Geospatial Information System, a potential asset to Guyana- Min. Trotman
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DPI, GUYANA, Monday, April 9, 2018
The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) will be moving to develop a portal of information on the development of natural resources in Guyana; a system which Minister Raphael Trotman said would be very beneficial to the country.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, and Mexico Ambassador to Guyana, H.E Ivan Robero Sierra Medel.
Minister Trotman made the remark this morning at the opening of a two-day workshop on Spatial Data Infrastructure for Guyana’s Natural Resources Sector, at the Mexican Embassy in Brickdam.
The exercise is being facilitated by the National Institute for Statistics and Geographical Information (INEGI) Mexico.
While the objective of the geospatial data management would be good for Natural Resources, the minister said the country would benefit twice as much from a system that would be useful to all of Guyana.
“What we are about to do is not just about the natural resources and how they are developed and not developed, but we want to see that all information that is pertinent to the nation of Guyana is housed in one unit.”
He said the information will have major implications for many other sectors including mining and forestry. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure will also benefit from this system as it will help in the direction of its services. The information can also be used for activities that will impact the environment and national security decisions.
“While, in this first instance, the emphasis would be on defining the need and scope of the portals for storing geographic information on the country’s natural resources, the knowledge we will gather will aid in the development of a national portal where a national geospatial data can be stored and used.”
Some participants of the workshop.
Minister Trotman believes that such a system should fall under the Ministry of Public Telecommunications. As such, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes reasoned that Guyana’s expanding international profile, partially due to the discovery of oil, has evolved with an increased demand for a greater level of involvement in the digital world.
“It is our primary responsibility, through the use of appropriate technology intervention to enable and support a whole of Government approach towards holistic governance of Guyana,” Minister Hughes said.
The workshop emerged from a visit to Mexico three years ago by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister Raphael Trotman following which a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed.
Mexican Ambassador to Guyana, His Excellency Ivan Robero Sierra Medel said the system is meant to support policy-making and provide information to bolster the development of the natural resources sector; one of the main drivers of economic growth.
Mexico’s Deputy-Director General for Natural Resources Francisco Jimenez Nava and Aaron I Villa Mata, Deputy Director of Geomatic Solutions will lead the workshop.
By: Alexis Rodney