The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), a platform for Geo Spatial Information in Sri Lanka was launched by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) at the Trace Expert City recently.
The NSDI is a platform consisting of a website, a metadata catalogue and a geo-portal which facilitate accessing geospatial information for decision makers. While the Website provides the introduction to the NSDI and its services and governance structure, the Metadata catalogue provides the background details about the geospatial data.
The available geospatial data which were scattered across many organisations can be accessed through this Geo-portal in a single window. At present, NSDI comprises with five use cases for Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Department of Agriculture, Urban Development Authority, Disaster Management Centre and Department of Archaeology which demonstrate the dimensions of the platform in integrating different spatial applications into this portal.
Chairman ICTA, Prof. Rohan Samarajiva emphasised the importance of having a proper governance structure to manage the NSDI.
P.M.P. Udayakantha, the Surveyor General, highlighted the importance of data interoperability and having updated information in the system.
Chief guest, Wasanth Deshapriya said, “Being a public funded platform, NSDI could be used to provide marvelous benefits to citizens of the country through sharing data and information among organisations”.
The development of the Sri Lanka NSDI is a collaborative effort of many government organizations including the Survey Department, Disaster Management Centre, Department of Agriculture, Department of Wildlife, Department of Forests, Coast Conservation Department, Department of Census and Statistics, facilitated by ICTA.
NSDI can be accessed via https://nsdi.gov.lk.