middle East region, e-Governance is very much in the vogue. A number of
reasons are there for the Middle East region in particular, for this to happen. The fast
paced infrastructure development; the economic boom; the emphasis on high end
utilities; and the advanced Spatial Data Infrastructure status in the region are pointing
towards a bright future for e-governance in the region.
It is important that the geospatial initiatives of the region are aligned to the
governance activities. It is the proper amalgamation of these two that can do wonders.
What shall be interesting to understand is - how much of the entire e-Gov cake of
Middle East belongs to the geospatial community.
G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 7
 News: Middle East
EGYPT
EgyMaps to
empower Bawaba
The BAWABA website offers
many governmental services
to the citizens online, which
help them carry out many
activities smoothly. EgyMaps
(a partnership between QSIT
and Connection) is powered
by GIS technology. The web-
site enables users to search
for the location of any place
or address, and display the
locations on a map. EgyMaps
also provides users with driv-
ing directions between any
two places in Greater Cairo.
In addition, EgyMaps offers
numerous specialized Guides
suchas Entertainment,
Touristic, Financial, Medical,
Commercial, etc.
Integration between
BAWABA and EgyMaps will
be embodied through linking
between the governmental
services in BAWABA and geo-
graphic services in EgyMap,
Thus, when a user selects a
service in BAWABA, an
option is available for
him/her to display the loca-
tion of the selected service, as
well as other governmental
buildings and ministries in
the surrounding.
www.qs4it.com
IRAN
GIS maps for
Tehran released
LeadDog Consulting, LLC
recently announced the
release of a detailed Tehran
GIS vector map. Tehran City
8 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
First Pocket PC with inbuilt GPS
i -mate announced the launch of
their latest Pocket PC PDA, the i-
mate PDA-N in the Middle East
market. The i-mate PDA-N is a
Windows Mobile 5.0 based Pock-
et PC with all the latest
Microsoft tools plus built in
GPS navigation capability
and Wi-Fi. It has 64k full
colour touch screen, and
metal grey finish. The
PDA-N has a 300Mhz
PDA processor and 128MB ROM
Streets is available in all
major GIS formats. An Iran
Major Roads and Highways
product is available at a
1:250,000 scale with major
roads, administrative bound-
aries, buildings, infrastruc-
ture, and other points of
interest. LeadDog Consulting,
LLC is a global provider of GIS
street maps for Iraq, Middle
East, Africa, Mexico, and the
rest of Latin America.
www.goleaddog.com
Digital air
photography
technology
service
Specialists in the Iran's mili-
tary forces, geographical
department have acquired
digital air photography
technology. Geographical
Department’s Manager Brig.
General Dr. Essa Gol Verdi
said. The Department will be
able to capture large data in
an hours flight from the dif-
ferent layers of ground cover
E A S T
plus full memory expansion via the
SDIO/MMC card slot. The
device also comes with a
full range of applications
including Windows Media
Player, Internet Explorer, MSN
Messenger, Word Mobile, Excel
Mobile and PowerPoint Mobile.
The new i-mate PDA-N offers Ara-
bic applications like Arabic soft key-
pad, Arabic dictionary and Islamic
prayer alerts and Qiblah direction.
www.ameinfo.com
in black, white, RGB and location of Kuwait allows it
ultra red bands using this to be the main entrance for
technology. Iraq, indicating there is a
"Iran's first relief map has high possibility of establish-
been published by the Min- ing Kuwait as main gateway
istry of Defense," he added. for the Iraqi reconstruction
"For the production of these process and as a commercial
maps, satellite images passing point to Iraq. Al-
received from Iran's earth Zalzalah in a meeting with
station, Sepehr has been the Public Authority for
used," he emphasized. Industry (PAI) officials mean-
www.isna.ir while, said, “Providing
KUWAIT
GIS to be used as
tool in Kuwaiti
economy
The Kuwaiti government is
aiming towards transform-
ing Kuwait into a financial
and economic centre through
investments and ensuring
return of Kuwaiti capital into
the country, said Minister of investment information
Commerce and Industry Dr through an international
Yousef Al-Zalzalah in an internet-based network will
interview with Arab Times. have a huge impact on
He said the geographical attracting foreign investors.”
MARCH - APRIL 2006
It will enable the foreign
investor to get the necessary
information through the
internet, he added indicating
“PAI and the Industrial
Imports Development Centre
have undertaken to ensure
development of this net-
work.”
In this context Geographi-
cal Information System pre-
pared by the PAI will provide
geographical information
about Kuwait’s industrial
sector and its basic infra-
structure, explained Al-
Zalzalah. The system will
also list the functions provid-
ed by the industrial sector to
the Kuwaiti and non-
Kuwaiti investors, he added.
www.arabtimesonline.com
QATAR
EADS to open
training centre in
Doha
The European Aeronautic
Defence and Space Company
(EADS) signed an agreement
in February to establish a
centre for training, research
and development at Qatar
Science and Technology Park
(QSTP).
The facility will be called
the EADS Competence Centre
of Qatar (EADS QCC). The con-
tract to establish the centre
was signed between Daniel
Deviller, EADS Chief Technol-
ogy Officer and Dr Eulian
Roberts, Chief Executive,
QSTP. EADS QCC will deliver
training and certification
programmes for non-
destructive testing (NDT)
MARCH - APRIL 2006
technologies, and interna-
tionally-accredited training
courses in aircraft mainte-
nance. It will also focus on
research and development
programmes in cooperation
with universities in Qatar.
EADS QCC marks EADS's
maiden presence in Qatar.
It will contribute to the
availability of technicians
and testing facilities in the
aviation and petroleum
industries, both of which are
growing at an unprecedent-
ed rate in the Middle East.
"EADS and Qatar have a long-
lasting and trustful relation-
ship.
Our cooperation is materi-
alised with the establish-
ment of our Competence
Centre. We are today very
proud to invest in such a
challenging project and to
work hand in hand with our
Qatari partners," said Dev-
iller. The centre, to be located
at the Qatar Science and
Technology Park, would be
opened in mid 2007.
www.thepeninsulaqatar.com
UAE
Dubai
Municipality
expands
DVRS
Dubai Municipality has
expanded the subscriber
database of the Dubai Virtual
Reference System (DVRS),
which was launched by the
civic body in 2002. The DVRS
comprises of a control room
with central server at the
Dubai Municipality head-
quarters and five continuous
operating reference stations
at Qusais, Sheikh Zayed
Road, Merqab, Lusayili, and
Hatta to provide effective
solutions for engineers in the
field of surveying and con-
struction as well as all users
of the Global Positioning Sys-
tem or GPS in the emirate of
Dubai.
"The DVRS has been
achieving continuous suc-
cess through out the years
since its inception, as a
large number of companies
and government establish-
ments have been benefiting
from it through the engi-
neers in our Survey Section,"
said Eng. Yousuf Al Mar-
zouqi, Head of Geodetic and
Hydrographic Survey Unit in
the Planning and Survey
Department.
"The satellite-aided system
has replaced the old system
based on a control point net-
work. It also reduced the use
of manual control points up
to 90% annually, resulting in
an increased percentage of
accomplishment in daily
transactions by our employ-
G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
ees with excellence, speed
and precision," he said.
Al Marzouqi said there has
been an increased demand
for availing the service from
different companies and
establishments. "In response
to these demands, we have
increased the capacity of
Router (the system to verify
the authenticity of the per-
son who accesses the DVRS
control room using GPS) from
30 users to 120 users.
This will expand the
opportunities to benefit from
the services of the current
system in the Emirate of
Dubai.
In addition to that, we
have changed the central
servers with more advanced
ones that will facilitate bene-
fiting from the data of the
system, which are stored in
the processor of the GPS
observations inside and out-
side the Emirate of Dubai," he
said. It is possible to obtain
data from this system by reg-
istering and subscribing the
service and get Dubai Virtual
Reference System data, in
addition to this, it offers
remarks and suggestions
through the Municipality
website, www.dm.gov.ae.
The system can be utilized
for accomplishing different
engineering tasks that
include demarcation of plots,
service lines of telephones,
electricity, water, and detail
survey. Ariel mapping and
hydrographic survey are also
the features, in addition to
launching control points for
survey.
ww.ameinfo.com
E A S T 9
 Ras Al Khaimah's
government to
digitise all maps
Ras Al Khaimah's e-Govern-
ment Authority has appoint-
ed FedEx Kinko's as a key
partner, responsible for con-
verting all hardcopy docu-
ments into a digital format.
The move to convert all exist-
ing maps and documents
into a digital format is part of
efforts to implement Ras Al
Khaimah's e-Government
initiative.
"We are confident of com-
pleting this project success-
fully in partnership with the
e-Government Authority,"
said Radwan Malas, General
Manager of FedEx Kinko's,
UAE.
Dr Hashem Ar-Refaei,
Director-General of Ras Al
Khaimah e-Government
Authority and IT Adviser to
the Government of Ras Al
Khaimah, said "This will not
only make the life of the resi-
dents of Ras Al Khaimah eas-
ier but will also attract
investors to Ras Al Khaimah
in droves. The successful
completion of this work will
result in the streamlining
and conversion of all govern-
ment processes into an elec-
tronic format, enhancing
overall efficiency and fast
delivery of government serv-
ices to the general public."
The contract awards FedEx
Kinko's the responsibility of
digitising and archiving all
government documents,
records and maps into an
electronic format and archiv-
ing and referencing them
into an electronic library so
10 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
that they can be accessed
and used when needed.
www.tradearabia.com
Satellite
transmitters for
route mapping
Two of the four wild
houbaras who were caught
along with falcons in Febru-
ary 2005, south of Abu Dhabi
are currently wintering in
the UAE. An official from the
National Avian Research
Centre (NARC) in Sowaihan,
which is part of the Environ-
ment Agency, Abu Dhabi,
said that four young female
houbaras had been fitted
with Argos satellite
transmitters to study their
migration route and identify
their region of origin.
The official pointed out that
the first houbara was killed
soon afterwards and the sec-
ond one was also hunted in
Oman in April, while she was
beginning to migrate.
He highlighted that the
satellite transmitters send
regular signals revealing the
complete post and pre-breed-
ing migration routes of the
two other houbaras. Both
females crossed the straight
of Hormuz, stopping over in
Iran and continued to the
north following the Afghan
border, crossing Turk-
menistan and Uzbekistan up
E A S T
to Kazakhstan. They spent
their breeding season in two
different regions of Kaza-
khstan, and came back to the
United Arab Emirates in
autumn, following nearly
the same route they travelled
in spring. Both of them are
currently wintering in the
United Arab Emirates.
www.khaleejtimes.com
Dubai to launch
second phase of
Building Permit
Certification
Service
Dubai Municipality is gear-
ing up for the launch of the
second phase of its Building
Permit Certification Service,
which will be one of the
biggest eGovernment imple-
Abdullah Al Shibani, Director
General for Technical Service,
Dubai Municipality
mentations undertaken by
the Municipality. The com-
pletion of this phase will
ensure 100 per cent online
transactions between Dubai
Municipality and building
contractors in Dubai. The sys-
tem will offer a host of elec-
tronic services to clients and
will process large amounts of
data related to building per-
mits and construction activi-
ties in Dubai. One of the
innovative features of the
service will be the availabili-
ty of information on all
major construction projects
being undertaken in Dubai,
in addition to detailed
descriptions on existing and
upcoming buildings, which
come under the purview of
Dubai Municipality.
The Building Permit
Certification Service will be
integrated with all other
electronic services of Dubai
Municipality.
The service is integrated
with other services in Dubai
Municipality, such as Geo-
graphic Information System,
Pre-Qualification, ePay-
ments, CRA, Electronic Data
Management System (EDMS)
and No Objection Certificates
(NOC).
"The launch of the second
phase of this project is a
major landmark for Dubai
Municipality and reflects our
commitment to provide high
quality services to our
clients. The services that will
now be available through
Dubai Municipality's portal
will significantly help
building consultants and
contractors throughout the
entire process of the
construction project, while
also providing detailed infor-
mation on major buildings in
Dubai. This project also
complements Dubai's efforts
towards achieving the high-
est levels of eGovernance,"
said Abdullah Al Shibani,
Director General for
Technical Service, Dubai
Municipality.
www.ameinfo.com
MARCH - APRIL 2006
News: World
BUSINESS
Scott Smith
appointed COO of
DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe has hired Scott
Smith as the company's new
chief operating officer (COO).
Smith brings with him over
24 years of experience in the
aerospace and commercial
remote sensing industries.
With a background in space-
craft and ground systems
design, commercial and mili-
tary space systems develop-
ment, and commercial space
business management he
will be an asset. Prior to join-
ing DigitalGlobe, Smith
served as executive vice pres-
ident at Space Imaging,
where he was responsible for
sales, operations and engi-
neering functions for the
company. Smith joined the
company in 1995 as its space
segment director. Smith has
also previously held various
engineering and manage-
ment positions for Lockheed
Missiles & Space Company.
www.tmcnet.com
Bentley acquires
Cook-Hurlbert
Bentley Systems, Inc. has
announced that it has
acquired the assets of Cook-
Hurlbert of Austin, Texas, a
provider of engineering
design software for electric
and gas distribution net-
works. Cook-Hurlbert's
Expert Designer spatial net-
work layout and analysis
software were among the
first developed specifically
for utility designers and
MARCH - APRIL 2006
engineers. Users of these
open and integrated soft-
ware include many leading
utilities such as Baltimore
Gas and Electric (BGE), a Con-
stellation Energy Company,
and Xcel Energy. Key fea-
tures of the Cook-Hurlbert
product line include func-
tionality for process meas-
urement and tracking, work
order management and
tracking, design layout, esti-
mating etc.
www.bentley.com
Preetha Pulusani
to retire
Intergraph Corporation
announced in February,
Preetha Pulusani, President
of Intergraph's Security, Gov-
ernment & Infrastructure
(SG&I) division, has elected
to retire after 25 years with
the company.
Ben Eazzetta, previously
chief operating officer of
Intergraph's SG&I division,
succeeded Pulusani as the
SG&I division president
reporting to Reid French, the
Company's chief operating
officer.
"On behalf of our Board of
Directors, our shareholders
and all of the people of Inter-
graph, I want to thank
Preetha for her invaluable
contributions to the Compa-
ny," said R. Halsey Wise, pres-
ident and CEO of Intergraph.
"Preetha has devoted 25
years to building our Compa-
ny, and Intergraph is a better
corporation as a result.
Much of her exemplary
career has been devoted to
building our Company's lead-
Rolta and Orion
Technology join hands
Rolta International, Inc., ranked one of the top GIS
Services Companies in the world, and Orion Technology
Inc., a leading provider of web-GIS software and integra-
tion services, announced a partnership agreement. Under
the terms of the partnership, Rolta International, Inc. will
provide implementation services for Orion Technology's
OnPoint Suite of web-GIS products to Utility and Govern-
ment organizations. "We are elated to announce the part-
nership with Rolta. They have a wealth of experience that
