The Nature of Regional Spatial Data Infrastructures

Today, more than ever, it is important to look beyond our national boundaries. The world as we know it is changing. Economies worldwide are undergoing a process of profound and continuing structural change, and the global village is becoming a reality driven by information and communication technologies. With this background, many countries throughout the world believe they can benefit both economically and environmentally from better management of their spatial information by taking a perspective that starts at a local level and proceeds through state, national and regional levels to a global level. This has resulted in the development of the Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) concept at these levels, with the National SDI and Global SDI receiving much attention. While there is increasing interest being given to Regional SDIs, such as promoted by the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) and the European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information (EUROGI), and a recognition that these Regional SDIs will promote economic development and environmental management within these regions, the concept and justification of Regional SDI is still not clear. The purpose of this paper is to describe the nature of Regional SDI and its benefits. Moreover, the paper will review the difficulties inherent in RSDI development and will suggest some factors for the success of a RSDI initiative.