GeoNetwork opensourceInternationally Standardized Distributed SpatialInformation Management

Abstract

GeoNetwork opensource is a standardized and decentralized Geospatial Information Management System, based on the concept of distributed data and information ownership and is designed to enable access to geo-referenced data and cartographic products through descriptive metadata. Collections maintained at different organizations are accessible through a single entry point. This approach of geographic information management enhances easy and timely access to existing spatial data for a wide community of users, supporting informed decisionmaking in a variety of application fields. Web 2.0 techniques have been adopted to allow more interactive and intuitive use of the system and to offer building blocks for future web service offerings. The main goal of the GeoNetwork opensource project is to provide free and open source software that improves accessibility to a wide variety of geospatial data and information products at different scales and from distributed sources. The collections are organized, documented and published in a standardized, consistent way both at the metadata and data level following international standards. As such the tool has become a popular and widely accepted geospatial Information Management System within the UN system, forming a central and basic element in the development of a United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure (UNSDI). In other national and international organizations and initiatives such as the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the European Space Agency (ESA), the US Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), in countries implementing National Spatial Data Infrastructures (NSDI), in Europe in the context of The INfrastructure for SPatial InfoRmation in Europe (INSPIRE), as contribution to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and others, GeoNetwork opensource has also seen a remarkable uptake.

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