we look forward to optimize and we are confident that
this relationship will see a number of opportunities for
our companies to benefit" commented Faizal Hasham,
Director of Sales and Marketing for Orion Technology.
Orion's flagship product OnPoint allows users to pub-
lish their GIS data securely and quickly over the web.
OnPoint's "no programming" solution provides enhanced
web-GIS capability, reporting, querying and generating
URL functions. It also allows users to connect to external
databases throughout their organization, turning their
web-GIS into a true enterprise solution.
www.roltaus.com
ership in the geospatial Frost & Sullivan
technology market." awards NAVTEQ
Ms. Pulusani joined Inter- for technology
graph in 1980. After holding innovation
numerous management Frost & Sullivan has selected
positions, she was appointed NAVTEQ as the recipient of
executive vice president of the 2006 Technology Innova-
Intergraph's Mapping and tion of the Year Award for its
GIS business in 1998 and lat- development of its digital
er named president in map database that enhances
November 2001. In May 2005, the utility of geographic
Ms. Pulusani was named information, location-based
president of Intergraph's solutions and navigation
SG&I division. systems. Frost & Sullivan
Ms. Pulusani is expected to presents this Award each
remain with Intergraph year to a company that has
through late summer of demonstrated technological
2006. superiority.
www.intergraph.com www.prnewswire.com
G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 11
 APPLICATION
GPS-enforced
speed limits
With the increasing popu-
larity (and commensurately
decreasing cost) of GPS tech-
nology, Canada is investigat-
ing in-car electronic variable
speed governors designed to
thwart drivers bent on ignor-
ing posted limits. Vehicles
incorporating GPS-enabled
sat-nav systems already
monitor speed, direction and
location in real-time. But in
this variation, the same basic
technology is augmented
with a digital speed map that
actively enforces the posted
limit, greatly retarding a
vehicle's rate of acceleration
after the speed limit is met.
Capping it altogether would
likely prove the simple mat-
ter of a few programmer key-
strokes. Presumably, such
systems would gain legal
acceptance by designating
certain domains for their
use-- school and construction
zones, perhaps.
www.audio.autoblog.com
Tracking food
from farm to fork
A prototype EU-funded proj-
ect uses the Internet and
satellites to trace the geo-
graphic origin of food
throughout the supply chain.
GeoTraceAgri will provide
food processors with precise
tracking information about
food products, the project's
researchers said in marking
the completion of the proto-
type. From 1 January 2006
new EU food laws introduced
12 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
mandatory traceability
requirements throughout
the bloc. Processors must
track ingredients from their
immediate suppliers and the
products to their retail or dis-
tribution points. The require-
ment has pushed companies
to search for technological
solutions allowing them to
track and record items.
The system could also be
useful for ensuring the credi-
bility of the EU's geographi-
cal indications certification
system, which protects pro-
ducers of traditional foods.
GeoTraceAgri will provide
information accessible in
real-time. The system will
cover all stages of production
from "farm to fork", including
storage, processing and dis-
tribution, according to IST
Results, the reporting section
of an EU-funded research
network.
www.foodproductiondaily.com
Length of Great
Wall of China?
Precisely how long is the
Great Wall of China? Because
historical records and meas-
urements differ, officials in
China have decided to survey
the length of the Great Wall,
using the latest techniques
and a budget of 200 million
yuan (approximately US$ 25
million). Hong Kong's Ming-
pao Newspaper reports that
The Information Center for
Basic Geography of China's
State Bureau of Surveying
and Mapping will use state-
of-the art techniques such as
aerial mapping via remote
sensing, GIS, and GPS to
E A S T
measure the exact length
and orientation of the Great
Wall, built during the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644 CE).
Zhang Ji, vice secretary-gen-
eral of the Great Wall Associ-
ation of China, said that
when the measurements are
completed, a 3-D image of the
Wall will be posted on the
Internet.
According to the Hong
Kong newspaper, there are
still no definitive data on the
Great Wall's exact length.
The present figure of 6300
kilometers (approx. 3800
miles) provided by the Great
Wall Association is based on
documents from the Ming
Dynasty. During the post-
1949 Communist era, local
governments have undertak-
en their own surveys, but
their findings, which reveal a
length of over 7000 km
(approx. 4500 miles), differ
from the official one due to
unclear regional boundaries,
the paper reported. For the
new survey, an airplane
equipped with a remote
sensing camera will take
photos of the Wall while
flying along it.
www.english.epochtimes.com
Cadastre agency
to have digital
info system
Bulgaria's Cadastre Agency
is preparing a digital infor-
mation system that would be
used for the drawing up of
the real estates maps. A
cadastre map to comprise 8%
of Bulgaria's territory is now
ready, it emerged from a
seminar of the agency in Feb-
ruary. The Cadastre agency
has already digitalized its
database for tillable lands
and woods and is about to
draw up their maps, Tsvetan
Boev, Executive Director of
the Cadastre Agency said.
Some 70% of the information
for the real estates in Sofia
has already been digitalized.
The cadastre maps and regis-
ters for five pilot regions are
ready - those include Assen-
ovgrad, Balchik, Dupnitsa,
Samokov and Smolyan.
www.evroportal.bg
Staffs research
maps out a
healthier future
Groundbreaking research
which looks at obesity and
links it with distance to the
nearest fast food outlet is to
be carried out in Stoke-on-
Trent. Researchers from
Staffordshire University
have secured around
£300,000 to map lifestyle
behaviour in the City and
link these to health out-
comes. Staffordshire Univer-
sity geographers Graham
Smith and Jon Fairburn will
lead the mapping phase of
the project.
Graham said "We will be
using sophisticated software
known as GIS which allows
us to map and analyse digital
map data. In this way we can
calculate precise distances to
the nearest green space or
bus stop. We can look at the
density of food outlets (e.g.
fast food, corner shops,
supermarkets) in a neigh-
bourhood.”
www.innovations-report.com
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 PRODUCT
ArcGIS 9.1
Business Analyst
released
ESRI announced the release
of ArcGIS 9.1 Business Ana-
lyst desktop analysis soft-
ware with 2005/2010 demo-
graphic data. New features
and data contained in ArcGIS
9.1 Business Analyst helps
companies, agencies, and
organizations perform accu-
rate marketing analyses
faster and more efficiently.
ArcGIS 9.1 Business Analyst
includes: Complete integra-
tion with the ArcGIS 9 frame-
work; Routing and drive-
time tools based on ArcGIS
Network Analyst; Enhanced
reporting capabilities with a
batch framework and a cus-
tom report wizard and many
other features.
Companies, agencies, and
organizations can use ArcGIS
9.1 Business Analyst to: Pro-
file customers and con-
stituents; Find similar cus-
tomer and constituent seg-
ments; Craft messages to
increase response from tar-
geted customers and con-
stituents; Analyze and select
the best locations for expan-
sion; Perform competitive
analyses; Evaluate store/site
performance.
www.gisuser.com
Vexcel announces
VxEos MODIS
Ground Station
System
Vexcel Corporation annou-
nced the immediate avail-
ability of its VxEos MODIS
MARCH - APRIL 2006
ground station offering.
Modeled after Vexcel's
renown APEX ground sta-
tion, the VxEos is a cost-effec-
tive, scaled-down MODIS
version capable of receiving
and processing the direct
broadcast downlinks from
the EOS Aqua and Terra, and
future NPP / NPOESS, satel-
lites. The VxEos includes a
2.4m X-Y antenna in a
radome, X-band feed, LNA,
programmable downcon-
verter, MODIS receiver, data
capture system, data process-
ing and visualization work-
station, integrated NASA
GSFC L0 to 1B and L2 proces-
sors.
The included VxEos ground
station management soft-
ware suite runs under Linux
and MS Windows and fea-
tures utilities to schedule,
track, receive, process and
visualize MODIS data in a
user-friendly graphical envi-
ronment. Optional peripher-
als include NOAA AVHRR
reception, a 6 TB networked
attached storage device and
a 160/320 GB Super DLT tape
drive for archiving.
www.gisuser.com
Leica Geosystems
announces
Cyclone 5.4
Leica Geosystems annou -
nced the availability of
Cyclone 5.4 software to
streamline workflows in the
field and office for High-Defi-
nition Surveys. Cyclone 5.4
provides a unique new set of
visualization tools that allow
users to select from an
unequalled pallet of display
methods. A new "See-
through" mode allows users
to see-through walls for easi-
er viewing. A "Silhouette"
mode enhances object edges
to speed a user's comprehen-
sion of objects such as piping.
New point thickness and
realistic shading controls
provide even more visual
cues for faster navigation.
Another valuable new fea-
ture allows users to import
and "Drape" high-resolution
digital photographs over the
scan data set, indexing the
photographs to the underly-
ing point geometry for even
more visually descriptive
views and models.
www.leica-geosystems.com
ArcGIS 9.2 to
Support SVG
Format
ESRI announced support for
the Scalable Vector Graphics
(SVG) data format on top of
the upcoming ArcGIS 9.2
software platform. ArcGIS 9.2
is currently in beta and
expected to become commer-
cially available later this
year. "We have engineered
our geographic information
system (GIS) software so it
supports many open stan-
dards," says Jack Danger-
mond, president, ESRI. "This
maximizes our users' return
on their investment in build-
ing geographic information
systems. We are researching
new ways to expand geo-
graphic knowledge to meet
the needs of individuals and
organizations in virtually
any industry. Support of the
SVG data format on top of
G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
the ArcGIS 9.2 platform is
just another step in this
effort. The power of open
software and data is the abil-
ity to quickly and easily
exchange, share, and distrib-
ute information to anyone
and in any format."
www.esri.com
u-blox announces
assisted GPS
services
u-blox AG, Swiss provider of
innovative GPS receiver tech-
nology, announced the provi-
sion of Assisted GPS ("A-GPS")
services that supply instant
location information, reduc-
ing GPS receivers' Time To
First Fix ("TTFF") to just a few
seconds. A-GPS uses mobile
phone networks to access
satellite location data trans-
mitted to and collected by a
global monitoring network
of u-blox GPS receivers. The
collected data is stored at a u-
blox aiding server, which, in
turn, makes the data avail-
able to users with mobile
phone connectivity.
The A-GPS system supplies
the satellite location data
stored at the server to the
GPS receivers contained in
users' mobile phones. The
benefit of A-GPS is that users
receive this location informa-
tion instantly rather than
having to wait for the GPS
receiver to acquire
Ephemeris data for visible
satellites, which can take
from 30 seconds up to several
minutes depending on condi-
tions. The A-GPS service is
ideal for emergency call pur-
poses, where a users' position
E A S T 13
 must be established immedi-
ately, or in weak signal envi-
ronments, such as inner city
urban canyons where high-
rise buildings obstruct direct
views to satellites making
autonomous satellite acqui-
sition very difficult. The com-
munication is based on
TCP/IP using Internet and
wireless (WLAN or cellular
data network like GPRS) tech-
nologies. The system is
extremely cost-efficient as
the data packets are very
small in size and transmitted
through existing communi-
cation networks.
www.biz.yahoo.com
New version of
Universal
Location
Intelligence
Platform
MapInfo Corporation intro-
duced Envinsa Version 4.0, a
comprehensive unified loca-
tion platform. Envinsa v4.0
enables organizations to cen-
trally manage location
analysis capabilities and
apply them throughout the
organization. Envinsa v4.0
includes a host of new loca-
tion intelligence capabilities.
A retailer can use Envinsa
v4.0 to calculate the "drive
time" to specific stores, help-
ing it determine where to
place a new location based
on the distance or time peo-
ple are willing to travel.
Envinsa v4.0 also supports
new data sources such as
Oracle 10g. Companies can
perform powerful location
analysis against this data to
better understand location
relationships and patterns.
For instance, an insurance
agent can query its database
to determine the exact dis-
tance a property is from a
coastline and using the same
data, an assessor can analyze
historic claims to adjust
future rates. Another
advancement with version
4.0 is expanded support for
interoperability standards
such as the Open Geospatial
Consortium specifications,
including certification for
Web Mapping Service 1.1.1.
www.mapinfo.com
Applanix
shipping L2C
ready GPS boards
Applanix has announced
that it is now shipping L2C
ready L1/L2 GPS receivers in
its Position and Orientation
System (POS) products. The
POS products are used as a
component for the compa-
ny's air, land, and marine
integrated inertial/GPS
geospatial solutions. The
new GPS receivers have been
built with the future capabil-
ities of GPS in mind, allowing
L2C functionality to be acti-
vated via a simple in-field
feature upgrade. Users can
now be ready to take full
advantage of the L2C capabil-
ities when available, without
the need to invest in addi-
tional hardware.
Anticipating the addition-
al workload of more complex
signals during acquisition
and tracking, the L2C capable
receivers contain hardware
and firmware to support the
longer codes of the new GPS
signal format. The L2C GPS
signal has been designed for
civilian use, and offers a
stronger and more robust
carrier phase differential
solution for precise RTK posi-
tioning than current genera-
tion codeless L2 can provide.
Used in conjunction with the
original L1 GPS carrier signal,
ionosphere delay and other
distortions become more cor-
rectible, resulting in greater
position, navigation and tim-
ing accuracy, and reliability.
The L2C GPS signal will also
offer better L2 signal to noise
ratios because receivers can
track the L2C code directly,
and makes it easier to resolve
and dramatically reduce
multipath effects (incorrect
position readings resulting
from signal reflections).
www.applanix.com
Ordnance Survey
brings Pictometry
technology to
Great Britain
Ordnance Survey UK is offer-
ing business and govern-
ment customers across Great
Britain the chance to go
"beyond the image" with an
integrated system for view-
ing, measuring and planning
the built and natural land-
scape. Pictometry technology
combines packages of
oblique and vertical aerial
images with a viewing soft-
ware application designed to
enable accurate measure-
ments. It is based on the
idea of viewing the size,
shape and design of features
from a range of different
angles, including the four
points of the compass.
Access to multiple perspec-
tives is particularly useful for
emergency services, insurers,
town planners and others
requiring a detailed view of
the elevation and surround-
ings of buildings.
It enables users to see fea-
tures and visualise and
measure the spatial relation-
ships between them. Users
do not require specialist
knowledge to operate the
system. Pictometry fits well
with Ordnance Survey's core
datasets. It is positionally
correct to the entire OS
MasterMap intelligent data
portfolio of Topography,
Imagery, Address and Inte-
grated Transport Network
Layers.
Open Spatial Inc
announces
availability of
Munsys SE
Open Spatial Inc announced
the release of Munsys 9.3
Standard Edition, a solution
for small utilities and local
governments to manage
their engineering data. Mun-
sys Standard Edition (Mun-
sys SE) is optimized specifi-
cally for the Locator spatial
functionality provided in
Oracle 9i and Oracle 10g
Standard Editions. It uses
Oracle's Locator functions to
store, retrieve and analyze
utility data in an Open GIS
format offering the customer
infrastructure information
management solution. Mun-
sys SE runs on the full range
of Autodesk's CAD products.
www.openspatial.com

