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MAINSTREAMING GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
O. Kufoniyi" , J. O. Akinyede"
"Regional Centre for Training in Aerospace Surveys (RECTAS), Off Road 1, Obafemi Awolowo
University Campus, PMB 5545, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Website: www.rectas.org; www.uneca.org/rectas; Email: kufonivi@skannet.com.ng
"National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Federal Ministry of Science and
Technology, PMB 437, Abuja, Nigeria, Website: www.nasrda.gov.ng Email: jakinyede(vahoo.com
Key Words: GIS, Small/micro satellites, Spatial Infrastructures, Standards, Metadata.
ABSTRACT:
The fuel driving the engine of growth and sustainable development of any nation is the nation's access
to reliable and adequate geospatial information (GI). Over 80% of socio-economic and environmental
management decisions are based on quality and accurate information on natural resources and other
geospatial data. On the other hand, the roots of under-development of the third world countries, such as
Nigeria, emanated from a number of factors which include poor quality data collection, organization
and management practices including lack of adequate infrastructure and skilled human capacity to
develop the natural resources and manage the environment in a sustainable manner. The consequences
of these are: food insecurity, air and water pollution, environmental degradation, etc. This paper
therefore, examines in detail the above features in terms of the challenges facing the GI community in
Nigeria if the nation must attain rapid sustainable socio-economic development. The significant role of
space technology for comprehensive, reliable and real-time geospatial data acquisition and the need for
the establishment of a national geospatial data infrastructure (NGDI) are discussed. The paper also
presents highlights of the National Geoinformation Policy for Nigeria, focusing on the policy
statements, objectives and strategies to enable implementation of the NGDI. The issues addressed in
the policy include: geospatial datasets, standards, metadata, legal, data access and data security,
organizational framework, commercial, capacity building, and related national policies and
international cooperation. A focused implementation of the policy items is expected to facilitate
efficient production, management, dissemination and use of geospatial information for national
development.
* Corresponding author
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