Mesoamerican and Caribbean Geospatial Alliance - MACGA

> **"*The Mesoamerican and Caribbean Geospatial Alliance*" (MACGA) was
> proposed by numerous alliance members to undertake concerted
> region-wide efforts in Central America and the Caribbean to aid and
> modernize the development, access, and applications of spatial data.
> MACGA integrates donors, data providers, projects, and national
> interests to improve dramatically the return on investment in data
> collection and applications and to facilitate sustainable networking
> among alliance members.**
>
> In the Caribbean, MACGA, undertakes capacity building and data
> development that is substantially driven by projects, donor
> priorities, and national needs in the area of 1.) national land use
> planning and to support all aspects of 2.) planning for natural and
> man-made disasters including vulnerability analyses and mapping, risk
> reduction, disaster preparedness, and real-time management.

**MACGA will:**

1.  **build a regional task force for spatial data infrastructure
    development** in the Mesoamerican and Caribbean (MAC) regions and
    initiate long-term personal and professional networking;

2.  **facilitate agreements on key standards, projections, policies, and
    practices;**

3.  build and strengthen the capacity of the national and regional
    organizations to **produce, integrate, and share spatial data and
    incorporate data in Internet Map Server systems (IMS);**

4.  **distribute valuable remote sensing and topographic data sets and
    donate software** for data production and applications, and

5.  **develop specific national and regional prototype information
    system products and data sets with special emphasis on disaster
    preparedness and risk reduction**.

A two-week workshop for capacity building and planning will be convened
by the Alliance May 16-28, 2004, at the University of the West Indies,
Trinidad. The workshop assembles key participants from each island's
mapping agencies and individuals with direct technical responsibility
for disaster preparedness. Major contributors and benefactors include
the national agencies, CDERA, CEPREDENAC, the CDB Disaster Management
Program, the AID/OFDA, the OAS, the USGS/EDC, NGA, NOAA/Geodesy, and the
USSOUTHCOM and Pacific Disaster Center. National data sets will be
integrated into national Internet Map Servers in a regionally consistent
manner. Some level of post-workshop technical assistance will be
provided. The Planning component of the workshop provides opportunities
for longer-term cooperative planning and proposal development with
donors.

**Specific Deliverables include:**

1.  Major software including ArcGIS, SDE, ArcIMS and related components
    from ESRI to each participating agency. Additional software related
    to metadata production and clearinghouses will be provided.
    Contribution = \$2M+.

2.  Training for 30 participants from 15 islands by expert and certified
    trainers in the above and in applications including IMS
    implementation, DEM derivation from SRTM data, and IDSS services.

3.  Data layers of a wide variety for national applications.

    a.  These will include some core data for each country as available,
        e.g., political divisions, road networks, land cover based on
        TM+ and/or Ikonos imagery,

    b.  GeoCover data for each island thereby providing opportunities
        for detailed change analyses and the best available
        rectification.

    c.  Other high resolution imagery, including 2-season highly
        rectified TM coverage for each island,

    d.  SRTM 90m data for each island; and SRTM 30m as available and
        when agreements are signed,

    e.  Derivative products as available from the elevation data,

    f.  Vulnerability maps and ancillary data for some islands,

4.  Evaluation of Geodetic controls and plans for common adoption(s).

5.  National IMS systems with integrated data layers from above,

6.  Regional planning for future projects, cooperation, capacity
    building, and regional centers of excellence including land cover
    and land use planning, disaster planning,