GI as enabling technology for the Information Society - HUNAGI paper for UNESCO.HU

Meeting of the Development Policy Subcommittee of the Interministerial Coordination Committee on Information Society at MoIC on 20th February 2006. At least two of the five priorities of the Operational Program for Information Society consist elements of the NSDI Image: HUNAGI Visuals Resource, 2006

GI as enabling technology for the emerging information society
Draft paper to be enhanced by comments and suggestions. Aim: By request of Secretary General Mr. Péter Gresiczki, a sketch for orientation has been prepared for the Hungarian National UNESCO Committee. It should be taken into account in the implementation of its 2006-2007 Action Plan maximizing the use and potentials of the integrated SDI/RS/SatNav technologies in the theme Communication and information. The text of the draft:

There is a worldwide acceleration in the development and operational use of
• digital mapping and geospatial data infrastructure,
• global satellite positioning and navigation,
• Earth observation.
To ensure equal opportunity for the decision makers, communities and citizens, the availability and useability of spatial data have to be inproved. There is a need for comprehensive and multilevel awareness raising, capacity building and concentrated actions.
Impacted areas include: education, research, sustainable management of renewable and no-renewable natural resources as well as communication and information. The common feature of these fields, the appropriate application of the mentioned technologies are beneficial for the economy, society and the preservation of the envirronment.
Due to the fact that integrated use of these novel technologies and services
combined with the advanced information and communication technologies (internet, mobil telephonia) has provides even more potentials by synergy.
UNESCO should also mobilise its national nodes and domestic networks to facilitate the process e.g. by strengthen the acknowledgement of the integrated GI-related technmologies as enabling tool for the emerging information society.

In this context Hungary paves the way for enabling geospatial data and related services FOR ALL on a non-discriminative basis with special emphasis on the INSPIRE initiative of the European Commission, a novel legislation framework anticipated to be introduced in Europe.

Well represented in the intergovernmental coordination body of Information Society, the proposal of HUNAGI to introduce geospatial data availability as indicator for the strategic planning and implementation of information society was accepted in 2006.

Milestones in this „Access for All” context in the field of land administration, surveying and digital mapping as well as in remote sensing include:
• Euro-conform Geodetic Reference Networks (100%)
• Standardised digital base map (70% in 2006)
• Digital cadastral map of rural areas (100% in 2006)
• Digital Cadastral map of built-up areas (100% in 2007)
• Land Registry (100%)
• Topographic map at 1:10 000 in raster (100%)
• Topographic maps in vector format at smaller scales (100%)
• Digital elevation model (5x5 m grid) (100%)
• National Digital Orthophoto Database (100% in 2000, fully renewed in 2006)
• National Agricultural Parcel Identification and Reference System MePAR (100%)
• Spatial registration of vineyards VINGIS (100%)
• High resolution CORINE Land cover database (100%, renewed more than 30%)
• Hungarian segment of the European renewed CORINE database (100%)
• Coverage of area by higher precision satellite positioning capability (70%)
• Multilevel administrative boundary database (100%)
Additional proven services of the Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing using operationally sat positioning, remote sensing and GIS technology include: crop monitoring and yield estimation, control by remote sensing for the area based agricultural subsidies, monitoring and mapping of natural disasters (erosion, flood, back-log waters, draught) or epidemy mitigation (allergic plant species).
If approved by the government, these products and services will be upgraded in 4 topics in the operational framework related to the Information Society as follow: Digital Land Offices, Capacity building of the FÖMI Remote Sensing Center (established in 1980), introduction of the EUPOS satellite navigation services and implementation of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure program.

GI-related education and vocational training is provided using multilevel approach, by more than 15 Hungarian universities and colleges. As recent action, the Hungarian version of Lothar Beckel’s Space Atlas for School (an ESA publication) has to be mentioned, which was realised by the cooperative efforts of the Hungarian Space Research Office, GeoData Ltd and the Institute of Geodesy, Cartography and Remote Sensing. The book was released for geography teachers of primary and secondary schools first. A supplement with references to Hungary is also planned.

Importance of PPP and Public-NGO partnership: HUNAGI, the non-profit interdisciplinary GI community network of more than 100 academic, governmental institutions and private organisations was actively participated the World Summit on Information Society.

Other disciplines and sectors have also achivements in developing and use of geospatial data.
Here – after the recent changes in the governmental sector - the Ministry of Environment and Waters, Ministry of Transportation and the agencies Meteorological Service, the public benefit company of Urban and Regional Planning as well as the National Geological Institute have to be mentioned.
The involvement of the small and medium-sized enterprises is ensured mainly in the field of data production. SMEs are extremely active in facility management as solution providers in local environment of municipalities, but there is some small companies which enter the market with new, innovative (e.g. location-based) services.

The national level coordination and partnership is a must in order to reach the goals and fulfill international commitments.
HUNAGI Network provides an efficient forum for the dissemination of information, raising awareness and keep contact with the relevant European and Global associations such as EUROGI, EuroGeographics PCC, UNECE WPLA and FIG, ISPRS, ICA,GSDI Association, Digital Earth respectively.
In close collaboration with the main stakeholders, a series of spatial data infrastructure-related Open Days are organised or prepared to facilitate the INSPIRE implementation and/or introducing GI-related service towards the UN institutions. In this latter case the formal establishment of UNSDI Hungarian Coordination Office (HUCO) by the major stakeholders is anticipated by end of September.

Beneficiary areas include:
• Environment protection
• natural resource and ecosystem management,
• agriculture and sustainable rural development (with special emphasis on carefully planned land use transformation, water and forest management, soil and nature conservation, village renewal, land consolidation, rural turism),
• food and primary production,

• governmental agencies and regional/local governments (more efficient, less expensive and citizen-friendly),
• Natural hazards and disaster mitigation,
• Health,
• Transportation (better connectivity, LBS-based services),
• Urban and regional development and infrastructure,
• Improvement in business processes (Geomarketing, GI-based logistics, Enterprise GIS, Investment supporting services)
• Lifelong learning, knowledge transfer, networking, awareness raising, partnership, dissemination of information, better e-content services using advanced visualisation (by georeferencing, 3D, etc)

Version 1.1
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Contributors so far:
G. Remetey-Fülöpp, HUNAGI (August 31, 2006) hunagi@hunagi.hu

Keywords:
eContentPlus, FP7, i2010, INSPIRE Initiative, GMES, Galileo, Operational Programme of the Information Society (ITOP), GVOP, National Development Plan Phase II 2007-2013 (NFT 2), UNSDI GeoNetwork

Referenciák:
www.hunagi.hu , www.fomi.hu