New Release: Spatial Data Infrastructure – Latin America and the Caribbean (SDI-LAC) Bulletin is now available in Portuguese.
Since the nineties, many countries have begun the implementation of the Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), promoting access and services related to the standardization of spatial data and interoperability and creating policy and administrative principles at local, regional, national and global levels in order to assure the compatibility of the spatial data and its access to the users, facilitating, in this way, the making of decisions. Find more details at General View of GSDI.
In Brazil, the National Infrastructure of Spatial Data (INDE) was instituted by the Decree 6.666, from Nov/ 27/2008, with the aim of integrating all the existing geospatial data to the several Brazilian government’s institutions, harmonizing them, disseminating them and providing their effective use.
Assisting the free access to the information on SDI to the users, the Association for the Global Infrastructure of Spatial Data (GSDI) has been making newsletters on SDI available in Africa, Latin America and on the Caribbean (SDI-LAC), and in Asia and the Pacific (SDI-AP). The newsletter SDI-LAC concentrates on aspects of the Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) and on aspects SIG, remote sensing and on the administration of data in Latin America and the Caribbean, related with SDI. It aims to create consciousness, to provide useful information for the invigoration of national initiatives of SDI and to support the synchronization of regional efforts. The Pan-American Institute of Geography and History (IPGH), member entity of GSDI and of the Permanent Committee for the Infrastructure of Spatial Data of America (CP-IDEA), promote the development of SDI in the area. The newsletter is prepared to GSDI by IPGH.
SDI-LAC in Portuguese
The Portuguese version of the SDI-LAC Newsletter was first published between November, 2007 and February, 2009, and now is being published again comprehending the translation of the August and September/2011 issues, thanks to a group of volunteers located in several states of Brazil, in the United States and Canada, and under Sivane Paixão’s general coordination, Eduardo Freita’s reviewing and Edmilson Volpi’s general communication.
SDI-LAC translation to Portuguese is possible thanks to undergrad students from UNESP: Esrom A. Rissate Júnior and Mateus de Barros Manhani; and Cartographers Engineers: Annette Pic, MSc in Remote Sensing; Camila Bassetto Guedes, advisor of the Operations Department of the Air Space Control (DECEA); Edilce Figueiredo Burity, MSc in Computer Systems and Technologist of the Geographic Information and Statistics IBGE / PE; Edmilson Martinho Volpi, Msc. in Urban Engineering, Environmental Especialist at Environmental Secretary in Sao Paulo, Vice- President of the Brazilian Association of the Cartographers Engineering – Regional Sao Paulo (ABEC-SP); Eduardo Freitas, MSc in GIS, editor del MundoGEO; Juan Carlos Gironda Mamani, consultant in Geotechnology and IT solutions for Geoinformation; Silvana P. Camboim, MSc in Geography, Technologist of the Geographic Information and Statistics, IBGE/CETE; Silvane Paixão, MSc in Geodetic Sciences and Technologies of the Geoinformation, PhD in Land Administration and Land Information Management.
See important points about the re-launch of the SDI-LAC in Portuguese
Abbas Rajabifard, President of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructures (GSDI) Association. Director of the Centre for SDIs and Land Administration, University of Melbourne, Australia: “Spatial information is a critical tool for making any informed decisions on key economic, environmental and social issues. Spatial information is an enabling technology and infrastructure for modern society. The growing need to organise data and services across different disciplines and organisations has resulted in the concept of spatial data infrastructure (SDI). However, the ability for a country to define, build and implement SDIs effectively is increased when institutions and organisations can share knowledge and best practice. The SDI-LAC newsletter is an important tool in sharing and disseminating information in relation to SDIs, reporting activities of interest and helping raise awareness and support for efforts across the region as a whole. The dissemination of this information at regional, country and local levels in LAC requires that information is presented in languages that cover individuals working in the SDI space can understand including Portuguese’s language”.
Nancy Aguirre, Publisher of IPGH of the Regional SDI- LAC Newsletter of GSDI for Latin America and the Caribbean: “The one who contributes to the development of the SDI in this area knows the difficulties that are faced in relation to the lack of literature and information in one’s native language. SDI-LAC Newsletter (SDI-LAC, in English) edited by IPGH to GSDI, originally in Spanish and English, when being translated into Portuguese, is believed to make everything that happens in the SDI’s world get closer to the community in Brazil and what happens in Brazil to get closer to the community of the SDI’s world. Besides, the readiness of the Portuguese Newsletter facilitates and motivates the use and the spreading of its monthly content by the different actors in a much wider community, including the existence of a country as powerful as Brazil, whose market for geospatial information is in current expansion and growth, at local and regional level. Welcome to the SDI-LAC Newsletter in this language, which may be, from now on, more openly shared”.
Luiz Paulo Fortes, Director of Geosciences of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Executive-Secretary of the National Commission of Cartography (CONCAR) and President of the Permanent Committee for the Infrastructure of Geospatial Data of America (CP-IDEA): “Currently, Brazil is in process of implantation of the National Infrastructure of Spatial Data (INDE) and at this moment it is important to consider the need for the articulation with other Regional and State SDIs, in order to guarantee the interoperability of the geospatial information that exists and which is produced in Brazil and in Latin America. In that sense, all the pieces of information on the theme are welcome, so that an informative Newsletter such as the Spatial Data Infrastructure – Latin America and Caribbean (SDI-LAC) in Portuguese will facilitate the knowledge spread to the readers from Brazil and from the other Portuguese-speaking countries. Starting from the SDI-LAC it will be possible to follow the state of the art of the SDIs in America, as well as to know the calendars that involve projects, events and trainings.
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