The Centre for Geo-information (CGI), which is part of the National Land Commission Secretariat (NLCS), has inked an agreement with over 17 government organizations to work together on providing geospatial data to the Bhutan National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). By providing a single point of access to the most dependable and current geospatial data, a spatial data-sharing online platform will make data from these agencies available to the general public. Early next year is when the internet portal is anticipated to launch. Information that represents things, occasions, or characteristics connected to particular places on or close to the Earth’s surface is referred to as geospatial data.
The existing method of obtaining data from other agencies is laborious and frequently necessitates written clearance requests, which takes time and money, according to an NLCS official who attended the signing ceremony. “Academics and consultants who require geospatial data will find the new online platform for data consolidation beneficial in addition to government agencies.” Applications for this data will be numerous and include enhancing environmental studies, disaster management, land and resource management, and public services in a variety of industries.
According to an NLCS official, restricted data might also be made public with the right explanation and consent. “The public will have access to information about the restricted data so they are at least aware of the types of data that are available.” The NSDI is a component of the “Promotion of Utilization of Geospatial Information through the Development of NSDI” technical cooperation project, which was funded by JICA and is expected to be finished by 2025. The project started in 2020. Due to inadequate planning and a lack of agency consultation, NLCS reports that over 436,560.588 acres of land nationwide are in conflict.
