OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries JRC Activities on Water Knowledge Management In Developing Countries By Dr. Cesar CARMONA-MORENO Institute for Environment and Sustainability Warsaw, 19 June 2008 OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries The mission of the JRC is : to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries Some background details: –Some activities developed with DEV and AIDCO: Water and Energy Activities: –EUWI – CIS »Communication tools –Water Knowledge Management System »An Information System for the management of data, training courses, guidelines, management and analysis tools, capacity building, … OpenGIS are placed in this context as tools for: –Improving the communication processes –Data and Project Management in the implementation projects in the field. Activities started in January 2008 => At this stage we have more QUESTIONS than ANSWERS OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries EUWI – CIS ( –It’s the virtual component of the EU Water Initiative. Launched at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit for Sustainable Development OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries EUWI – CIS ( – Objectives: Reinforcement of political commitment to action and innovation oriented partnership. Promotion of improved water governance, capacity building, awareness Improved efficiency and effectiveness of water management Strengthened cooperation through promoting river basin approaches and transboundary water. Identification of additional financial resources and mechanisms to ensure sustainable financing. OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries EUWI – CIS ( – Web-Based tool supporting communication between EUWI actors as well as between the Water Initiative and the general public. – EUWI-CIS portal was developed by ADA in 2004 and needs some refreshment : technical + thematic + communication – JRC is hosting the Web site and the system since May 2008 : Website Re-development (DRUPAL) – OpenGIS interface for projects and data representation and some basic analysis on-line => Standard format (INSPIRE Directive) Thematic Management and Maintenance Development of the Content Management System. OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries EUWI – CIS ( – Some GIS user needs: – Spatial representation of Water Management Projects : WHO is funding WHAT and WHERE – Type of project – Donor/Co-donors funding the project. – Geographical coordinates – Project Start – End date – Current status – Funds – The beneficiary analysis … – Spatial representation of ancillary information: HELPING Decision Makers – Infrastructure: roads, railways, … – Natural parks and protected areas, – Land-cover types, – Soils, Population, – Human Development Index, … – Crossing Project Layers & Ancillary Data Some basic analysis tools – Because oriented to Decision Makers : User friendly Easy and Intuitive to use

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries Water Knowledge Management Platform : –Web-based tool for information and knowledge management around the water management domain. Data and information: training courses, spatial data, guidelines, capacity building. Not a Data Repository but a Meta WebSystem. Tools for Development Support: GIS and Management tools, … Research Activities : links with SPLASH network, model development, indicator development (state, monitoring, …) –Close collaboration and synergies with EUWI-CIS OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries Water Knowledge Management Platform – From a GIS point of view, there are TWO community of users: Users in developed countries: – They can be considered GIS expert users – Providing data for the projects in the field Users in developing countries: – Poor computer infrastructures and internet connection – Very low budget used mainly for thematic purposes: water management => OPENGIS – Needs of training and capacity building – Very Basic notions on GIS tools: » Basic GIS tools » User friendly – Easy and very Intuitive to use » Ease to install and to maintain

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries Water Knowledge Management Platform – We will develop a comparative Analysis of OPENGIS from the Water User needs: Stability of the versions & version compatibility System requirements : hardware and software Cost of Utilization: Avoid “monsters” Cost of Maintenance Capacity, efficiency and reliability Build-in Applications Interoperability Ease and effectiveness of use Ease of integration into the WKM Platform Speed and demand for computing resources Possible technical support

OPENGIS for Water Management OPENGIS for Water Management in Developing Countries Conclusions – More Questions than Answers – Open Position: Post-doc – GIS / Water THANKS FOR YOUR ANSWERS