14 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

 e-Governance

To execute daily
government
electronic corre-

INTEGRATION spondences by the

e-Government
network, many
spatial data must

of GIS and be available such as

addresses, detailed
data about land

e-Government parcels, ownership

document for of the
concerned people,
and spatial
specifications for
the concerned
locations

PROF. MOHAMED AZIZ | Kuwait University

I f it is supposed that both GIS and

e-Government are a logical result of
the information technology and computer,
it is noticed that both technologies are
heading into different directions except for a
few international applications, which are
integrated partially or fully.
Integration cases are seldom limited for governmental author-
ities that succeeded in establishing stable hierarchy for GIS that
depend on service database in the form of various applications.
One of these applications is setting up a public site that provides
services to citizens, the most important of which are tourist and
guidance services, and even real-estate services.
If previous experiments were reviewed in the field of e-Gov-
ernment, it is found that the main trend is to change the daily
correspondences systems between governmental authorities
and citizens from paper-based to digital-based, and develop the
performance level while removing all traditional obstacles
faced by the citizens. It is noticed that most accomplished tasks
in this field, 90% of which depend on operational, functional,
financial, administrative systems, which completely lack GIS,

16 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006


which is comprehensively not ideal from
the e-Government angle since it does not
depend on the spatial dimension of data.
Due to the success of governmental
authorities in establishing GIS centres
while facilitating and creating spatial
digital databases, it is feasible to accom-
plish integration among different activi-
ties of e-Government and GIS. However,
the integration methods between both
technologies differ in different countries.
Here we attempt to categorise integra-
tion between both technologies and form
an ideal curriculum to be applied in the
State of Kuwait when conducting the
population census.
R E S EAR C H T O P I C AN D
I M P O RTAN C E
This research revolves around the techno-
logical and information integration
between GIS and e-Government. The
importance of this research is highlighted
by the following points:
The great divide between GIS and
e-Government especially in Arab coun-
tries despite the presence of common
aspects such as databases, information
technology, operational systems, and
computer technology.
The lackadaisical attitude in executing the
e-Government project in many Arab
countries due to lack of information and
spatial infrastructure that contribute in
accomplishing the e-Government project,
since it is a service systems that need
spatial connection for different service
patterns and its relation to other factors
such as population, resources, housing,
and others.
In establishing GIS there are some obsta-
cles that hinder the benefit flexibility. One
of them is the lack of data communication
mechanism among different authorities
(due to their dependence on traditional
systems).
The success of a number of non-Arab
countries in accomplishing integration
between both technologies due to tech-
nological agreement and the need of peo-
ple to get flexibility in dealing and civiliza-
tion in communication. In addition, peo-
ple's awareness level is increasing when
MARCH - APRIL 2006
dealing with information technology espe-
cially the internet; therefore, it is neces-
sary that Arab countries follow applicable
technological levels so that they reach
civilization and development.
S TU DY M ETH O D O LO GY
The study depends on the descriptive
approach and the comparative analytical
approach for a number of applied sys-
tems to integrate between both GIS tech-
nology and e-Government, reflecting its
advantages and disadvantages, present-
ing an applied model to deal with disad-
vantages, and making full benefit of
international models.
There are
some
obstacles
that hinder
the benefit
flexibility
D I S C U SS I O N AN D A NALYS I S
First: Reasons for integration
between G I S and e- Government
technologies
Integration is dependent on each other to
fill in any shortages in data or flexibility
reach in data processing. If the e-Govern-
ment task is to set bi-communication net-
works among governmental and private
authorities and citizens to process admin-
istrative and service data and to do the
daily correspondences, the task of GIS is
to provide spatial databases to all the
state's natural, human, and economical
resources needed by the different service
systems in the e-Government. This is to
provide services that go in line with its
real, not default spatial properties, which
will facilitate a direct benefit for the citi-
G I S
zen and supports national projects deci-
sion makers. In other words, if the above
two tasks were gathered, we will have
what is called Integrated GIS or Open GIS.
Integration purposes can be elaborated
as follows:
The Geographic Location represents the
natural spatial reference of the areas in
which the natural, human and economic
resources that form the backbone in GIS
and that is needed by e-Government sys-
tems especially the services systems.
The geographical location has an impor-
tant function in prompting Public Informa-
tion Databases as one of the e-Govern-
ment requirements. It is called in this field
the Geographical Address.
The integration process among public
databases and among administrative sys-
tems, an important requirement of the e-
Government systems.
The Spatial Information represents the
success key for the e-Government due to
its role in supporting methods of gather-
ing field data through communication
channels..
If the e-Go vernment systems included
the geographical locations of commercial
malls and public service centres with their
coverage areas, it becomes easy to pres-
ent commercial and other services in a
way that agrees with the reality and meets
the requirement of the sought benefits.
Second: Integration patterns
between both technologies
Integration between both technologies
differs from one country to another.
Some technologies follow State-wide
Integrated GIS and e-Government, and
the German model, which depends Open-
GIS Web Services that represents an
applied model for all electronic services in
Real Estate. The model has been applied
in Munich to serve all users in Germany.
The Province-wide Integrated GIS and e-
Government is like the Finnish model,
which focuses on applying integration
between the GIS and e-Government in
Kouvola province in south east Finland.
Some are still limited in ambition and
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 17

operate on one level in the state especial-
ly Municipality Integrated GIS and e-Gov-
ernment which displays a personal and
distinguished effort in Kuwait Municipal-
ity for Parcels Information Systems in the
form of a service page for citizens so
that they can refer for information
regarding their real estate properties,
obtaining ownership certificate and oth-
er related data automatically and from
any place without a need to refer to the
municipality.
Another model of a limited cooperating
authorities is the Applied Circle Integrat-
ed GIS and e-Government among which
the model of Los Angeles city in the State
of California.
It is a model of cooperation between the
Traffic Department and the City Munici-
pality since it offers Real-time Traffic
Maps along with citizens' services con-
cerning all city affairs such as electricity,
telephones, delivery services, security
services, and others.
While we anticipate to have the first
model in the Arab World and even more
to reach a new pattern that can be called
Arab Integrated GIS and e-Government to
include all the natural, human, and eco-
nomic resources, besides public services
and daily correspondences systems, it is
clear that the second and third patterns
are the most common in Arab countries
that accomplished giant steps in the field
of e-Government and GIS.
In studying the different patterns, their
differences can be concluded based on
the following criteria:
The availability of spatial data infrastruc-
ture.
The degree of coordination among
governmental authorities.
The degree of coordination between
governmental authorities and the private
sector.
The technical standard of the private sec-
tor in the field of both technologies.
Clear vision and future requirements.
18 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
Nature of dealing with decision makers.
Third: Integration mechanism
between both technologies
Some might wonder about the starting
point of integration? Should GIS start
first, and then they are followed by the e-
Government? Which is considered a part
of the other? And when integration is
complete, what should it be called? Is
there a name that can join both technolo-
gies in an integrated image while reflect-
ing their roles?
All these questions and more can form
the basis for integration mechanism
between both technologies. Ahnon
(2004) confirms that governmental firms
that succeeded in establishing geograph-
Some might
wonder about
the starting
point of
integration?
ical information system are closer than
other firms in accomplishing the e-Gov-
ernment project. In other words, he
believes that the geographical information
system comes first, and then the e-Gov-
ernment can be accomplished. This is true
because geographical information sys-
tems are service systems that provide the
spatial information infrastructure needed
by all the different governmental services.
Teege (2004) clarifies that both the geo-
graphical information system and the e-
Government system are to be designed in
parallel so that each system considers the
other system's requirements during
designing phase, and when they integrate
in providing the services sought. He views
the geographical information system as
the blood bank and e-Government is the
blood circulation that benefit from the
contents of the blood bank to spread it all
over the body. If the blood circulation
stops, which is the e-Government in this
case, the blood bank will be useless.
It is noticed that both technologies go in
E A S T
line from the beginning since the e-Gov-
ernment represents an executive mecha-
nism to facilitate all the state's affairs
especially services. This cannot be
reached without the spatial information
infrastructure provided by geographical
information systems. Therefore, the e-
Government must not only be limited on
administrative operational systems of the
state, but it must go further to connect all
functional and operational services in
both time and place factors so that it pro-
vides citizens what is called Total e-Gov-
ernment through Web-enabled Services.
Hence, the ideal mechanism between
both the geographical information system
and the e-Government can be explained
as follows:
Preparing a spatial database that include
all human, natural, and economic
resources in the country which depend on
a National Data Directory, Unified Geo-
graphical Coordinates, and Geocoding of
different Spatial Phenomena through
Local Addressing.
Setting a mechanism for information
upgrading that agrees with different
majors so that each department upgrades
its spatial information related to its tasks
depending on the Data Directory.
Providing a Real-Time Communication
Network between the Spatial Information
Databases and other authorities to facili-
tate spatial information databases and
allow continuous upgrading of data.
Designing Ministry Homepage for each
ministry that include administrative, serv-
ice, and daily correspondences systems
among governmental authorities to merge
linking functions for these subsystems to
be linked with spatial information data-
bases. For example, real estate record
system must include not only descriptive
data such as name of owner, land area,
registration date, and etc. but it also must
include spatial linkage of the property so
that nearby properties can be inquired,
nature of usage, and similar properties in
terms of specifications and contents.
Setting constant web-pages for all
authorities on highly efficient servers so
that it will not get slow or might stop while
working due to large number of users in
peak times. Such web-pages are to be
Citizen-Friendly Access Web Services.
It is clear that the services offered by the
geographical information systems for the
e-Government focus on providing a reli-
MARCH - APRIL 2006
able, accurate, and up to date spatial
information databases that goes along
with different applications in the state.
Fourth: the current status of inte-
gration between the e-Government
project and the National GIS
Centre in the State of Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is not different from
most of the other Arab countries which
are keen to reach e-Government status.
Many high decrees have been issued
regarding establishing a central execu-
tive body of the e-Government project in
the early 2001. Many national awareness
debates and conferences have been held
directed to both governmental authori-
ties and the private sector based on dif-
ferent fields, how far it is useful, some
were allocated for the educational sys-
tem of the country, and other were allo-
cated to make through integration and
cooperation channels between both the
government and private sectors.
However, the real accomplishments
were made by many governmental
There is a
authorities on individual basis to reach
the e-Government, especially in provid-
comprehensive
ing services. One of the most important
ministries in this field is the Ministry of
public system
Interior, Public Authority of Civil Infor-
mation, and Kuwait Municipality, while
that provide
other authorities are still revolving
around the real starting point.
tourist
Although there are three authorities
that applied e-Government on different information
levels, the authority that makes good use
of the geographical information system of plots along with printing of maps and
and accompanied databases is the Infor- answering inquiries. In addition, there is
mation Systems department at Kuwait a comprehensive public system that pro-
Municipality represented in the plot sys- vide tourist information about the State
tem, which joins the mechanism of the e- of Kuwait, its civil and modern aspects by
Government, the nature of the provided depending on public geographical maps
services for citizens, the mechanism of through the small legend and the limited-
the geographical information system in ness of spatial details.
the form of spatial information databases On the other hand, the researcher was
 successful in forming the National Com-
mittee to facilitate geographical informa-
tion system in the State of Kuwait based
on a degree issued by Kuwait University
president. The committee includes all
ministries and government firms in the
State of Kuwait to establish the National
Centre for Geographical Information
Systems.
The committee was able to prepare the
project in its final form and obtained
Kuwait University Council approval. The
project will be presented to the Council of
Ministers so that it is approved (God Will-
ing). The project idea and the methodolo-
gy of designing the national spatial data-
base were presented in the last two con-
ferences.
Although, both projects form real
national cornerstones for decision mak-
ers in the State of Kuwait, there is still an
empty circle among them due to the fact
that the e-Government work-team
eliminated the idea of integration of both
projects because the idea of the work-
team was that there was no necessity
since the e-Government is an administra-
tive system for all ministries depart-
ments and offering services on the
web without the need for the spatial
dimension.
The integration efforts are limited
to some aspects represented by the
same person in both projects, and that
person was ambitious to reach complete
integration. The best example is Kuwait
Municipality.
The National Centre for Geographical
Information Systems will provide a uni-
fied spatial national database containing
terminology, contents, and different
types of files for reading. Then the centre
will maintain its contents to support gov-
ernment authorities that view the e-Gov-
ernment systems.
But these are limited only to adminis-
trative and daily correspondences sys-
tems to enlarge its usage circle to the spa-
tial aspect. This step is to agree with real-
20 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
ity and accomplish the required demands
for development, especially in large
developmental projects.
Fifth: An applied integration model
between both technologies
As an applied model of the applied inte-
gration between the e-Government and
geographical information systems tech-
nology, we present the proposed project
The State
of Kuwait
is not
different
from most of
the other Arab
countries
idea by Kuwait University to the Ministry
of Planning regarding the possibility of
executing the population census of the
State of Kuwait depending on integration
among the following technologies:
GIS that manages spatial database of the
census maps using ESRI Software.
GPS technology that organizes the read-
ing of coordinates signals of locations
through satellites to guide calculators in
the field. In the same time, it actually mon-
itors the calculator since it cannot start
calculating before verifying the geograph-
ical location of the statistical square. The
mounted system allows to open a census
application mechanically.
Ipaq PDA that contains GSM/GPRS
communication systems with a process-
ing speed of 400 MHz and a 128 MB
RAM.
Online data downloading through
GSM/GPRS network.
E A S T
Mobile Mapping Systems that connect
field divisions with census data tables on
computer laptops.
Automatic Census that is programmed
using Visual Basic Language to allow
entering census data after checking the
geographical location, entering the num-
ber of the statistical location, entering the
number of the civil identity card of the
head of the household.
Availability of central server - HP Compaq
ML 370, Xeon Dual Processor, 4 GB
Memory, 73× 3 Ultra SCSI.
Spatial database directly made available
on Oracle 9i Enterprise Edition.
The benefits of the e-Government in this
applied project are as follows:
- The possibility of providing census data
as soon as the field survey is over instead
of using traditional methods that take
more than a year.
- The possibility of approving the census
data by governmental authorities as soon
as it is over to provide services for citizens
through e-Government network.
- The possibility of supporting the
Higher Council for Planning and Develop-
ment with accurate data that improves
credibility more than other types of data
that is gathered in traditional methods
and might include carelessness of
surveyor or might include recording more
than one application without going to the
actual location.
- The possibility that the National
GIS Centre depends on a population,
housing, and service database in a flexible
manner that agrees with its actual
geographical locations to allow all GIS
units in ministries and authorities to make
good use of it without referring to official
offices.
- The possibility of supporting public
service systems such as electricity, water,
telephone, and other services based on
accurate and quick census data that is
connected to its actual location.
For complete list of references visit
http://www.mapmiddleeast.org/
magazine/2006/mar-apr/index.htm
Prof. Mohamed Aziz
Geography Department,
Kuwait University
maziz@kuc01.kuniv.edu.kw
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 e-Governance

LAND
AMINISTRATION
SYSTEM
A tool of e-Governance
The objective of this paper is to conduct an analysis with an aim to modernize the Moroccan
land administration system by taking into account the important recent realizations

EL-AYACHI MOHA | Assistant Professor, IAV Hassan II, Morocco

D uring the last decade, sever-

al countries began to re-
engineer their land administration systems.
The re-engineering process focused closely
on legal, organizational, technical, and
financial aspects. The objectives of most of
the countries was to conduct new reforms
enabling their systems to meet the require-
ments of the new society, experiencing
enormous international changes and a
rapid growth of information technologies.

