A new version of the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization's spatial data
catalogue, FAO GeoNetwork, which provides agricultural
information to decision-makers, allowing them to access
satellite imagery, interactive maps and spatial
databases from FAO, WFP, CGIAR and others, was launched
today.
"This new version of
GeoNetwork is faster and more reliable than the previous
one. In addition, several other UN agencies have joined
the network, thus adding an impressive amount of
valuable UN system-wide geospatial information,"
according to Mr Alexander Müller, Assistant
Director-General of the FAO Sustainable Development
Department.
The launch coincides
with the release of a new version of the World Food
Programme GeoNetwork, which contributes substantially to
the effective sharing and dissemination of geographical
datasets with major emphasis on food security and
vulnerability issues. The WFP network includes nodes at
WFP headquarters, regional bureaus and country offices.
The joint launch
marks the start of a new era for spatial data sharing
among UN agencies, allowing users to instantly see maps
and related information from the different agencies
together in one search.
The Second GeoNetwork
Workshop will be held at FAO from 24 to 28 April 2006
and will be attended by partner UN agencies as well as
the CGIAR institutes and other international partners.
These partners in the GeoNetwork initiative are sharing
data in the same manner and will soon be searchable
through the FAO GeoNetwork.
Satellite imagery and
spatial databases assist countries to fight hunger and
rural poverty. Users overlay maps from multiple servers
housed at development institutions worldwide to create
customised thematic maps on their own computers covering
such variables as land cover, soil quality, vegetation
and population density and marketing access.
FAO GeoNetwork is a
collaborative effort to provide a free and open source
software based spatial data management system that is
widely distributed and used. It adheres to international
standards for geographic data sharing.
A combination of maps
"When an emergency
occurs, the maps created by the different agencies in
their respective fields of expertise can be combined to
see the relationship between different factors affecting
the populations and the environment," according to FAO's
expert in remote sensing, Jeroen Ticheler.
Spatial data sharing
among UN agencies will help developing countries'
decision-makers isolate the causes of food shortages in
their nations. It is a multidisciplinary approach to
sustainable development that allows FAO, WFP, other UN
agencies, non-governmental organizations and research
institutions worldwide to share and distribute
geographically referenced data more easily.
