NGIS

NGIS initiated a project to support recovery operations in the tsunami-affected regions of Aceh and Nias by integrating disparate sources of spatial data into an intuitive mapping interface, which allows projects to rebuild critical infrastructure.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake occurred approximately 150km off the coast of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. Forty-five minutes after the earthquake, a tsunami wave - measuring up to 30m in some places - struck Aceh and devastated an 800km stretch of coast. This natural disaster killed more than 132,000 people with 37,000 remaining missing. More than 500,000 people were homeless. The natural disaster had a catastrophic impact on the lives of the people in Aceh and Nias.

Development of the SIM-C (Spatial Information and Mapping Centre), as part of the Bureau of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (BRR), ensured the process of reconstruction was supported by the use of spatial information and technology.

The SIM-C is a fully operational GIS Centre focusing on supplying all agencies (government and non-government organisations) working on recovery projects in Aceh with mapping products to support their operations.

The centre has a comprehensive set of topographic, aerial photography, satellite, utilities, infrastructure and administrative boundary datasets. These data, however, existed in isolation, in many formats and in a variety of databases. The challenge was to integrate the information and make it accessible to better plan resources, projects and funding.

The solution

To get maximum value from the spatial data, the SIM-C required a solution that connected spatial data (e.g. village boundary) with non-spatial related information (e.g. database information related to that village).