Spatial data infrastructures in developing countries.
The availability of spatial information for cities indeveloping countries is poor or nonexistent. In manycases, the spatial data is in the form of unscaledsketches. Where maps exist they are often out datedor classified as restricted information and access bypublic departments is very difficult if not impossible.Where current and unclassified maps exist, they areusually of different scales aggravating the problem ofsharing information efficiently among various sectorsof the city. Digital representation of spatial data iseven rarer due to the lack of appropriate equipmentand trained staff. Few cities are ready to begin generatingdigital spatial databases as the task is seen to betoo large, too costly and too complex both technicallyand administratively. The design and implementationof a workable spatial data infrastructure is often adream for the future, and without a SDI, GIS arenot possible.
Reproduction of maps, where they exist, is oftendone with ammonia printers with the original mapsprepared and up-dated on transparent sheets. Cadastraldata is usually stored in hard copy registers andupdated manually where available. Where a digitaldatabase is being prepared for a city, map productionoften continues to be done manually in parallel. Informationabout state owned land or government propertyis poor. In many cities, there are large militaryland holdings where information is restricted.
Often maps showing land ownership are in theform of sketches which are not to scale. Therefore,the exact demarcation of much of the land is impossibleor very difficult and time consuming. Most informationabout land ownership and utilities are in theexperienced hands of key personnel in separatedepartments. Due to the absence of any other informationsystem they are treated as the primary informationsource. As a result this information can beeasily lost.
Information about the location of underground utilitiesand facilities is often worse than the maps showingabove ground features. Utilities and facilities aremarked on plans but are rarely up-dated. In mostcases the actual location of these service lines is differentfrom the location appearing on those plans.Agencies responsible for the provision of differentinfrastructure maintain their own maps usually showingonly the location of infrastructure under their control.These maps are often only in the form of sketchesthat are interpretable only by the staff of these organizations.For underground utility lines the depth of the lines is seldom or correctly shown on maps. It is oftenthe case for these utilities that some lines run on topof another utility line at a different depth.
These management practices are workable for generalplanning purposes when the size of a city is small,when land prices are low, when the land market isalmost non existent, and the pace and lifestyle is slow.In these conditions, co-ordination between staff ispossible and there is time to share information toovercome the anomalies in the spatial information.But for the large rapidly growing cities of developingcountries today, which are becoming the engines ofeconomic development, these management practicesare woefully inadequate.