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Derek Clarke
18 December 2008 |
Africa must make it easy to access and share geo-spatial information, says head of South Africa's mapping organisation, Derek Clarke.
Development has to do with place and space — that is, it takes place in a spatial context. So it needs appropriate information — namely geo-spatial information. Without this, it is impossible to use planning and decision-making tools and technologies, such as geographical information systems (GIS), to analyse needs, plan projects or monitor outcomes. But, so far, African countries use geo-spatial information only sporadically to support development.
Seeing things differently
GIS is a computerised way of capturing, manipulating, storing, retrieving, analysing, modelling and displaying geo-spatial information. It brings together different types of geo-spatial information, for example about rivers, topography, roads, towns, soil type, rainfall and land cover. Its strength is using the spatial relationships between these to create new information that would otherwise be missed.
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Africa needs clear policies, adequate resources and visionary leaders determined to make it easy to access and share geo-spatial information.
It is time for African governments to recognise that geo-spatial information is a national asset that underpins development. It must be turned into knowledge, using GIS and other geo-spatial technologies, for the betterment of Africa.