TH E D R IVI N G F O R C E S B E H I N D R E - E N G I N E E R I N G L AN D
AD M I N I STRATI O N SYSTE M
The driving forces behind re-engineering (Hammer and
Stanton, 1994; Banki, 1997) land administration systems are

22 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

the new customer needs,
the new global changes, the Accounting Providing users
technology evolution, and and personal with cadastral
management d data and land
an

Do Lan
the state requirements.
it ve nit information

Ce ent orm
cu d I
Customers are of two kinds: a

m nf
nt ati ati
str l U

er on on
individuals and group of ini ncia

of an
m a
Ad Fin
individuals. The needs of

d
both kinds of customers are
specific and should be dealt LOCAL
LOCAL
DELEGATION
with great attention. The
DELEGATION

La
major customer demand is

nd
it

’s
the system efficiency, which Un

Ca
tr y
gis

da
means the ability to deter-
Re

st
re
Supervising and
mine properties and provide nd

Un
controlling private La Titling and

in a short time the related companies’s projects on
ownerships. cadastral affaires
The global changes affect,
the nature of the land admin- Fig. 1 Local delegation adapted from Chakir (2001)
istration system to develop.
Serious efforts must be con-
ducted to improve the certainty of land
rights and the security of tenure. The sys-
tem should serve the on-going reforms
around the world and serve the urgent
requirements of land and territory plan-
ning to support international companies
using land in Morocco.
The current technology has seen major
increases in different domains. The land
administration system is concerned by
these new technological improvements.
Varieties of instruments have recently
been introduced that will in the future
accelerate the processes of surveying,
land titling, registration, and mapping.
GIS help in modernizing all operational
and functional processes of the system.
In Morocco, the State as a primary
landowner needs to establish an efficient
system to increase the security on land
and facilitate land administration. This
will allow monitoring of land market,
improvement of planning in urban and
rural areas, regulation of legal framework
and statutes of land, and introduction
of new technology to maintain land
reform such as redistribution, consolida-
tion, valuation, and assessment. In
addition, the multipurpose cadastre will
it
ensure within the society an optimum
level of quality and establish a uniform
land information system based on prop-
erties and parcels.
A NALYS I S O F TH E O N G O I N G
M O D E R N I ZATI O N S C E NAR I OS
The decennial action plan
1996-2005
The National Agency of Land Conserva-
tion, Cadastre, and Mapping for ANCFCC
is the fundamental agency in adminis-
trating and managing land related data
in Morocco. The decennial action plan
established in 1995 was very ambitious
and constituted an important reference
regarding the diagnostic and analysis
matters. From the strategic point of view,
it presented a series of recommendations
as ambitious orientations; however, they
were forever reliable to the structure and
the spirit of the former system.
We should deal with various questions
regarding the future of land administra-
tion system in Morocco (El-Ayachi,
2005). What is the future role of this
system in promoting the national devel-
opment? What is the nature of its contri-
registration
activities
bution if the former structure continues
to be submerged only by the titling
purposes?
The vision of a fore guard
Moroccan cadastre
In 2001, a study was conducted to mod-
ernize the cadastral system in Morocco
(Chakir, 2001). The Author proposed three
levels: national, regional, and local level.
The national level is concerned with
questions related to regulation, coordina-
tion, supervision, and technology. The
regional level supervises and coordinates
the regional activities. The local level is
responsible for producing cadastral data
and maps. The study requires the cre-
ation of Regional Directories and Local
Delegations as the basis for the modern
system. At the local level, the former
structure will be transformed radically to
set up the new administration. The new
structure, as inspired from the model of
Australian Land registration in Victoria,
includes four units (Figure 1). The struc-
ture at the local level as recommended
(Chakir, 2001) did not preview the multi-
purpose aspects of land administration.
It's only dealt with cadastral aspects. It is

MARCH - APRIL 2006 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 23

 also proposed to create a
regional directory to coordi-
nate regional tasks and
supervise the local activities.
This will be time consuming
especially if the system deals
only with titling and regis-
tration matters. In Morocco,
the development of a new
vision is needed to imple-
ment a multipurpose system
to meet user needs in several
domains requiring land and
cadastral information.
Fig. 2 Components of the multipurpose system model
Strategic vision 2006
The vision 2006 proposed a
new strategy, which aimed to simplify
the organizational procedures to enable
the achievement of surveying activities
by private companies and allow the
ANCFCC to control and maintain the
quality of its services and products. It pro-
vides a framework of improving national,
regional, and local activities by unifying
the former components, decentralizing
responsibilities, and concentrating prac-
tical actions at local levels. The vision
reinforces the process of computing all
administrative, procedural, and technical
tasks of entities of the ANCFCC. The objec-
tive is to generalize the establishment of
geographical information systems deal-
ing with geodetic, mapping, and cadas-
tral information. The conducted projects
as template solutions will be analyzed to
adopt and generalize convenient solu-
tion. This strategy will not be realized
without making new technical and pro-
cedural standards to unify processes and
facilitates the control and maintenance
of its products.
N EW CO N C E P TUAL F RAM EWO R K
F O R N EW STRATE GY
Analysis of international
experience
A multipurpose cadastre was defined as a
24 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
Land Information System (LIS)
Integrated Land Administration System
(ILAS)
Large-scale maps
Regular cadastral sections
Fundamental geodetic network
real world environment gathering
parcels data and implemented according
to three steps (Mclaughlin, 1975). It should
establish a cadastral survey base consist-
ing of two interrelated elements: a spatial
control framework and a graphical base.
Secondly, a cadastral survey system is
built to allow creating and maintaining a
series of cadastral maps showing the size,
shape, and location of parcels.
Thirdly, a cadastral records system must
be developed to contain two kinds of
information concerning public and pri-
vate ownerships legally recognized in
lands and historical development of
these rights. In 1980, the Committee on
Geodesy of the National Research Council
asserted that there is an urgent need to
implement a multipurpose cadastre for
USA. The established report defined the
system as a framework supporting con-
tinuous, readily and comprehensive land
information at the parcel level. At the
European level, the diversity of the devel-
oped systems illustrates the richness of
the various experiences of land adminis-
tration systems.
A NALYS I S O F TH E M O R O CCAN
CO NTEXT
In order to develop a new approach of
modernization, we examined opinions of
E A S T
the principal operators in land
administration. Several studies
are undertaken and supervised
to achieve this goal. The studies
concerning the effect of the land
structures on national econom-
ics in the fields of agriculture,
urban and regional planning
have permitted to raise three
needs. First need is to use a
unique framework for reinforc-
ing partnership among various
institutions involved in land
management (Bouraza and
Hagouni, 1999). Second crucial
need is to establish a National
Council of Standardization to
promote and supervise technical aspects
of a modern land administration system
(Boukbech and Essaadi, 2001). Finally,
there is a need to create a National
Agency of Land Promoting to ensure
long-term reconstitution of real estate
belonging to the State (SEH, 2003). Other
researches were conducted to analyze the
contribution of the new technologies in
modernizing the Moroccan system
(Amine and Elboulmani, 2001; Ouiouf and
Bni, 2002). These studies are undertaken
within the Urban Agency of Casablanca
city, the Service of Cadastre of Anfa
(Casablanca), and many private compa-
nies (Elfatihi and Mjouel, 2002).
A survey was remarkably required to
illustrate the different visions of various
partners. The questionnaire examined
three principal elements, which are the
cadastral specificities and missions, the
organizational aspects, and the modern-
ization strategy. The results of this survey
were very interesting in terms of a series
of emerged suggestions and require-
ments. A conceptual framework concern-
ing organizational and technical aspects
were designed.
S U M MARY ANALYS I S O F TH E
S U R VEY R E S U LTS
The survey has the aim to examine the
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 attitude of various actors in the field of
land, cadastre, and mapping. A summary
analysis of the survey results allowed us
to affirm that the commitment of several
partners is an obvious condition for any
approach of reforming and modernizing
land and cadastral frames. Any reform
based on an organizational transforma-
tion of a supervising institution such as
the ANCFCC cannot satisfy the objectives
of developing our cadastre. Any solution
proposed in this way can make improve-
ments inside a concerned institution but
cannot solve the overall problems related
to the land administration and manage-
ment. In the same way, initiatives taken
alone from various administrations aim-
ing to overcome their problems always
remain inefficient.
The survey permits to conclude that
there is a need to process for a large co-
operation gathering various actors to
conceive legal and technical tools as
essential requirements for developing
the country. Thus, it is not necessary to
adopt a vision of change of an organiza-
tion or an administration or proceed to
the implementation of new structures
without designing a convenient strategy
and solution. The future solution should
be made together ensuring the commit-
ment and agreement of various partners.
One may conclude that the concept of
cadastre was largely dominated by the
concepts of titling and registration as
introduced by the settlers. The descrip-
tion of the whole land to develop a public
inventory serving for several interests
and purposes is far from being conceived
for Morocco (El Ayachi, 2005).
AN I NTE G RATE D L AN D
AD M I N I STRATI O N SYSTE M F O R
e- G OVE R NAN C E P U R P OS E S
Paradigm of an integrated
multipurpose model
From the analysis of the visions and sce-
narios developed in Morocco, the two
26 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
approaches in North America, the state-
ments of the new visions cadastre 2014,
and the current, nature, and needs of the
Moroccan system, the following compo-
nents are proposed to serve as the basis of
a new vision to develop and implement a
multipurpose land information system
(Figure 2). Developing the system
requires contribution of many depart-
ments to perform fundamental compo-
nents of the system. Both governmental
and private institutions are involved con-
currently to integrate all items of the new
system. The implementation of each
component belongs to a specific institu-
Any solution
proposed in
this way
can make
improvements
inside a
concerned
institution
tion at national, regional, and local level.
The multipurpose system will provide
not only land ownerships and property
information but also a large variety of
land information such as land use, land
zoning, infrastructure information, build-
ing, properties, and addresses. The multi-
purpose system model describes five
components: a Fundamental Geodetic
Network (FGN) as a reference framework,
a series of regular cadastral sections
located and monumented as a basic
cadastral grid for cadastral overlays, a
series of large-scale maps of natural and
physical features, an Integrated Land
E A S T
Administration System (ILAS) dealing
with the multiple forms of land informa-
tion, and a computerized Land informa-
tion system (LIS) (El-ayachi, 2005).
Components of the
infrastructure model
The fundamental network is a geometric
foundation that allows a proper spatial
linkage between features across an area.
All the locational data will be shared and
integrated to serve the multiple purposes
of the system. The cadastral data and
related information will integrate
numerically the modern system. To serve
these needs, all surveyed properties and
parcels must be tied to the cadastral sec-
tions to permit adding safely all natural
details to the existing cadastral maps.
While this foundation is established for
a long-term use, its control points must
be compiled accurately and progressive-
ly. The ongoing GPS network must be tied
to the first or second order of the existing
geodetic network. When the transferring
parameters are compiled, we can densify
the GPS network and provide locational
information of the new control points in
both the Lambert and Cartesian systems.
Once the required density is achieved, the
cadastral sections are created and tied to
the new control points.
In the framework of the new model, the
value of land information depends of the
costs of producing the basic data. To save
time, money, and energy it is a necessary
mission to conceive best practices and to
develop convenient technical solutions.
This is assured by developing large-scale
maps presenting natural and physical
features related to land data with
respects to the various user needs. Thus,
the creating of large-scale maps at a scale
of 1/5000 and more will have its signifi-
cant justifications regarding the new
requirements of both the society and the
government. Firstly, these maps will be
the foundation upon which most, or all,
other geospatial information overlays are
MARCH - APRIL 2006
built. Secondly, we observe intensifying
pressures on land information for plan-
ning and development projects especially
at the local levels. Thirdly, the so-called
Regional Centers of Investment, require a
large inventory of land to assist policy
makers and to evaluate land information
needed in various development projects.
The basic unit of the large-scale maps
shows the contents of the basic cadastral
section that cover an area of 4.5x3.0 km2.
However, a realistic approach should be
made based on the nature of each zone
and on the kind of projects to be conduct-
ed. For every urban zone, maps at a scale
of 1/1000 must be generated. In case of
populated cities, maps at a scale of 1/500
are needed. These maps are added to the
cadastral overlays to display the proper-
ties and parcels they cover, then to be
submitted to the local rules in term of
restrictions and obligations regulating
land uses. In the areas including subur-
ban zones, towns, and villages, the use of
maps at scales from 1/2000 to 1/5000 are
practically sufficient. The local conditions
concerning the social and economical
aspects of lands determine on the other
hand the choice of the scales to adopt. In
forests and widely cultivated areas, the
corresponding maps scales are from
1/5000 to 1/10000.
The success of the new strategy will
depend widely on the effective and great
contribution of the cadastral services at
the local level to produce and update all
land data and ownerships. The local level
is a basic mean of assembling communi-
ty, local administration, private compa-
nies, and investors around lands and land
rights. This enables local authorities to
better making decision on the land man-
agement and administration. The main-
taining of the multipurpose system, at
the local level, will be assigned to each
Land Facility via its Office of Land Admin-
istration System. Every Office will deal
with the former functions related to sur-
veying works. It will create and maintain
MARCH - APRIL 2006
the cadastral sections according to the
regional guidelines to facilitate collecting
and updating data by the public and pri-
vate agencies. The establishment of a
general land inventory will be performed
at this level requiring national standards
and regulation.
The development of computerized land
information system belongs to the local
level. They provide cadastral overlays
concerning the cadastral sections, the
property boundaries, the parcels within
each property, the land tenure, and
administrative boundaries concerning
cities, circles, and districts. They will
This enables
local
authorities
in making
better
decisions
on the land
management
make efforts to develop a land informa-
tion system as a basis for implementing
the multipurpose land information sys-
tem with respect to regional and national
guidelines. The local authorities will have
to cooperate with the provincial boards,
city and commune councils, and local
representatives of various departments
such as housing, equipments, education,
forest, environment, and agriculture.
C O N C LU S I O N
The main objective of the cadastre in
Morocco is to define accurately and safely
properties, land tenure, and their physical
G I S
and locational characteristics. However,
as the land titling system is voluntary, a
new multipurpose system must be devel-
oped to enable progressively a systematic
definition of land. The new system aims
to support land planning purposes, land
administration, land taxation, and agri-
cultural development projects. The old
system is characterized by a long time
consuming, high registration costs per
property, and absence of an exhaustive
overview of existing parcels and proper-
ties within an area.
The multipurpose land information sys-
tem will be a comprehensive system
offering several advantages in managing
all kinds of land information. Its develop-
ment does not mean the creation of a
new system, but the perspective is to re-
engineer the existing frame and upgrade
it to improve managerial, functional, and
operational procedures. Naturally, a pro-
gressive approach is necessary to make
the first steps of building the new system
less expensive. We should focus on the
enhancement of its technical procedures
by the mean of developing guidelines
and standards and introducing new tech-
nologies. The primary tasks necessary for
future system implementation is to
establish systematically and gradually
regular cadastral sections and large-scale
maps. The same sections are tied to the
global geodetic network and will serve
technically as the basic reference for
cadastral and surveying operations.
El-Ayachi Moha
Assist. Professor, IAV Hassan II
Semlali El Hassan
Professor, IAV Hassan II
Ettarid Mohamed
IAV Hassan II
Tahiri Driss
IAV Hassan II
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 27
 e-Governance
e-Learning
for GIS
The combination of physical teaching and
e-learning seems to be very successful and
may be one academic teaching-model for
the future. The additional idea is the cre-
ation of an universal e-learning system
that may be used for vocational training
T
he Knowledge pertaining to
geoinformation techniques and
the required basics is essential to a large
community of geoscientists.
These basic techniques are taught at the Institute for Applica-
tions of Geodesy to Engineering (IAGB), University Stuttgart, in
28 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
THILO KAUFMANN | IAGB, University of Stuttgart, Germany
courses of studie like Geodesy and Geography(in German lan-
guage), Technique and Management of Real Estate (in German
language) and Infrastructure Planning (in English language).
The IAGB tries to evolve new ways by combining the existing
exercises and additional e-learning, which it offers for self
study. Through implementation of e-learning, new and attrac-
tive possibilities for learning processes can be achieved: learn-
ing can be independent from time and location, as well as an
individual self-directed lerning tempo is also possible. So the e-
learning quality of teaching should be upgraded.
G E O I N F O R MATI O N R E L ATE D E - L EAR N I N G
The current status of geoinformation related training and edu-
cation courses are manifold and can be summarised in the inter-
national context as software training, software development
and customization, school-level, under graduate level, post-
graduate level university and for professionals. Furthermore, all
these types could be offered as face-to-face training as well as
distance learning (Rhind 2005).
Typical example for distance learning is the ESRI Virtual Cam-
pus for software training or the UNIGIS-consortium for academ-
ic teaching. A combination of face-to-face and e-learning is
offered by platforms like GITTA (Bleisch and Nebiker 2004),
GEOINFORMATION.NET (Plümer and Asche 2004) or GIMOLUS
(Müller and Kaule 2004). Also in a current research of EEGECS
(2004) it was established that the most commonly used sce-
E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006
nario is a combination of face-to-face and form “gimolus” is structured into the gen-
e-learning. According to this study the
level of interactivity can be classified into
eral system navigation, the module navi-
gation, and the module content itself as
IAGB has
e-mails, readable digital documents,
interactive digital documents, conference
illustrated in figure 1:
Using the system navigation, the stu-
developed
systems and video conferencing. In this
paper the authors present e-learning in
dents can navigate to one of the 70 exist-
ing modules. Furthermore, user specific
different
combination with face-to-face learning
as interactive digital documents integrat-
adjustment (e.g. font size) may be real-
ized and online-help is integrated.
modules
ed into an e-learning platform. The module navigation normally con-
sists of five parts (introduction, manual, I NTE G RATI O N O F E - L EAR N I N G
E- L EAR N I N G AT IAG B content, material, assistance). These M O D U L E S I NTO C U R R I C U L A
The first step towards e-learning activi- are structured into chapters, subchapters The IAGB has developed different mod-
ties at the IAGB was taken between 2001 and pages. ules within the fields of GIS, cartography,
and 2003, within the e-learning project – A student would not have the possibili- and geodata acquisition, for different
’gimolus’ (GIS- und modellgestützte Lern- ty to change among the modules while international and interdisciplinary cours-
module für umweltorientierte Studi- working with one module, because the es. An overview of the courses for which
engänge / learning modules for GIS and hierarchical navigation structure in and the IAGB offers e-learning modules is giv-
modelling in environmental courses), among the modules should be kept. The en in table 1.
funded by the German Ministry of Educa- student should always know “where I am An important factor for the success of
tion and Research. in the learning environment?”. The navi- an e-learning offer is the setting, that
In cooperation with other institutions, gation within the module itself can be means by which didactic concept mod-
like the Institute for Landscape-Planning done by the module navigation described ules are integrated within teaching activ-
and Ecology (head of project), an internet- or by a forward/backward button from ities (Petschenka and Kerres 2004). For
based e-learning platform for GIS and page to page. each new topic within the exercises on
model-based studies was created (Müller In the core content different compo- “Thematic Cartography” a physical exer-
and Kaule 2004; www.gimolus. de). nents like graphics, text information, cise is carried through, in which declara-
Together with the Institute for Pho- tables, multiple-choice-tests, animations, tive knowledge (e.g. basics of animated
togrammetry (IfP) at the University of and videos are integrated. These should maps) and necessary, procedural knowl-
Stuttgart, the basics of GIS for the envi- support the interactive knowledge trans- edge (e.g. introduction in animation soft-
ronmental disciplines involved into the fer as well as the independent treatment ware) are imparted. Physical teaching is
project were treated (Kaufmann and of application-oriented exercises. followed by the respective e-learning
Weippert 2002).
Within an XML-based mod-
system
ule text components and navigation
graphics, WebGIS realizations, modul
animations using Macrome- navigation
dia Flash and Multiple-Choice-
Tests using PHP-language
can be integrated by the content
authors. Based on this e-learn- (incl.
ing platform, the IAGB devel- grafics
text,
ops e-learning modules up to screen
now. videos
animations
etc.)
E- L EAR N I N G P L ATF O R M
G I M O LU S
The graphical user interface
(GUI) of this e-learning plat- Fig. 1 E-learning platform gimolus (e.g. module "Animated Maps")

