# Presentation: 432597

## The Coastal Resource Information System:An Approach to the Development of a Decision Support System

**Ian C King**
**Project Officer**
***Adapting to Climate Change in the Caribbean (ACCC) Project***
- _[kingcpacc@sunbeach.net](mailto:kingcpacc@sunbeach.net)__ tel. (246) 417-4579_

## The CPACC Project	

- Caribbean Planning for Adaptation to Global Climate Change (CPACC) Project
- 12 countries
- 9 components – 4 regional and 5 pilot
- 1997 – 2001
- US $6.9 million (~$6.4 million)
- to support Caribbean countries in preparing to cope with the adverse effects of global climate change (GCC), particularly sea level rise, in coastal and marine areas through vulnerability assessment, adaptation planning, and capacity building linked to adaptation planning

## Slide 3

## CPACC Components - Regional

- Design and Establishment of Sea Level/Climate Monitoring Network
- Establishment of Databases and Information Systems
- Inventory of Coastal Resources and Uses
- Formulation of a Policy Framework for Integrated Coastal and Marine Management

## Coral Reef Monitoring for Climate Change – Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica
Coastal Vulnerability and Risk Assessment –Barbados, Grenada, Guyana
Economic Valuation of Coastal and Marine Resources – Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago
Formulation of Economic/Regulatory Proposals – Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis
Enabling the preparation of national Communication in Response to Commitments to the UNFCCC – St. Vincent & the Grenadines

- Coastal Vulnerability and Risk Assessment –**Barbados, Grenada, Guyana**
- Economic Valuation of Coastal and Marine Resources – **Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago**
- Formulation of Economic/Regulatory Proposals – **Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis**
- Enabling the preparation of national Communication in Response to Commitments to the UNFCCC – **St. Vincent & the Grenadines**

- CPACC Components - Pilot

## Component 3 Objectives

- Originally, the Inventory of Coastal Resources and Uses
- Enhance participating countries’ inventories of coastal resources so as to provide the necessary baseline data for the execution of other project activities
- Capacity building based on a regional workshop
- Revised goals
- Develop a facility to enable wide access to spatial and monitoring data for the purpose of decision making in a format that the users understand and can utilise
- Develop the capacity within local institutions to apply and adapt the facility – CRIS, to meet institutional and national needs
- Promote sustainable data management

## CRIS Facts

- Regional/Canadian consultants selected after RFPs – Alleyne Planning Assoc, Barbados; Centre for Geospatial Studies, Trinidad &Tobago; ESSA Technologies, Canada
- Contract signed in 1999 and final products delivered in 2001
- National Repositories identified as main beneficiaries of training and recipients of CRIS products

## CRIS Process (1) 

- Data Assessment
- To assess the status of coastal resources management data in each of the participating countries.
- Metadata creation
- To establish a data catalogue for coastal resource inventories of each participating country.
-  Database Design and Management
- To develop a database system design and management strategy for the coastal resource inventory.
- Data Collection
- To collect baseline coastal resource data for each participating country.

**Notes:**
Data Assessment
Through detailed questionnaires administered in each country, followed by review of results
Illustrated the limited knowledge about existence and availability of local data
Metadata creation
Utilising Metalite – developed by EROS Data Centre in collaboration with UNEP RCU in Jamaica
 Database Design and Management
Data Collection
Acquiring existing analog and digital data as well as RS 

## CRIS Process (2)

- Data Automation/Conversion
- To convert the baseline coastal resource data collected for each participating country into digital form.
- Database Implementation
- To implement the CRIS and deliver it to the appropriate agencies in each participating country.
- Training
- To develop the capacity to** **create, use and maintain a coastal resource inventory in each participating country.

**Notes:**
Training
Metadata Workshop – T&T, Sept 1999
Data Automation and Conversion Workshop – St. Lucia, March 2000
Database Design and Administration– Scheduled for September 2000
Systems Use and Decision Making – National seminars in each country, November 2000 to March 2001

## Slide 10

## CRIS System Objectives

- Facilitate storage, retrieval, updating, analysis and manipulation of coastal resource data
- Facilitate the sharing of coastal resource data within each country

**Notes:**
The objectives of the Coastal Resource Information System (CRIS) are as follows:
         facilitate storage, retrieval, updating, analysis and manipulation of coastal resource data (including spatially referenced information) in each of the 12 participating countries; and
         facilitate the sharing of coastal resource data within and between countries in the Caribbean.

## CRIS Functionality

- 2 types of functionality:
- Entry, storage, updating and retrieval of coastal resource data; and
- Manipulation of these data
- Users
- Regular end users
- Systems administrators

## CRIS Structure

**Spatial database**
- Includes both raster and vector data, to be stored directly within a GIS (i.e., ArcView).
**Attribute database**
- Non-spatial data stored in a relational database (i.e., Microsoft Access).

