GEOSPATIAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT

GEOSPATIAL DATABASE MANAGEMENT The good news is, PHIVOLCS has already started the Geospatial Information Management Project for Hazards and Risk Assessment in the Philippines, also known as the GeoRiskPH Project. The bad news is, there seems to be no mention of acquiring and integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data from municipal, provincial and international sources. To build or to buy is always the classic crossroads decision to make in database management. It is always the choice of building a database using internal sources, sometimes even creating the data from scratch. The other option is to acquire existing data from external sources, either by buying it, or getting access to it through some kind of information sharing agreements. In most access, the objective is not really to acquire data cheaper or faster, but to get data that is more accurate and more updated. In the case of geospatial data, the primary consideration is not really the cost of building it or buying it, but the cost of lives and properties that could be saved by having accurate and current data. If I can be given the chance to help with the project, I will suggest to the PHIVOLCS to open diplomatic channels so that they could acquire data from overseas sources such as APEC, ASEAN and even the UN. There are also excellent data that could be shared by Japan and the USA. It’s also good to integrate the GIS data from the LGUs. IKE SENERES/3-19-24