Information management in disaster and development : geographic information systems

Abstract

There is a theoretical and practical link between long-term sustainable development and disaster management (prevention, preparedness and response). There are multiple synergies and interactions between these activities which can be understood as part of the same learning cycle. A common approach to information management is needed to support the decision-making process in a cost-effective manner. Hazards and development share a geography which is a complex reality full of synergies between space, ecosystem, society, culture and economy. A “universal” GIS based tool could integrate information management for development and disaster while exploring the synergies between projects and project and this geography. These capabilities are limited by lack of free information and cost of data gathering, interoperability and other technical issues. However, open-source and crowdsourcing may solve these limitations.