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| Home > Global Spatial Data User Workshop |
Global Spatial Data and
Information User Workshop
Development, Dissemination,
and Use
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Organizers: CIESIN,
FAO, UNEP, WHO, and CGIAR |
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Co-Sponsors: CODATA
and SEDAC |
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Dates: 21-23
September 2004 |
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Venue: Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University
Palisades, New York, USA |
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Workshop
presentations are now online at : Global
Spatial Data User Workshop
Many different global- and regional-scale datasets
on the environment and human development are being developed and disseminated
by a range of institutions around the world. With the increasing use
of more open, interactive mapping servers and greater capabilities by
users to access and utilize large global datasets comes the potential
for increased problems related to inconsistent data integration and
visualization, variable data quality and documentation, uncoordinated
proliferation of different versions of data sets, unnecessary duplication
of effort, excessively complex restrictions on data re-dissemination
and use, and incomplete or incorrect citation and attribution of data.
This workshop will bring a core set of institutions actively involved
in global spatial data and information development and dissemination
together with representatives of key user communities to address both
short- and long-term needs for coordination and collaboration. The overall
purpose of the workshop is to coordinate spatial data and information
dissemination among key actors in the global data community in order
to better meet user needs at global as well as regional and national
levels.
The three-day workshop is being co-organized by the Center for International
Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) of the Earth Institute at
Columbia University, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health
Organization (WHO), and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR). CIESIN’s NASA-funded Socioeconomic Data and
Applications Center (SEDAC) is serving as the local host. The workshop
is also co-sponsored by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology
(CODATA) of the International Council for Science (ICSU). This workshop
follows a successful technical workshop at FAO headquarters in Rome
from 18-19 March 2004 on coordination of and cooperation in spatial
information management capacity development, which resulted in the FAO-led
Spatial Information Management Advisory Group (SIMAG) initiative.
The workshop will address five principal areas with regards to the production,
dissemination, and use of global data sets:
1. Stock taking of global data sets and identification
of significant gaps and overlaps in the following thematic areas: environment;
food and agriculture; population, poverty and health.
2. Standardization/harmonization of spatial data and information, including:
a. Standards and conventions for mapping and GIS (e.g., consistent projections,
scales, boundary files, etc.).
b. Additional information on data sets (beyond discovery metadata) that
would facilitate their appropriate use (e.g., data set guides).
3. Identification of user needs for online services, and for education
and capacity building in how to use those services.
4. Flexible user access through interoperability and open standards
of both catalog searching and Internet mapping.
5. Integration of biophysical and socioeconomic data, including substantive
and methodological issues.
Specific workshop outputs are expected to include agreements among institutions
regarding data sharing, attribution, and dissemination; collaboration
in the development of new global-scale spatial data sets, web-mapping
portals, search tools, and documentation resources; agreements on standards
and conventions to promote both technical and substantive data interoperability;
and agreement on the role and mandate of the recently initiated Spatial
Information Management Advisory Group (SIMAG). The objective is to develop
a practical set of actions to increase cooperation among the growing
set of actors in the global data community, including data developers,
distributors, and users.
Preliminary Agenda
| Tuesday, 21 September
Identification of User Needs |
| 0900-0915 |
Welcome by Roberta Balstad Miller, CIESIN |
| 0915-0945 |
Setting the Stage: Principal Goals and Objectives of
the Workshop
| Robert Chen (CIESIN): |
Global Spatial Data and Information User
Workshop: Goals and Objectives |
(365KB) |
| Jeffrey Tschirley (FAO): |
The Spatial Information Advisory Group (SIMAG) |
(272KB) |
|
| 0945-1045 |
Opening Plenary Panel: Access to Global Spatial Data
and Information from the User's Perspective
During the last decade, technological advancements in remote
sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and other geospatial
data management tools in tandem with development of the Internet
have contributed to the creation of many global and regional spatial
databases, online mapping services and geospatial data clearinghouses.
However, the dramatic expansion of this wealth of geographic data
and information has not necessarily been matched by increases
in the ability of users to take full advantage of the available
resources, or to make sense of similar products. This plenary
panel sets the stage for the workshop by addressing user needs
for data access and documentation.
Chair: Stanley Wood (IFPRI)
Panelists: |
Dennis Ojima
(Colorado State University) |
Global Environmental Change Science |
(310KB) |
Robert Ford
(Loma Linda University) |
Who Needs Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI)? |
(3.2MB) |
Jillian Thonell
(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) |
Global Data Challenges from an MA Perspective |
(81KB) |
Craig Beech
(Regional Peace Parks Foundation) |
Peace Parks Foundation Requirements for Global
Data |
(3.4MB) |
|
| 1045-1100 |
Coffee Break |
| 1100-1230 |
Presentations: Global Spatial Data and Information Dissemination
Initiatives
Short presentations on selected major data development and dissemination
initiatives for main topical areas.