MARCH - APRIL 2006 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 29

 Table 1: Courses with IAGB e-learning modules module. This integrated module repeats
declarative knowledge, comprises knowl-
edge questions and in some cases has fur-
ID Course Language Study Course thermore a main focus on practical soft-
ware training. Therefore in some mod-
Geodesy and Geoin-
Thematic Cartogra- ules the students have to perform proj-
1 German formatics,Geography
phy ects (contextual knowledge), which final-
(both diploma)
ly have to be send to a tutor, who
Acquisition and Man- Technique and Econ-
2 agement of Planning German omy of Real Estate acknowledges the work and gives
Data (diploma) remarks for improvement. This concept
of integration of physical and e-learning
GIS-based Data Infrastructure Plan-
3 English is illustrated in Figure 2 for the exercises
Acquisition ning (MSc)
on “Thematic Cartography”.
In the exercises on “Thematic Cartogra-
Data Management
3 phy”, in which 79 students of geography,
and Analysis
geodesy and geoinformatics participated

Table 2: E-learning modules for GIS, cartography and geodata acquisition ( (*)
in summer term 2005, the term began
modules in development) with an introduction to the e-learning-
system. Then students use the module
GIS and cartography Geodata acquisition „Basics of Mapping“, that firstly repeats
- Basics of mapping 1,2,4 the declarative knowledge and comprises
- Cartometry 2,4 - Shape of the earth 2,3 knowledge questions, which are multi-
ple-choice tests. In the 2nd exercise,
- GIS-tutorial 1,2,3 - Coordinate systems and projections 2,3
knowledge about the cartographer’s visu-
- Data processing 2,4 - Coordinate transformations 2,3
al resources and appliance of ArcGIS-
- GIS-based location planning 2,4 (*) - Terrestrial positioning methods 2,3 Software are integrated. In the following
- Map visualization 1 (*) - GPS-positioning 2,3 self-study a thematic map has to be creat-
- 3D-visualization 1 (*) - Galileo-positioning 3 (*) ed. This project may be supported by
modules, in which screen-videos are inte-
- Animated maps 1
grated. In the 3rd exercise, an animated
Table 3: Results of evaluation map is to create a support for the
described module “Animated Maps”. This
Evaluation of target group integration of modules into teaching
Evaluation of target group: activities is supplemented by evaluations
Daily usage of computer & internet 6.5 of the target groups, the modules itself
Experience with e-learning 1.9 and system platforms to assure the quali-
Expectance regarding this e-learning offer 5.3 ty of the e-learning offer sustainably.

evaluation of module (e.g.: module "Animated Maps"):

R EAL I ZATI O N EX AM P L E O F M O D U L E
Relevance of the topics 5.3
"A N I MATE D M APS "
Learning success 4.5
For better understanding the module
Understandability of content 5.0 “Animated Maps” are explained, which
Assistance regarding structure 5.1 are used within the exercise “Thematic
Assistance regarding content 5.5 Cartography”. Working with this module,
evaluation of e-learning-platform: the user should get the theoretical basics
4.7 about dynamic visualization. Based on
Increases my pleasure
4.4 this knowledge, the user should learn to
Increases my motivation
create independently a cartographic ani-
Got the necessary technical assistance 4.7
mation by using the software Flash. As a
Got the necessary help domain 4.6

30 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

result of these objectives, the
structure of the module is giv-
en in three chapters:
1. Theory (e.g. workflow of an
animation process, visualiza-
tion rules).
2. Software training (incl.
screen videos)
3. Application (incl. best-
practise-examples)
Exemplarily, an animation
about urban growth for parts
of the region of Stuttgart has
to be created. This kind of ani-
mation is based on a so-called Fig. 2 Combining physical exercises and self-study (e.g. within the exercises "Thematic Cartography")
“Alphablending” procedure,
by which colour values are
slowly faded in. Best-of-examples, screen
videos of the working steps, FAQ`s as well
as tutorial help are means to support the
users during their project work within
the modules.
It is to annotate that it makes sense to
create a module on animated maps as the
topic itself is multimedia-based and
interactive. Because of this background
and as a result of consequent integration
into curricula this module won in 2005
the 2nd prize in the e-learning contest
“self-study online” at the University of
Stuttgart, whereby within the pro-
gramme “self-study online” more than
100 projects competed for the prize.
E VALUATI O N O F TAR G ET G R O U PS ,
M O D U L E S , AN D SYSTE M P L ATF O R M
Within the exercises on “Thematic Car-
tography” in 2005 an evaluation was car-
ried through for students of geography,
as well as geodesy and geoinformatics.
For this purpose, a special questionnaire
was used, which was adapted to a proto-
type evaluation in 2002/2003 as well as
experiences during the last term. The
questionnaire was filled-in by the stu-
dents while using the modules. The
results of the questionnaires are illustrat-
ed in table 3, which shows values from
one to seven for each question. One
MARCH - APRIL 2006
stands for “I completely disagree” and
seven for “I completely agree”. The values
between indicates steps between the
extreme values, thereby four indicates
the medium value.
At the beginning of the exercises on
“Thematic Cartography” the target group
was evaluated for their experiences and
expectations.It can be summarised that
daily usage of computer and internet are
self-evident, but experience with e-learn-
ing is low. The requisites for a successful
implementation of e-learning are good,
because expectation regarding this e-
learning offer is very high. Furthermore
each module (in this case “Animated
Maps”) was evaluated and the average
values are fairly good (around 5). Based
on additional comments from students
the current module version were upgrad-
ed to improve learning success of stu-
dents. By the end of term the whole e-
learning-platform were evaluated,
whereby the test group had a positive
judgement of the system as well as they
gave helpful feedback.
Furthermore it is annotated that the
evaluation will be carried through for a
longer time and the feedbacks of the
users as well as the evaluation results
will be used to upgrade the e-learning-
offers sustainably.
G I S
C O N C LU S I O N
The development of e-learning modules
is an ongoing task at IAGB. Any further
development is a result of the positive
evaluation of the existing modules as
well as of the ‘gimolus’ platform. The
combination of physical teaching and e-
learning seems to be very successful and
may be one academic teaching-model for
the future. The novel idea, is the creation
of an universal e-learning system that
may be used for life-long learning and
vocational training. Within a current
diploma thesis modules for different tar-
get groups like students, pupils and
geoinformation related companies are
developed. We believe a first step in the
direction of the system implementation
has commenced..
For complete list of references visit
http://www.mapmiddleeast.org/
magazine/2006/mar-apr/index.htm
Thilo Kaufmann
IAGB,
University of Stuttgart, Germany
thilo.kaufmann@iagb.uni-stuttgart.de
Volker Schwieger
IAGB
University of Stuttgart, Germany
volker.schwieger@iagb.uni-
stuttgart.de
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 31
 Enterprise GIS
Starting from the fact that GIS should be considered as continuous innovative process,
which combines technology, data, processes, human resources and partnerships. The paper
represents a point of view pertaining to frame of work in order to develop an enterprise GIS
ANGELA IONITA | Romanian Academy
A
s it is mentioned in a recent
paper [1] „...enterprise GIS
programmes are still relatively new, and
many organizations have just began making
the leap. Smaller communities and organiza-
tions have also started realising the benefits
of implementing enterprise GIS. As with any
new, rapidly emerging technology, the next
few years should be interesting as we
address current problems, find new prob-
lems and continue to push the envelope of
enterprise GIS”
Although Geographical Information System (GIS) is often
viewed as a technology project and an arena or the technically
sophisticated computer professional, the development of a
successful enterprise GIS is dependent more on proper manage-
ment participation and supervision than on the technical
solution. Therefore GIS implementation should be regarded as
32 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T
Developing
an Enterprise GIS
continuous innovative process, combining technology, data,
processes, human resources and partnerships.
In recent years many large companies, organizations and
municipalities have switched from independent, stand-alone
GIS systems to more integrated approaches that share resources
and applications.
The basic idea of an enterprise GIS is to address the needs of
departments collectively instead of individually. The develop-
ment of one comprehensive infrastructure minimizes potential
conflicts and misunderstandings and can result in significant
cost savings and performance improvements. In a review of the
identities of GIS, Chan and Willimson [2] summarize four per-
spectives on the nature of GIS: identificational, technological,
organizational and productional. In a diffusion study the identi-
ficational perspective describes features of GIS and distinguish-
es GIS from other types of information systems that may or
have been adopted by an organization.
These unique features include: data of entities and relation-
ships managed within a spatial framework; and ability to per-
form spatial analysis.
Rogers [9] defines diffusion as the process by which an innova-
tion is communicated through certain channels over time
among members of a social system, GIS adoption is typically a
MARCH - APRIL 2006

