SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE. BENEFITS AND STRATEGY

Nowadays, the geoscience data have become widely available in different organizations, which play a very important role in decisions-making at different levels (social, economic, political…). However, these organizations use standards, technologies and policies that differ from one to another. Therefore, this information is increasingly being distributed widely and become divorced from their original context or had remained limited to a small scale. Hence, the need for a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) becomes a necessity in order to facilitate the creation, sharing, and access to geospatial data, thus the exchange of knowledge between them, using a minimum set of standard practices, protocols, and specifications. The establishment of a spatial data infrastructure is to create conditions to ensure free access of public authorities, local authorities, organizations and citizens to spatial data. This paper presents a preliminary study of implementation of a spatial data infrastructure. It introduced the SDI developments in USA, Canada and Europe and summarized the relevant benefits