## CRIS Interface

**Notes:**
The CRIS main interface was designed within Microsoft Access in order to take advantage of its extensive built-in functionality.  It allowed for a quick and cost-effective development of a customized application with full relational database capability.  

Users have the option of either following the simple menu structure or going straight to built-in features within Access 

## Access to CRIS Data

**Notes:**
While Access has the built-in capability to publish any data to Word or Excel, this capability is expanded to further allow users to send reports to customized Word and Excel templates 

## Report Generation

**Notes:**
The result of generating an Excel report using the CRIS. Not only will the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet, it also automatically graphs the data 

## Displaying maps

**Notes:**
Finally, a mapping feature was added that allows users to view the data spatially in ArcView. 

Users invoke this feature by selecting “Run ArcView” from the CRIS main menu in Access. 

This opens a predefined ArcView project, and automatically displays a view displaying basemap themes for the geographic area of interest 

## Development of a Spatial Database

- CRIS database utilizing:
- A generic dataset (e.g. coastline, coastal landuse, bathymetry)
- Pilot specific data sets
- Country/theme specific datasets
- Existing analog and digital data
- RS imagery (to meet pilot & country needs)
- Development of metadata

## Context for the CRIS

- Meeting of coastal resource managers in 1998 with resource persons to identify broad goals of Component 3
- Data categories for coastal resource information system prepared by regional consultants – 1998
- Meeting of regional GIS practitioners to identify needs and priorities – 1999
- Build on experience of similar activity in Trinidad and Tobago
- OECS/NRMU study on GIS capacity updated
- OECS/NRMU DFID funded initiative for St. Vincent, Dominica and one other termed CRIS with same concept, features, software and end users at same time initiated independently
- CEPNET approach for metadata development adopted

## Capacity Building

- Strategy
- ID key agencies at national level for participation in the process - repositories
- Involve agencies in CRIS process where capacity exists
- Training addressing major elements of CRIS process – generally 2 persons per country, 1 from National Repository and 1 from major coastal resource management institution
- Provision of tools to facilitate application and management of the CRIS
- Support complimentary activities to the CRIS development where strategically advantageous (SIDSnet training)

## Capacity Building continued

- Focus on utilizing regional capacity where appropriate
- Support development of a GIS laboratory in the CERMES Building, UWI Cave Hill Campus to facilitate the extension of the UWI CGLIS program
- Sponsoring regional participants for the CGLIS course
- Encouraging and sponsoring participation and presentation in relevant conferences

## Challenges

- Varying capacities amongst countries to absorb technology transfer and participate in process
- Lack of national data access policy almost universal
- Uncertainty about existence and status of data generally
- Limited monitoring data and where exists, uncertainty over quality
- Differing stages of pilot components and therefore understanding of data needs
- Limited budget to serve 12 countries and 4 pilot components
- Priority of project activities and limited uptake

## Successes

- Establishment of a community of GIS practitioners
- Development of national and regional capacity to the extent that some of the trainees have been able to offer technical support to other national and regional institutions as well as the Component 3 generally
- Development of metadata for the countries
- Development and delivery of the country CRISs
- Creating a foundation upon which countries can develop their own coastal/environmental resource decision support systems
- ESRI 2000 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award
- Adaptation of CRIS approach in a pilot activity in Guyana - SDMIS

## Limitations

- An independent review of the CRIS and associated activities indicated several key issues
- CRIS not rigorously tested in terms of data management and how well it can serve managers’ needs
- Cannot expect to change even institutional approaches to data collection and management within  the time frame
- Limited resources did not allow adequate promotion, testing and follow-up support
- Did not fully integrate satellite imagery

## CRIS Potential

- The main potential is to build on the concept:
-  capacity building at national and regional levels
- data management
- access to information by a wide range of users in a fashion they can easily utilise
- Move towards a web-enabled approach
- Sector specific applications

## Conclusions

- Improving access to and management of information for decision-making
- Need for national policy on data and information as adhoc, institution specific approaches create tremendous challenges
- Proper management of data – metadata, data dictionaries required (many agencies have very pretty maps of which little can be said of the information being displayed)
- Given limited national resources, regional approaches can be useful for support and guarding against loss of capacity by changing personnel.

## Examples of the Way Forward

- Guyana Sea Defenses Management Information System (_[SDMIS](file:///../Documents%20and%20Settings/Jacob%20Opadeyi/Desktop/SDMIS.ppt)_)
- Online Mapping for Vulnerability Assessment _[www.csc.noaa.gov](http://www.csc.noaa.gov/)_
- BVI _[Island Management GIS](file:///../Documents%20and%20Settings/Jacob%20Opadeyi/Desktop/ISLAND%20SYSTEMS%20MANAGEMENT%20-%20BVI.ppt)_

## Additional Information

- _[www.caribbeanclimate.org](http://www.caribbeanclimate.org/)_
- _[www.cpacc.org](http://www.cpacc.org/)_
- Ian C King, _[kingcpacc@sunbeach.net](mailto:kingcpacc@sunbeach.net)_