contingent innovation-decision [8] as its
adoption decision by an organization
normally proceeds that of the individuals
owing to the high capital outlay required.
As mentioned in [1], this type of decision
by an organization involves interaction
among complex sets of personal, organi-
sational and cultural interests. Further,
adoption does not necessarily lead to
successful utilization resulting in
benefits. They suggest that diffusion
should be an umbrella concept encom-
passing the processes of awareness
raising, adoption, implementation,
routinization and utilization and an eval-
uation of outcomes.
The basic mandate for any enterprise
GIS application is to ensure that all
departments within an organization
have access to geospatial information, so
that they can operate at maximum effi-
ciency. Some of the benefits, an enter-
prise GIS can provide, are greater consis-
tency and accuracy from improved sys-
tem-wide management, more efficient
use and sharing of data, reduced redun-
dancy of data across the system, better
use of departmental GIS resources and
reduced maintenance and support costs.
CO M B I N I N G TE C H N O LO GY, DATA
AN D P R O C E SS E S
One of the biggest benefits of an enter-
prise GIS is that priorities can be estab-
lished and decisions made about the best
way to use company resources. Data is
one of the most significant investments
in any GIS programme, so any approach
that reduces acquisition costs while
maintaining data quality is important.
With so many day-to-day operations of
municipalities and public utilities requir-
ing the use of geospatial data, a system
needs to be in place for sorting and priori-
tizing the requests. If funds are limited,
acquisition can be geared toward data
that fulfills the greatest number of needs.
Many GIS goals can be accomplished by
using commercial, off-the-shelf applica-
MARCH - APRIL 2006
tions, but there are occasions, where
customized applications must be devel-
oped. With an enterprise GIS programme,
it may be possible to develop a custom
application and then make minor revi-
sions to meet the needs of individual
departments.
A large category of enterprise GIS is
Business Intelligence (BI) that enables
business to run more efficiently by gath-
ering data from across the enterprise and
processing it for use by managers and
analysts in decision-making. BI is grow-
ing due to its great potential to stream-
line and enhance business processes.
Despite its potential, BI face two key
problems, with attendant opportunities:
BI has done a great job with data efficien-
A large
category of
Enterprise
GIS is
Business
Intelligence
cy, delivering the right data to all the play-
ers in the enterprise. The next opportunity
lies in decision effectiveness through
advanced analytics. As a result, use of
advanced analytics is not widespread and
managers do not give it the credibility it
deserves. The greatest opportunity for BI
today is to place easy to use and powerful
analytical tools in the hands of business
managers.
BI category has not provided business
leaders with geographically enabled tools
that easily support the management style.
The dynamic, fast-paced environment of
business extends from the individual
needs through the market and regional
level, to the executive suite. Every day,
managers from central and local public
administration are confronted with high-
impact decisions that require immediate
resolution. These decisions must be
based on the best information and analy-
G I S
sis available formatted to support the intu-
itive decision style native to many
business leaders. The key opportunity for
BI is to provide a platform that allows
managers to:
a. Visualize their business networks in a
dynamic and highly communicative
interface, and
b. Reveal key relationship in a way that
fosters intuitive and fact-based decision
making, without needing analysis,
expertise or data "geeks" [5].
"For geospatial technologies, to take
their place in the business mainstream,
the destination must be usability. Busi-
ness analytics, though powerful, are
meaningless unless decision makers can
easily interact with the information they
need to do a better job"1 and "spatial
information brings a rich view of fast-
breaking trends that impact a business"
says Henry Morris, group VP for applica-
tions and information access at analyst
firm IDC.
According to [6], the success of an enter-
prise GIS can be measured according to
performance and service. Specific per-
formance metrics include the availability
of data and other resources and the relia-
bility of the system and system usage;
service metrics include funding stability,
productivity, and degree of data sharing
and collaboration [11].
T H E F RAM E O F WO R K
An analysis of major stakeholders in GIS
area reveals several fundamental prob-
lems for implementing an integrated GIS
to support efforts institution-wide. First,
the stakeholders are working with differ-
ent deadlines and different goals. Envi-
ronmental monitoring and infrastructure
reference databases (e.g., utilities, struc-
tures, roads) emphasize longer-term
institutional and regulatory concerns,
such as change control, updates, consis-
tency of data format, and documentation
of data sources. Research projects often
place a higher priority on short-term
goals of rapid analysis and publication,
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 33
 with much of the knowledge held in the
minds of individuals. Data documenta-
tion, consistency of data format, and
long-term archiving may not be a high
priority. Once, a given research project is
completed and summarized, data are
stored in an ad hoc fashion and often are
eventually lost. However, these disparate
approaches have many common needs,
such as data quality standards and a
geoinformation management plan.
With proper design, enterprise GIS can
promote data sharing while protecting
data security and while promoting
increased integration of operations and
research efforts for the benefit of the
institution. Enterprise GIS can enable all
stakeholders to work more for the good of
the institution, by helping project and
operations workers to provide complete
and accessible data.
In [6] the perspective on evolution of
enterprise GIS is characterized as follows:
"The use of enterprise GIS is a natural
result of the evolution in geospatial data
sharing within institutions, but this
change can be painful. A natural part of
evolution is resistance to change, and is
manifested in unique ways at each insti-
tution.
This resistance is affected by different
stakeholder roles and stereotypes (e.g.,
operations vs. research). In addition, the
typically excellent working relations
among GIS professionals at the grass-
roots level can be limited by organiza-
tional divides". An enterprise GIS design
for an organization must meet the needs
and missions of a broad spectrum of
stakeholders. In the final analysis, "the
challenge lies in striking a balance in the
degree of centralized storage, administra-
tion, and procedural control while serv-
ing the needs of the GIS community for
streamlined data documentation, access,
and compatibility. Beyond the sharing of
geospatial data, the enterprise facilitates
sharing of information and GIS resources
as well".
34 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
H U MAN R E S O U R C E S
The key to the success of any enterprise
GIS is the people involved and, an
adequate training and support for it.
With a good training and support
programme, the number of knowledge-
able GIS users within an organization
will expand. Without such a programme,
the good intention ends up with a
handful of GIS experts and a failed
effort at extending GIS throughout the
organization.
A training programme can help poten-
tial users learn how to work within the
enterprise GIS structure, develop new
If better
maintained
and standard
data are more
accessible,
they would
be more
used
skills and keep up to date on technologi-
cal changes. Individual users typically do
things a little differently from their col-
leagues, and these differences are ampli-
fied as new users add their own idiosyn-
crasies when it comes to using GIS.
Formalized training will help ensure
consistency in training across the enter-
prise GIS.
After people have been trained, they
will need sufficient support to enable
them to do their jobs effectively. The key
to user support is providing a timely
response so that problems can be
resolved and users can get back to work.
E A S T
PARTN E R S H I P
Partnerships are often established as a
result of or in support of an Enterprise
GIS, because the enterprise GIS presents
many opportunities for partnership and
corporate re-engineering. Information
access enables groups to do things in new
ways, provide new services and informa-
tion products and lessen reliance on "tra-
ditional" approaches.
Partnerships are an effective way of
achieving consensus. Instead of each
organization acting independently, part-
nerships create a sense of shared respons-
ability for the product and its use. Part-
nerships broaden the basis of support for
projects and help to ensure that they sur-
vive to meet the needs of society.
Partnerships can encourage a clear divi-
sion of responsibility even when the data
needs are shared. Another aspects of part-
nerships refer to the data. Data are valu-
able because of their use. If data are more
accessible, standard, better maintained,
etc. They are more widely used and,
therefore, more valuable. A partnership
approach creates more valuable data.
According to FGDC, the key elements of
a partnerships refer to four aspects: shar-
ing of responsibilities, sharing costs, shar-
ing benefits and sharing of control.
In general, the partnership objectives
are: improving the use of data, improving
the development of data and mainte-
nance, improving awareness and educa-
tion. In order to develop a partnership are
commonly required three pieces:
An analysis of the business basis for
being involved that reflects the advan-
tages of the involvement for that partner;
A "philosophical" basis - an agreement in
the vision, that there are advantages to
pursuing a partnership;
An agreement document/understanding
which provides the relationship basis and
describes the responsibilities of the part-
ners.
C HAL L E N G E S AN D P OTE NTIAL
S O LUTI O N S F O R R O MAN IA
The challenge we faced was to manage
MARCH - APRIL 2006
geospatial information across 53 depart-
mental units and more than 200 process-
es. And we discovered that in our case,
geospatial information meant 389 layers
with more than 4000 distinct character-
istics... and that managing it meant data
and system functions seamlessly inte-
grated with those typically found in ERP,
CRM, Document Management and other
systems in a way totally transparent for
the user", says Ioana Raicu, Management
Information Director at Bucharest City
Hall, about the most ambitious single IT
project launched by a Romanian public
administration. While this level of com-
plexity on the problem side might not
come as a surprise for anyone familiar
with the operations of major municipali-
ties around the world, the decision of this
particular municipality to go ahead and
develop a state-of-the-art information
system with such a daring goal, on the
solution side, could be somewhat surpris-
ing for those familiar with the relative
sluggishness of public administration in
adopting cutting edge technology and
practices.
But if you take a closer look at the
geospatial solution market in Romania,
you could conclude that such solutions
are quickly becoming standard and that
this is one of the most demanding GIS
markets in the world. Bucharest City Hall
is not the only customer expecting what
was formerly known as GIS to get out of
its departmental and technological box
and merge into the mainstream manage-
ment and workflow information systems
[3]. When the Romanian national power
grid operator, Transelectrica, started a
major upgrade of its information systems
in 2002, the ultimate priority for this
giant company was to become interna-
tionally competitive, by massive cost
reductions, and to align its operations
with the European UCTE standards and
requirements.
All of which Transelectrica could not
accomplish without an effective manage-
MARCH - APRIL 2006
ment of enterprise wide geospatial infor-
mation along its entire life cycle,
enabling hundreds of users to manage a
network of 8800 km of power lines and
76 power stations. The solution, currently
in its rollout phase, is based on integrated
geospatial resources, power modeling,
outage and work order management sys-
tems and MIS [7].
Another exemple is represented by
APATERM [4]. APATERM provides utility
services to Oradea, a city of approximate-
ly 230,000 inhabitants on the western
border of Romania. The utility's complex
infrastructure encompasses citywide
ICS Romania
decided to
combine
GeoMedia
with the
customer's
existing
environment
water, heating, sewer, and storm-water
networks. The challenge of managing
such an elaborate infrastructure, with
almost 1,800 kilometers of pipes, led
company management to consider
implementing geospatial technology.
After evaluating the available technolo-
gies, APATERM contracted the develop-
ment of a network maintenance system
with Intergraph Computer Services
(ICS) Romania Ltd., a Team GeoMedia
Registered Solutions Provider.
In order to develop a geospatial solution
that is fully capable of becoming the
backbone of an enterprisewide informa-
G I S
tion system, ICS Romania decided to com-
bine GeoMedia with the customer's
existing environment, which included
Microsoft Windows, SQL Server, and
several custom applications. The first
major step toward this goal was to
redesign the main database to meet the
requirements of the new functionality of
the system. Professionals then deployed
GeoMedia Professional and GeoMedia
PublicWorks Manager for the creation
and maintenance of geospatial data.
The new system began to look like a
solution when core business processes in
network maintenance were automated
with the help of Web-based custom
applications that were developed on top
of GeoMedia WebMap. During the testing
phase, APATERM management realized
the full potential of spatially enabled
information and decided to expand this
system for use by the entire company.
The inherent scalability of GeoMedia
WebMap and Web-based applications
made this possible. The initial deploy-
ment was finalized in late 2002. The new
system now supports multiple major
functions, including network design and
modeling, real-time monitoring of critical
parameters, outage management, and
permit processing. Possibly the most
important gain for APATERM is the
ability to generate management infor-
mation, which is primarily a result of
spatial analysis capabilities. Strategic
decisions, as well as routine work orders,
are now based on spatially enabled
information generated by this system
and displayed on management control
panels that are powered by GeoMedia
WebMap.
According to APATERM's technical
director, Constantin Tomulescu, "Both the
management team and the staff have
fully accepted this new system because
of its ease of use. ICS Romania's experts
have successfully customized Intergraph
products and integrated them into our
system, responding to our needs and
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 35

improving our business processes."
In 2003, project managers decided to
extend the system by gradually transfer-
ring more of the department-centric
existing applications into the new
integrated work environment. They will
accomplish this task by rewriting the
applications as Web-based applications
that are integrated with GeoMedia
WebMap.
Besides the three showcase projects
already mentioned, ICS Romania has had
the opportunity to implement some oth-
er similarly large and daring solutions:
The Romanian Railways Company has
started operation of IRIS (Integrated Rail-
way Information System) in 2002. This
system is used nation wide (5000 users)
and integrates GIS and ERP for railway
infrastructure management.
CNLO, the largest Romanian coal mining
company with a yearly output of 35 million
tons of coal, is currently deploying its new
system for integrated management of
cadastral, topographical and geological
data with ERP.
The National Agency for Mineral
Resources has benefited from a World
Bank financing project which translated
into a state-of-the-art information system
that allows this agency to manage the
Romanian Mining Cadastre and Mineral
Titles Registry.
C O N C LU S I O N S
Such high demands need a matching
offer from local providers of geospatial
solutions. Selling GIS software is only the
tip of the iceberg, since in projects of such
complexity and magnitude the main
added value comes from the provider's
ability to analyze and model the cus-
tomer's daily activities, its workflows and
business processes, how they all interact,
or to solve problems like integrating CRM
and ERP with automated mapping and
spatial databases in a single functional
solution.
Most of the times, the customer's
request is no more or less than to inte-
grate data pertaining to many business
processes into a single database that
would feed information to a variety of
automated systems and applications, in
order to provide a geographical and rela-
tional inventory for all infrastructure
assets, maintaining geographic and sur-
vey maps for the entire network, manag-
ing workflows, maintenance operations
and other projects and, of course, moni-
toring costs.
Solving all these requirements calls for
developing a geospatial solution, as
opposed to delivering mere GIS software.
Recent projects have shown very clearly
that geospatial solutions play the role of
the missing functional link between vari-
ous enterprise information islands and
that geospatial information should be
looked at as the foundation of an effec-
tive management and decision informa-
tion system. While effective, such solu-
tions have also proved rather difficult to
develop.
It takes years of expertise in complex
project implementations to be able to
solve demands as the ones in the exam-
ples above.
ANGELA IONITA
Senior Researcher, Research
Institute for Artificial Intelli-
gence, Romanian Academy
aionita@racai.ro

References

1. Campbell, H. and Ian Masser, 1995, „GIS and Organizations”, 7. Loghin, Cristina, 2004, „Transelectrica a pariat pe GIS”, in Mar-
London, UK; Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis; ket Watch IT7C, April 2004, pp.2-3
2. Tai On Chan, Ian P. Williamson, 1999, „The different identities 8. Rogers, E.M., 1983, „Diffusion of Innovation”, 3rd ed. New York:
of GIS and GIS diffusion”, International Journal of Geographical The Free Press.
Information Science, 13(3); 9. Rogers, E.M., 1993, „The diffusion of innovation model”, in Dif-
3. Foca, M., (2004), in “How far would you go with your GIS”, fusion and Use of Geographic Information Technologies, I. Mass-
Romanian IT&C Directory, Oct. 2004, pp. 31 er and H.J. Onsrud eds. Dordecht /Boston/London: Kluwer Acade-
4. Global Link, 2003, Intergraph Mapping and Geospatial Solu- mic Publishers
tions, „Romania Water Utility improves services city wide”, 10. James L. Sipes , 2005, „Spatial Technologies: Software Strate-
International Newsletter, Issue 1 2003 gy: Options for the Enterprise - Organizations increase efficiency
5. Nicholas Jacquez, „From Business Data to Marketplace Intelli- by sharing resources and applications” available at:
gence TM” , The White Paper, available at: www.terraseer.com http://gis.cadalyst. com/gis/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=141055
6. Keating, G.N., Rich, P.M., Witkowski, M.S, 2003, „Challenges for 11. Witkowski, M.S., P.M. Rich, and G.N. Keating. 2004. Enterprise
Enterprise GIS”, in URISA Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, available at: GIS design. New Mexico Geographic Information Council, Fall
http://www.urisa.org/Journal/Vol15 No2/Keating.pdf Meeting. (November 20, 2003)

36 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

 Enterprise GIS
C
ensus operation is a very
important event in the history
of a nation. The operation covers every bit of
land and property in rural and urban areas of
a country. In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA),
the Central Department of Statistics (CDS)
conducts census operation every 10 years.
The last census operation was conducted in
(1992) .
The preparation of the next census operation began in 2003 and
expected to be finished by the end of 2006. Census information
must be shared by all divisions within the organization to sup-
port mandated functions and also to supply other ministries
and organizations in KSA with this information. The key factors
38 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T
Solutions
for census
operation
The census database contains lot of attrib-
ute data which can be linked to spatial
data by spatial referencing. The article
tries to describe the system developed for
census data distribution
AYMEN A. SOLYMAN | GIS Expert, GTZ, Germany
of implementing an Enterprise GIS solution are cooperation,
management, knowledge, funding and experience. This article
describes the system developed for KSA census data distribu-
tion.
G IS AN D C E N S U S DATA
When we look at major forces of the 21st century like population
growth, economic development and consumption of natural
resources, we see that all of them have a spatial component.
Data produced by the census is a primary source of information
needed for effective development, planning and monitoring of
population, services distribution and socio-economics.
The census database contains a lot of attribute information
which can be linked to spatial data by spatial referencing. Relat-
ing the spatial component along with non-spatial attributes of
the existing organizational data enhances user's understanding
and gives new insights into the patterns and relationships in
the data that would otherwise not be found, and to enhance the
MARCH - APRIL 2006
decision-making process. Taking into
consideration that many potential users
of spatial information don't know about
GIS technology, the development of an
Enterprise GIS solution would serve two
crucial purposes. Firstly, it would allow
the users to operate the system without
having to know the underlying intrica-
cies of GIS and RDBMS technology.
Secondly, it would allow sharing of infor-
mation and technical experience
between a wide range of users.
E NTE R P R I S E G IS
Over the past few years, the terms Enter-
prise GIS and Enterprise-wide GIS are
becoming more common in the GIS com-
munity, in organizational strategic plans
and requests for services. Enterprise
GIS is not a method to provide automated
map plotting capabilities to the
entire organization. Enterprise GIS is the
sum of a coordinated GIS effort and its
federated systems working together
to support and promote coordinated
geo-spatial data development and access
across jurisdictional and organizational
boundaries.
The vision and promise of Enterprise
GIS is its ability to be an essential or
core technology that integrates informa-
tion across the many "islands of
computer information systems" that
exist in any organization. The critical
capabilities associated with Enterprise
GIS include:
Integrating geographic data across
departments and serves the entire organ-
ization
Providing desktop access via LAN and
WAN connections to anyone who needs
access, i.e. Enterprise GIS fully supports
client-server operability
Providing access to other information
systems in the organization by using a
map or application as the integrator of the
organization's information; and
Communicating with other entities
outside of the enterprise itself.
MARCH - APRIL 2006
Fig. 1 System Design Architecture
S YSTE M A R C H ITE C TU R E D E S I G N
While designing any Enterprise GIS solu-
tion to meet the client's requirements,
the most important factors to be included
are: functional module, graphic user
interface, downloading time, system per-
formance and the cost of the solution.
The system must be portable and
It would allow
sharing of
information
and technical
experience
between a
wide range
of users
extendable to accommodate future
changes in hardware, software and net-
working. Keeping in view these factors,
the solution KSA has developed is based
on two components: the server side and
the web client side, which runs in the
browser. The server is a set of applica-
tions that serve the requests made by a
G I S
client. It is divided into two sections: the
map server which is responsible for creat-
ing maps from the spatial database based
on client requests and sends them back to
the client, and the other section is the
data server which is responsible for man-
aging tabular data at the server side and
sending the information to the client. The
web client is partitioned into two parts,
the map console (map area, map tools,
dynamic legend and the query items) and
the side information table.
At this solution, the client is a thin client
user, i.e. the analysis procedures is
processed on demand on the server side.
Data transmitted to the web-client are in
standard HTML format embedded with
typical PNG (Portable Network Graphics)-
8bit image format (35K-45K) that can be
viewed in any standard web browser. The
advantage of this approach that there is
no need to download any plug-ins on the
client side.
The performance of the system is meas-
ured by the ability to respond to requests
faster, and the reliability of the system.
Typically, the response to a certain query
must not take longer than 25 seconds. The
overall system performance is dependant
on the combination of client, server and
networking performance, not the individ-
ual components, and is controlled by the
weakest component within the total
solution.
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 39

