Towards the Building of a Robust National Database Infrastructure (NSDI) Developing Country Needs: Botswana Case Study

摘要

The paper reports on the procedures and the strategic planning undertaken by the Botswana geospatial scientific community towards the building of a robust national database infrastructure (NSDI). It looks at three aspects. First it interrogates step by step the procedures taken to build the Botswana NSDI strategy. These incorporate the reasons why creation of Botswana NSDI's Laws, Policies and Acts is crucial; the listing of all immediate stakeholders; strategic alignments; the strategy needs requirements; funding needs and budget; the institutional data sources, the institutional data types, formats and needs; the cataloguing and metadata; institutional data standards; data input, storage, specification and protocols; institutional scope and links; infrastructure, software and communication needs; human resources, its training, developments and deployments. Second, it looks at the advantages, challenges common in the creation of a NSDI in developing countries. Third, it will give highlights and views on the development of NSDI by the United Nations and those of the developed countries. The narrative aims at putting the advantages, application highlights and challenges within a developing country's framework into perspective as lessons learnt and advice for future guidance and use.