Chair: Roberta Miller (CIESIN)
Panelists: |
| Robert Zomer (IWMI) |
Agriculture and Food Security |
(878KB) |
| Ashbindu Singh (UNEP) |
Environment |
(589KB) |
| Steeve Ebener (WHO) |
Health |
(710KB) |
| Deborah Balk (CIESIN) |
Population and Poverty |
(1MB) |
|
| 1230-1400 |
Lunch
Optional lunch-time presentations:
- Demonstration
of the TerraViva! SEDAC Data Viewer – Ric Cicone
(ISciences LLC)
- Information Available at the Center
for Environmental Systems Research (CESR), University of Kassel,
Germany (572KB) - Joerg Priess (CESR)
- FAO's Global Livestock Distribution
Mapping Project (2.3MB) – Tim Robinson (FAO)
|
| 1400-1500 |
Open Discussion: Selection of breakout topics and discussion
on targeted outcomes of the workshop. Proposed breakout topics
are:
Chair: Robert Chen (CIESIN): Overview
of Breakout Sessions (18KB)
- Principles for data sharing and access. Chair: Paul Uhlir (NRC)
- Gaps in global data and collaboration
in data development. Chair: Uwe Deichmann (World Bank)
- Data search, discovery, and documentation;
role of portals. Chair: Ron Weaver (NSIDC)
- Technical data interoperability.
William Anderson (Praxis101)
- Science
data integration. Chair: Glenn Hyman (CIAT)
|
| 1500-1700 |
Breakout Session 1. Identification of major issues for
each topic. (coffee break at 1600) |
| 1700-1730 |
Report to plenary on issues identified in breakout session |
| 1745-1800 |
Transportation to dinner |
| 1800 |
Dinner with keynote speaker (Harlan Onsrud, GSDI) |
| 2000 |
Transportation to hotels |
Wednesday, 22 September
Global Data Sets - Gaps, Standardization and Integration Issues |
| 0830-0930 |
Presentation of a test bed activity
in Mozambique (FAO/SADC RRSU/SETSAN)
- Environmental
and Natural Resources Management for Food Security and Poverty
Alleviation (1.5MB) - France Lamy (FAO)
- Vulnerability
Analysis and Mapping Spatial Information Environment (VAM-SIE) (398KB) - Paolo De Salvo (World Food Program)
|
| 0930-1045 |
Plenary Panel: Inventories of Global Spatial Data, Standardization,
Search, Portal Development
The presentation on the first day highlighted many activities related to the
development and dissemination of global data sets. This plenary
will discuss core data sets for sustainable development research
and operational programs, efforts to develop standards, and the
development of portals and online mapping tools for data access.
Chair: Steeve Ebener (WHO)
Panelists: |
Joseph Dooley
(Spatial Data Services & Mapping) |
Core Global or Geo-Spatial Databases (CGDB) |
(1.9MB) |
Alan Doyle
(EOGEO) |
Closing the Interoperability Gap |
(1.5MB) |
Richard Cicone
(ISciences, LLC) |
Geospatial Data Fusion: Integration Challenges |
(254KB) |
Chris Chiesa
(Pacific Disaster Center) |
The Asia Pacific Natural Hazards Information
Network (APNHIN) |
(1.1MB) |
| Kees Klein Goldewijk (RIVM) |
Global Spatial Data Sets and User Needs at
RIVM |
(595KB)
|
|
| 1045-1100 |
Coffee Break |
| 1100-1230 |
Breakout Session 2. Groups based on topics identified on
day 1. Identification of challenges and opportunities. Recommendations
for short- and medium-term actions and initiatives, including identification
of possible sources of support, collaborative proposals. |
| 1230-1400 |
Lunch
Optional lunch-time presentations:
- The
IRI Data Library - Benno Blumenthal (IRI, Columbia
University)
-
BAS
on the Web: the WebBAS system for online updates to TIGER/GML
features - Joshua Lieberman
|
| 1400-1530 |
Breakout Session 2 (continued). Focus on fleshing out candidate
agreements; plans for new datasets, testbeds and portals; proposals
to adopt or develop particular standards, etc. |
| 1530-1545 |
Coffee Break |
| 1545-1700 |
Roundtable Discussion: Potential Roles for Global Data
Coordination Mechanisms
Chair: Alex de Sherbinin (CIESIN)
- UN Geographic Information Working Group (277KB) - Steeve Ebener
- Digital Earth (8MB) - Hiromichi Fukui
- Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) (125KB) - Harlan Onsrud
- Spatial Information Management Advisory Group - Jeffrey Tschirley
- International Steering Committee for Global Map (2.6MB) - Karen Kline
- CODATA - John Rumble
|
| 1710 |
Transportation to hotels, Morningside |
Thursday, 23 September
Global Data Sets - The Way Forward |
| 0830-0930 |
Report out from Day 2 Breakout Sessions:
Identification of specific action items and initiatives. |
| 0930-1045 |
Plenary Panel: Data Documentation, Quality, Preservation,
and Intellectual Property Rights
Institutional efforts related to data development, management, and dissemination
need to be carried out in a coordinated way, or the potential
for poor interoperability between information systems, incompatibilities
between key datasets, confusing or even conflicting data documentation,
and complex constraints on data re-dissemination and use is likely
to increase. This plenary will address these issues.
Chair: Robert Sandev
(UN)
Panelists: |
Jean-Louis Ecochard
(The Nature Conservancy) |
The Conservation Commons |
(425KB) |
James Edwards
(GBIF) |
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility:
Data Documentation, Quality, Preservation and IPR |
(206KB) |
Paul Uhlir
(National Research Council) |
Creating a Global Information
Commons for Public GSDI: Legal and Economic Policy Aspects |
(114KB) |
|
| 1045-1100 |
Coffee Break |
| 1100-1220 |
Concluding Discussion: Major outcomes and the way forward. Open discussion.
Chair: Robert Chen (CIESIN) |
| 1220-1230 |
Close of Meeting |
| 1230 |
Transportation to Manhattan, airports |
| 1230-1400 |
Lunch |
| 1415 |
Transportation to Manhattan, airports |
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