Fig. 2 Census Indicators
In this phase of the project, one server
machine is used for the functionality of
the web server, map server and data
server, which are installed together. In
phase two of the project after the comple-
tion of the census data project, it is
planned that the web server, application
server and data server will be on separate
machines.
The diagram below illustrates a general
view of the system design architecture.
D ATABAS E D E S I G N
The database design is the foundation for
building any enterprise GIS solution. The
enterprise GIS database design must be
thorough, well documented, permit mod-
ifications and allow continual updates.
Many enterprise GIS efforts suffer from
either the complete lack of a database
design or one that is so rigid that it can-
not grow. It must be noted that the data-
base design is a factor that affects the
performance and download time of the
solution. The database design defines
these components.
Spatial database content, structure and
format.
SQL server attribute data content, struc
40 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
ture, format and constraints.
Relationships between spatial data and
census data.
Relationships between attribute data
tables in the existing RDBMS.
Updating processes for both spatial and
census data.
Data dictionary for both spatial and cen-
sus data.
The design of the database includes
three major elements.
Conceptual design, which is independent
of hardware and software and could be a
list of utilization goals.
Logical design, which is the specification
of the database vis-à-vis a particular soft-
ware.
Physical design, which pertains to the
hardware and software characteristics
and requires consideration of file struc-
ture, memory, disk space, access and
speed. The database in the solution can
be classified into two categories - tabular
data and geospatial data.
Tabular Data(attribute data)
The database containing the KSA census
information is classified into four main
categories.
Population: The database stores data
about the population categorized into
Saudi, non-Saudi and total population in
E A S T
each province. In each table in the popula-
tion database, the data are classified into
categories based on the age range of
both males and females.
Education: The database stores data
about the number of educated people
according to the level of education in
each province.
Social: The database stores data about
the marital status of Saudi, non-Saudi and
total in each province.
Services: The database stores data about
the different services available in each
province including information about
agriculture, education (primary-intermedi-
ate - secondary - high - others),
health, administration, public and social
services.
Geospatial Data
Three initial data layers were determined
necessarily to build the foundation for
The database
design is the
foundation for
building any
enterprise GIS
solution
the census data solution.
International Boundaries Layer: The poly-
gon layer contains the international
boundaries of KSA. The source of this lay-
er is the General Directorate of Military
Survey.
Province Boundaries Layer: The polygon
layer contains the boundaries of
provinces in KSA. KSA consists of 13
provinces and 118 governorates. The
source of this layer is the CDS. The map-
ping unit was produced based on the set-
tlement GPS points.
Grids Layer: The polygon layer contains
the grids of 1:250,000 maps produced by
the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 Resources-Aerial Survey Department.
The design specifications are docu-
mented in a data dictionary that contains
a description of each data layer, the data
types used to model geographic features
(point, line, polygon), tables structure,
field definitions, coding schemes, and
other information.
S YSTE M I M P L E M E NTATI O N
Based on the user needs assessment and
database contents, the census indicators
are classified into nine categories.
Population (distribution, density) and each
sub-category is classified into Saudi, non-
Saudi and total
Education status (Saudi, non Saudi and
total)
Social status (Saudi, non Saudi, total)
Education services (primary, intermediate,
secondary, high and others).
Health services
Agriculture services
choose a specific category such as the dis-
Social services
tribution of population of Saudi for a spe-
Administrative services
cific age range. Figure 2 shows:
Public services.
The results of any query can be visual-
ized in a number of ways that enhance
the user's understanding and interpreta-
tion of the data, some of which are:
Compare multiple attributes of a feature
by depicting the attributes as elements of
bar or pie chart;
Compare one feature to another by the
relative size of each feature's chart; and
Shade each category in a graded
The database stores
data about the population
categorized into Saudi, non-
Saudi and total population
in each province
MARCH - APRIL 2006
Fig. 3 Statistical Operations
sequence of a user-defined colour ramp.
As shown in Figure 2, the user can
A thematic map classified into five equal
categories according to the values of the
query item (1);
A dynamic legend at the right side of the
map console indicating the color and the
value of each category (2);
A dynamic bar chart showing the percent-
age of values to the total in each province
(3);
A table containing the values of the
selected query item in each province (4);
and
G I S
A table containing the provinces with max
value, min value, mean value and the total
value (5).
For statistical operations, the user
can choose any two items from the
population data to compare by relating
the relative size of each feature's chart as
shown in Figure 3. For example, the user
can choose to compare the number of
male of Saudi (query item1) to the total
number of population (query item2).
Figure 3 shows:
A chart map displaying a relative bar
or pie chart of query item1 to query
item2 in each province (the user can
choose to display the results as pie or bar
chart); and
A table containing the values of query
item1, query item2 and percentage of
query item1 to query item2 in each
province.
The solution allows users to print the
map results in the standard template of
the organization. Also the map can be
exported as image to be used in other
applications.
Aymen A. Solyman
GIS Expert, GTZ, Germany
admin@cairolocator.com
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 41
 Enterprise GIS
GIS Systems at the enterprise level support core business and any downtime or performance
issues that can be critical, affecting the enterprise’s business. Consequently, GIS Managers
need to ensure optimum system functionality at all times and adopt a proactive approach
in managing enterprise spatial databases
A. DEVA KUMAR VARMA| Doha, Qatar
o
rganizations spend thousands of
dollars in the collection and com-
pilation of spatial data. To reduce overall
costs, effective data sharing among the
organizations is widely recognized as a strat-
egy - one with the side effect of enhancing
organization's operational efficiency, effec-
tiveness, and decision-making ability.
This philosophy underlies the new paradigm that is rapidly tak-
ing shape with the growing adoption of GIS technology by large
organizations. Though it goes under different names, by far the
best suited is Enterprise GIS (E-GIS). The key concept underlying
Enterprise GIS systems is data sharing, unlike in traditional sys-
tems where the views varied from reluctance to almost a taboo.
42 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T
ENTERPRISE
Geodatabase
Implementation
Emergence of such systems reflects a major shift in manage-
ment perspective regarding data related issues like sharing,
ownership, custodianship, etc. In an enterprise environment,
data plays an important role. An introduction to configuration
and implementation of spatial databases is presented in this
article. Since the focus is more on practical aspects rather than a
theoretical treatment, the discussion is based on ArcSDE soft-
ware, part of the ESRI ArcGIS family of software products, wide-
ly used for implementing enterprise spatial databases.
E NTE R P R I S E G IS S YSTE M S
An Enterprise GIS system in reality is an aggregate of three sub-
systems viz., mapping, spatial analysis, and data management.
E-GIS systems differ in scope and services from that of a tradi-
tional one. Under traditional environments system downtime,
or its poor performance, is not critical to the enterprise's busi-
ness. But, GIS Systems at the enterprise level support its core
business and any downtime or performance issues can be criti-
cal affecting the enterprise's business.
MARCH - APRIL 2006
E NTE R P R I S E S PATIAL D ATABAS E
Enterprise spatial databases tend to be
centralized and grow rapidly. Spatial
database environments of the 1990s with
10 - 20 GB vector data have now grown to
over 100GB, while the raster have grown
from 100-200 GB to several terabytes in
the same period. To provide data to many
hundreds of users at performance levels
reasonable enough to do their business at
all times is a potential challenge even to a
skilled GIS professional. It is here the
importance of configuring and managing
an enterprise GIS database assumes sig-
nificance.
E NTE R P R I S E G E O DATABAS E
For delivering successful E-GIS database
solutions one of the preferred candidates
around the world is ArcSDE software.
Though many have heard of ArcSDE not
all might have had the opportunity to use
it, or even less, utilize to implementation
an Enterprise-GIS database.
ArcSDE is an application server that
facilitates the storage and management
of spatial data (raster, vector, and survey)
in a DBMS. Spatial data managed by ArcS-
DE in a DBMS for an enterprise is called
an Enterprise Geodatabase. A Geodata-
base - short for geographic database -
simply put, is a series of standard DBMS
tables, indexes, etc., which works in con-
cert with higher-level logic resident in
the application tier to support geographic
analysis and display functions. At the
moment, ArcSDE supports four commer-
cial databases IBM DB2, Informix,
Microsoft SQL Server , and Oracle .
ArcSDE brokers all types of database
transactions for GIS clients. It does the job
so nicely that GIS happily ticks away
oblivious of DBMS flavours that host the
spatial data. This single feature enabled
GIS to pull down barriers to spatial data-
base integration and leverage the exist-
ing IT infrastructure. E-GDB is preferred
by enterprises due to its ability to inte-
grate and leverage their IT infrastructure.
MARCH - APRIL 2006
E-GDB may sound prohibitively expen-
sive to some, in terms of hiring and main-
taining staff with expertise in ArcSDE /
Many have
DBMS.
In such cases, there is a simple solution,
heard of
use the free ESRI software "ArcSDE for
Coverages". It is easy to implement and
ArcSDE,
makes your transition to ArcSDE as pain-
less as possible. Space constraints limit
not all might
this discussion to ArcSDE, interested
readers may refer ESRI documentation.
have had the
A R C SDE S TO RAG E M O D E L opportunity
Before proceeding further it is prudent to
have some basic understanding of how to use it
ArcSDE stores spatial data in the geodata-
Features as Rows
base (GDB).
Attributes as Columns
Storage Formats
ArcSDE offers three types of spatial stor- Feature class as Tables
age formats, (refer to table-1). ArcSDE's Users view a feature class as a single
default data storage format, and the entity, or more precisely, as a single table.
focus of this introductory treatise, is com- But in the Geodatabase, ArcSDE stores it
pressed binary with LONG RAW column as half a dozen separate tables.
type.
Irrespective of the logic at the applica- A R C SDE D ATA D I C TI O NARY
tion level storage is implemented by the ArcSDE creates and maintains two sets of
underlying DBMS. It means that the data tables. One set of tables, called Geodata-
is stored ultimately as the rows and base System Table, is created on behalf of
columns of table(s). ArcSDE maps the log- users to store their data. Another set,
ical elements of a feature class in the called ArcSDE System Table, is created for
DBMS as follows. its exclusive use and contains informa-
Table 1: ArcSDE Spatial Storage types
Spatial Storage Type Column Data Type
Compressed Binary as LONG RAW or as Binary Large Object (BLOB)
Spatial Geometry SDO_GEOMETRY
OGC well known binary LONG RAW
Table 2: ArcSDE System tables maintaining information on versioned state tree
Table Name Meta-data held
STATES Meta-data on the state of versions
STATE_LINEAGES Meta-data on versions' state lineages
MVTABLES_MODIFIED Meta-data on versions' state and table Ids modified
VERSIONS Meta-data on versions
G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 43
 should be changed directly using SQL is configured and tuned for ArcSDE.
ESRI because they are not designed for such
operations. Any attempt to do so might
Inherently, ArcSDE is both CPU and disk
intensive. The latter poses a serious chal-
does not corrupt the Geodatabase and result in
irreparable damage.
lenge and should be adequately
addressed to achieve goal of every E-GDB

recommend I M P L E M E NTI N G AN E-G DB

viz., to provide data access at reasonable
performance. CPU is not considered as it

automatic E-GDB implementation is nothing but

ArcSDE installation and configuration.
falls outside the purview of this article.

segment space Though installation is straightforward

configuring ArcSDE and its companion
Reducing disk contention
Balancing disk I/O across file systems by

management DBMS pose the real challenge, demand-

tion / metadata about users' tables. These
two sets of tables together form the ArcS-
DE data dictionary. Typically, one seldom
needs to know about ArcSDE System
Tables except for the four tables in Table -
2, particularly if the Geodatabase is ver-
sion enabled - which is the norm not an
exception for an E-GDB.
These tables are important as they
maintain transaction information of the
versioned Geodatabase's state tree and
are highly active in an OLTP applications
environment.
In an active Geodatabase
STATE_LINEAGES table can grow rapidly
with rows reaching as many as a million
while the VERSIONS table grows the least
with rows as few as a 100.
Geodatabase System Table consists of
several tables created by ArcSDE to hold
its users' data. Major ones are listed in
Table-3. No part of the data dictionary
ing close attention and expertise. In this
section, major aspects of ArcSDE installa-
tion are discussed - intending it to be a
good practical guide for beginners in E-
GDB implementations.
Several steps are involved in the imple-
mentation of E-GDB. Even before think-
ing of the different steps involved, the
DBMS to work with ArcSDE must be iden-
tified. By far one of the RDBMSs widely
used with ArcSDE in an enterprise envi-
ronment is Oracle.
Hence, in our E-GDB implementation
the chosen DBMS is Oracle and it is pre-
sumed that an ArcSDE compatible Oracle
the database is already up and running. The
important steps in the implementation of
an E-GDB are:
Configure Oracle for G I S
The aim of the whole exercise is to
achieve optimum performance. Perfor-
mance is key to the success or failure of E-
GDB and, it depends on how well Oracle
positioning "hot" (frequently accessed,)
with "cold" (least accessed) will minimize
disk contention. Sometimes it is difficult
to judge the hot and cold files beforehand
but after the database has been in use for
some time they can be identified from
the established usage patterns. The fol-
lowing table (Table-4) provides guide-
lines on reducing I/O contention.
Oracle Parameters
For ArcSDE, ESRI recommends locally
managed tablespaces and a data block
size of 16 KB. Since tablespaces are locally
managed each datafile should be allotted
1MB extra space for management over-
head. ESRI do not recommend automatic
segment space management because of
the potential impact it has on a spatial
query when fetching each Oracle block
but recommends
SHARED_POOL_SIZE at least 128MB /
200MB for highly active Geodatabases
START_TRANSFORMATION_ENABLED
should be FALSE

Table 3: Major Geodatabase System tables OPTIMIZER_MODE set to CHOOSE

Table Name Data stored To disable parallel execution on ArcSDE

schema
Business table Attributes
Feature table Geometry
Spatial index Grid tiles and Envelopes (spatial extents) Design database file position
Network Connectivity and flow direction Database file positioning is crucial to per-
Topology Error Topology errors formance and demands skill in its plan-
Logfile Logfile metadata ning and design. Once designed, ArcSDE
can be easily instructed how and in
Versions Changes made to versioned users business table
which database files to create its tables
Raster Store images
and indexes.
Geocoding index Locator related indexes.

44 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

D E S I G N CO N S I D E RATI O N S
Standard GIS storage recommendations
favor keeping index and log files separate
from vector and tabular business tables.
For performance reasons position the
business, feature, and spatial index tables
separately. Positioning indexes and
tables separately into different table-
spaces achieves no performance gains
but is done for management reasons.
Position tablespace datafiles based on its
usage pattern. For multi-versioned highly
active editing Geodatabase, database
files of VERSIONS tablespace may be sep-
arated and splattered across available
disks to avoid I/O contention. Positioning
of SIT is unimportant. But its index, S<reg-
istration ID>_IX1 is a covering index and
Oracle always reads it sparing SIT. Hence,
a moderate to low I/O disk is preferred for
this index. Oracle Optimal Configuration
suggested by ESRI is as follows:
DISK 0 - Oracle/App Software DISK 0
DISK 1 - SYSTEM, Control File 1
DISK 2 - RBS, TEMP, Control File 2
DISK 3 - REDO 1,2,3, Export Files
DISK4 - Feature Data tables
DISK5 - Spatial Index Data tables
DISK6 - Attribute Data / Business tables
DISK7 - Oracle Indexes
Create database files
The best way to accomplish this task is to
use the simple and interactive GUI tool of
Storage Manager provided by Oracle
Enterprise Manager. Use it to create data-
base files as per the developed design.
C R EATE O RAC L E SDE U S E R
User SDE is the ArcSDE administrator and
its table space is used to store ArcSDE Sys-
tem tables. Remember, SDE user space is
exclusively for storing ArcSDE System
tables and other users should not even
MARCH - APRIL 2006
attempt to access, let alone store, data-
base objects in this space.
SDE user has to be set up with special
database privileges and separate table
spaces, if design criteria so demands. To
ease the initial set up process ESRI has
provided the optional Oracle package
called sdesys_util located under %SDE-
HOME%\tools\oracle.
The package can automate many of the
initial tasks required in the creation of
SDE user as well as in the installation of
ArcSDE. For installing this package log in
as Oracle SYS user and then run the fol-
lowing commands
SQL> @sdesys_util.sps (user command)
Package created (Oracle response)
SQL> @sdesys_util.spb (user command)
Package body created (Oracle response)
Once the package is installed one may
utilize the stored procedures in the pack-
age to automate the initial set up process-
es. Start by creating the SDE user utilizing
the procedure SDESYS.UTIL_CREATE_SDE.
SQL> EXE C S D E SYS _ UTI L . C R E -
ATE _ S D E _ U S E R ;
The advantage of creating SDE user in
this fashion is the assurance of a proper
set up because of the compliance checks
the script does on the database before
opening the administrative account. The
script also has the option to specify the
tablespace locations. Once SDE user is cre-
ated the required privileges can be grant-
Table 4: Suggested design to reduce disk I/O contention
File Type Database Activity
Redo log Frequent edits
Redo log Little or no edits
Undo log files Frequent edits
System data
Temporary Tablespace
G I S
SDE user
has to be
set up with
special
database
privileges
ed, again, using the stored procedure
GRANT_SDE_ INSTALL_PRIV.
SQL> exec sdesys_util.grant_sde_
install_privs;
ArcSDE utilizes the stored procedures in
Oracle's built-in packages DBMS_PIPE and
DBMS_LOCK, therefore execute privilege
on these packages should be granted. The
stored procedure sdesys_util handles it
efficiently. GDB set up fails if the privi-
lege is NOT granted.
SQL> exec sdesys_util.grant_
pipes_locks;
ArcSDE users (for client log-ins) too can be
created and managed using a similar
package shipped by ESRI. The package is
user_util and is installed as described for
sdesys_util. The stored procedure CRE-
ATE_USER_AND_LOGFILES within this
package creates an Oracle user with the
Move file to Disk with
Relatively low I/O
Moderate I/O
Low I/O but separate from redo log files
Moderate I/O
High I/O.
D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T 45
 ArcSDE treats
all parameters
under a
keyword as a
logical unit
required privileges. The usage of these
procedures is customisable.
Install ArcS DE
Installing ArcSDE from the CD is a
straightforward process well document-
ed in the installation manual. A post
installation phase that follows builds the
actual GDB.
Build E- G DB
The responsibility of building the E-GDB
is shared between the two modules sde-
setupora* (where * is your Oracle version)
and DBTUNE.SDE located respectively
under $SDEHOME/bin (on Windows
%SDEHOME%\bin) and $SDEHOME/etc
(on Windows %SDEHOME%\etc)
Sdesetupora* builds GDB by taking its
cue from DBTUNE.SDE. This way the E-
GDB implementation can be fully con-
trolled by configuring parameters in
DBTUNE.SDE. The following sequence is
established in building an E-GDB
Configure DBTUNE.SDE
Execute sdesetupora*
Configure DBTU N E.S DE
DBTUNE (DBTUNE.SDE) may seem over-
whelming to the novice but is really sim-
ple once its structure is understood. It
consists of a number of lines each staring
with a parameter but when prefixed by
"##" it is called a keyword. Keywords are
parameter groups terminating with the
word "END". ArcSDE treats all parameters
under a keyword as a logical unit and
46 G I S @ D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E
keywords provide a convenient way for
users to inform ArcSDE on how/where to
locate several of its tables and indexes.
DBTUNE parameters are customized to
define storage configurations of tables,
indexes, and complex objects ArcSDE cre-
ates in the GDB. For the sake of simplicity,
our E-GDB is assumed to have no com-
plex objects. Customizing DBTUNE
means removing "#" (NOT "##") and
replacing the word "<tablespace name>"
in each parameter with the actual name
in the database where you wish to store
that ArcSDE table or index denoted by the
particular parameter. In the following
example, "<tablespace name>" for param-
eter B_STORAGE is replaced by
DFLT_BUSINESS.
B_STORAGE "PCTFREE 10 PCTUSED 90
INITRANS 4 TABLESPACE DFLT_BUSINESS
STORAGE (FREELISTS 4 MINEXTENTS 1
PCTINCREASE 0)"
For our kind of GDB, the parameters
under keywords DEFAULTS, LOGFILE_
DEFAULTS, and DATA_DICTIONARY alone
need be edited. Keyword DEFAULTS in
fact defines ArcSDE's default configura-
tion. Description and parameter names
under DEFAULTS and LOGFILE_DEFAULTS
are given below while those under
DATA_DICTIONARY are explained in
table 2. The list being long, wild cards are
used to denote related objects
B_* Business table related
F_* Feature table related
S_* Spatial Index related
A_* Versions related - meta-data on
added features
D_* Versions related - met-data on
deleted features
RAS_* Raster related tables /indexes
BND_* Raster related tables /indexes
AUX_* Raster related tables /indexes
BLK_* Raster related tables /indexes
LF_* Log file related tables /indexes
E A S T
LD_* Log file data related
tables /indexes
For example, parameters B_STORAGE,
B_INDEX_ROWID, B_INDEX_SHAPE, and
B_INDEX_USER are all denoted by B_*.
You are free to have your own set ups
other than the default. To avoid potential
syntax errors just copy and paste the key-
word DEFAULTS (lines from DEFAULTS to
END both inclusive) and edit the keyword
and the tablespace names as appropriate.
LOGFILE_DEFAULTS holds the parame-
ter group for users who do not have a
keyword of their own. To earmark GDB
space for individual users copy and paste
keyword LOGFILE_DEFAULTS and
1. edit tablespace names
2. replace DEFAULT in keyword with the
username.
For example, if username is "Varma"
then the keyword would be LOGFILE_
VARMA. Starting from ArcSDE 9 users
have more flexibility in customizing log
files and its associated parameters.
Execute sdesetupora*
Sdesetupora* physically implements the
GDB by reading the DBTUNE file. At the
end of its execution it creates a DBTUNE
table and populates it from DBTUNE file.
All subsequent ArcSDE commands refer
this table before creating any new tables
or indexes. On successful execution of
sdesetupora* it establishes the GDB as
envisaged in its design.
The successful implementation of GDB
automatically implies the completion of
our E-GDB building process and
announces the system’s readiness to go
live and accept client requests to serve
the enterprise.
A. Deva Kumar Varma
GIS Engineers Society,
Doha, Qatar
dkvarma@vsnl.com
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 GIS Development Middle East
Calendar for Year 2006
Issue Application Technology

January-February Spatial Data Infrastrucutre High Resolution Imaging

March-April e-Governance Enterprise GIS

May-June Infrastructure+Urban Planning Photogrammetry/Lidar

July-August Location Based Services Navigation & Positioning Technology

September-October GIS & Human Resource Development Geodatabase

Natural Resource Management /Land

November-December Web GIS
Administration

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 Conference Report
Seminar on Spatial Data Infrastructure
T
o create awareness among the
people a seminar on spatial data
infrastructure was organised for the first
time in the UAE on 12 February 2006. The
speakers at the seminar focussed on the
need to establish a national data inventory
and to develop mechanisms for data avail-
ablility and their accessibility. The Abu
Dhabi seminar was attended by high officials
from the government of Abu Dhabi and from
other Emirates of the UAE.
The seminar was organized by Military Survey Department,
UAE; Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Management Establishment Com-
mittee, and GIS Development was the co-organiser. The Semi-
nar was chaired by Brig. Khalifa Al Romaithi, the Director of Mil-
48 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T
itary Survey Department and the Chairman, SDI. The welcome
address to the distiguished gathering was delivered by Lt. Col.
Saleh Al Hubail, Head of Aerial Survey, Military Survey Depart-
ment. Lt. Col. Hubail is also the member of Spatial Data Infra-
structure Committee.
The seminar was addressed by a number of various distin-
guished International speakers who came down from different
parts of the globe to share their experiences in developing of a
Spatial Data Infrastructure for a nation.
Mr. Pak Chargarlamudi, Manager Geomatics, Natural
Resources Canada; Dr. Steve Blake, Executive Director, Aus-
tralian and New Zealand Land Information Council; Major Gen-
eral Gopal Rao, Surveyor General of India; Dr. Abdul Kadir,
Deputy Director-General of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia; Mr.
Robert Samborski, Executive Director, GITA and Mr. Ravi Gupta,
Editor-in-Chief, GIS Development.
Brigadier Khalifa Al Romaithi highlighted the various issues
pertaining to the implementation of SDI in Abu Dhabi. He spoke
about the legislations required, policies and existing laws for
Geo-Information to implement SDI in the UAE. Sharing his
MARCH - APRIL 2006
 the strategic plan
that is being required The seminar
to maintain develop-
ing spatial policy and focussed on
strategy for govern-
ments. Dr.
Kadir gave an insight
Abdul the need to
to the
Geospatial
Malaysian
Data
establish a
Infrastructure (MyG-
DI) and the initiatives
national data
undertaken by JUPEM
with its focus in
inventory and
meeting the chal-
lenges of the geo-
to develop
information commu-
nity. mechanisms
While exchanging
his views, Major Gen- for data
eral Gopal Rao show-
cased the overarch- availablility
ing framework of
National Spatial Data and the development of National Spatial
Infrastructure (NSDI) Data Infrastructure in emerging and
for the existing agen- developing countries. He emphasized, the
cies. NSDI of India end user is going to be the gainer with
envisions its active the new offerings provided by the
promotional role for upcoming spatial data providers.
the use of spatial The seminar was concluded with an
experiences Mr. Pak Chargarlamudi data at different levels of the government open house Panel Discussion headed by
highlighted the framework structure and other stakeholders of NSDI. Mr. Brig. Khalifa Al Romaithi, which high-
required for development of SDI and also Robert Samborski presented how to lighted many issues and recommenda-
presented the Canadian perspective and develop and document a formal method- tions to be taken care of for such an initia-
strategies. ology in the preparation of a business tive to implement Spatial Data Infra-
Dr. Steve Blake presented a report on case, including Return on Investment in structure in a nation. Many of the issues
the long established SDI structure in Aus- Geospatial Information Technology. Mr. were documented for further review and
tralia and New Zealand and focused on Ravi Gupta summarized the experiences discussion.
 Events

March 2006 May 2006 July 2006 September 2006

26 - 29 MARCH 1 - 2 MAY 4 - 5 J U LY 14 - 22 S E PTE M B E R

Map Middle East 2006 ESRI Business GeoInfo OBIA 2006 9th International
Dubai World Trade Centre, Summit Salzburg, Austria Symposium on High
Dubai, UAE Boston, USA http://www.agit.at/obia Mountain Remote Sensing
info@mapmiddleeast.org geoinfosummit@esri.com Cartography
http://www.mapmiddleeast.org http://www.esri.com/geoinfo 5-7 J U LY Graz, Austria
10th International viktor.kaufmann@tugraz.at
April 2006 3 - 4 MAY Conference on Information http://www.kfunigraz.ac.at/geowww
Map Malaysia 2006 Visualisation (IV06) /hmrsc/hmrsc_9
5 - 7 APR I L Palace of the Golden Horses, London, UK
GIS Research UK 2006 Jalan Kuda Emas, banisse@lsbu.ac.uk October 2006
University of Nottingham, The MINES Resort City, http://www.graphicslink.co.uk/IV06
United Kingdom Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8 - 13 OCTOB E R
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/ info@mapmalaysia.org 10-12 J U LY FIG Working Week 2006
geography/gisruk http://www.mapmalaysia.org 12th International and XXIII General Assembly
Symposium on Spatial Munich, Germany
20-22 APR I L 14 - 17 MAY Data Handling http://www.fig2006.de
9th AGILE International CIM Conference and Vienna, Austria
Conference on Geographic Exhibition greg.elmes@mail.wvu.edu 9-13 OCTOB E R
Information Science Vancouver Conference and http://www.agile-secretariat.org ACRS2006
Visegrád, Exhibition Centre, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Hungary Montreal, Quebec, Canada 13 - 17 J U LY msaandar@mongol.net
AGILE2006@forestry.gsi.gov.uk http://www.cim.org COAST - GIS 06 http://www.acrs2006.ub.mn
http://www.agile2006.hu 7th International
7 - 12 MAY Symposium on GIS and 20 - 21 OCTOB E R
25 - 26 APR I L 2006 International Computer Cartography for Geoinformatics 2006
International LIDAR Mapping Congress of Imaging Coastal Zone Management. Wuhan, China
Forum Conference Science (ICIS’06) Wollongong and Sydney http://www.Imars.whu.edu.cn/
Astor Crowne Plaza New York, USA Australia geoinformatics2006
New Orleans , USA icis06@imaging.org http://www.uow.edu.au/science/eesc
http://www.lidarmap.org/ http://www.imaging.org /conferences/coastgis06
conference.html November 2006
June 2006 31 J U LY - 4 AUG UST
26 - 29 APR I L IEEE/IGARSS 2006 3 - 11 NOVE M B E R
GITA Annual Conference 7-9 J U N E Denver, USA GSDI-9
Tampa Convention Center, Location 2006 http://www.igarss06.org Santiago, Chile
Tampa, USA Hotel Grand Ashok gsdi9@igm.cl
info@gita.org Bangalore, India August 2006 http://www.igm.cl/gsdi9
http://www.gita.org/events/ http://www.location.net.in
annual/29 info@location.net.in 29 AUG. - 1 S E PT. 20 - 24 NOVE M B E R
Map Asia 2006 13th Australasian Remote
30 APR I L - 4 MAY 12 - 15 J U N E Queen Sirikit National Sensing & Photogrammetry
ASPRS Annual Conference Intergraph 2006 Convention Center Conference 2006
Reno, Nevada, USA Disney Coronado Resort, Bangkok, Thailand Canberra, Australia
http://www.asprs.org/asprs/ Orlando, USA info@mapasia.org arspc@icms.com.au
meetings/calendar.html http://www.intergraph2006.com http://www.mapasia.org http://www.arspc.org

50 G I S D E V E L O P M E N T - M I D D L E E A S T MARCH - APRIL 2006

 COURSES
Diploma in Geo- Informatics Industry Specific
Two months full time programme covering basics of GIS, GPS and Remote Training programme on domain specific applications of Geo-informatics
Sensing. The programme provides extensive Hands-on training on like, Agriculture, Health, Power, Transportation, Urban Planning etc
AutoCAD Map, MapInfo, ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine and GPS based Mobile
Mapping.
Software Specific
Short-term and long-term programmes on state of the art software
Corporate Programme technologies that keeps the users in pace with the rapid development in the
Short-term programmes on different spatial technologies for professionals geo-informatics industry.
and decision makers.

DUBAI INDIA
Airport Free Zone Area, P. O. Box No: 54664, Dubai, UAE G-4, Sector-39, Noida-201 301, INDIA
Tel + 971-4-2045350,51 Fax + 971-4-2045352 Tel + 91-120-2502180 to 87, Fax + 91-120-2500811
Hand Phone + 971-50-6400768 (Swati Grover) Hand Phone + 91-9871725868 (Neeraj Budhari)
Email info@mapmiddleeast.org Email info@GISinstitute.net
 Map Malaysia 2006 Map Middle East 2006
3 - 4 May, Kuala Lumpur 26-29 March, Dubai
www.mapmalaysia.org www.mapmiddleeast.org

Malaysia

UAE
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MAP INDIA I MAP MIDDLE EAST I MAP ASIA I GRATICULE I MAP INDIA I MAP MIDDLE EAST I MAP ASIA I GRATICULE I MAP INDIA I MAP MIDDLE EAST I MAP ASIA I GRATICULE I MAP INDIA I MAP MIDDLE EAST I MAP ASIA I GRATICULE

Thailand
India

L CATION Map Asia 2006

2006

2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON POSITIONING,

29 August - 1 September, Bangkok
N A V I G AT I O N A N D L O C AT I O N A L I N T E L L I G E N C E www.mapasia.org
7-9 June, Bangalore
www.location.net.in