Esri and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Esri Corporate Headquarters in Redlands, California on 3 October. This MoU confirms the two organisations’ long-standing relationship: it provides an official framework to the GICHD’s collaboration with Esri, the leading Geographic Information System (GIS) software company which has been active in supporting the mine action sector for over 10 years. Since it was first released in Kosovo in1999, Esri has been supporting the Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA), the GICHD’s application for demining programmes. IMSMA combines a customisable database and ArcGIS software that together allow for more accurate localization of hazardous areas, accidents and other information relevant to mine action. By providing free licenses to the GICHD, Esri has proved a significant partner and allowed the GICHD in turn to provide mine affected countries with the appropriate tools to manage their demining efforts. IMSMA plays a central role in mine action in more than 50 countries.
“Esri has been honored to contribute to the critical humanitarian mission of the GICHD over the past 14 years”, said Jack Dangermond, president of Esri. “Their work in demining, explosive ordnance disposal and disarmament are imperative to clear land so it can be made useful again and help create sustainable communities.”
IMSMA has since evolved and is about to be launched in its version 6.0. This version includes new victim-centric information management capabilities that will facilitate monitoring and management of the victim assistance process (for example, allowing for inclusion of data with regards to registration of the victims, needs assessment, statement of claims and rights, compensation aspects). The possibility of extracting relevant victim assistance statistics in IMSMA will facilitate the accountability of the assistance process, the quantification of its impact on victims’ lives and the optimization of resources.
The GICHD is investigating other possible applications of GIS in mine action. By producing visual and quantifiable results, and allowing data integration from various sources, GIS tools enable new forms of analysis that ultimately benefit communities affected by mine fields, explosive remnants of war and unsafe ammunition depots. They make it possible to include factors like soil characteristics or vegetation, for example, but also other environmental, socio-economic and cultural specificities of mine-affected regions. Ultimately, accurate knowledge of the spatial distribution of contamination can help with decisions aimed at protecting vulnerable communities.
Finally, web applications (or portals) will boost the sharing and use of geospatial information. Geoportals allow authorities and operators to share data, maps, GIS tools and results in a standardised way and in well-known formats, with the objective to get a clearer picture on the global explosive hazard problem, as well as on the impact it has on countries, communities and people.
About the GICHD
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) is an international expert organisation based in Switzerland that works to eliminate mines, explosive remnants of war and other explosive hazards. By undertaking research, developing standards and disseminating knowledge, the GICHD supports capacity development in mine-affected countries. It works with national and local authorities to help them plan, coordinate, implement, monitor and evaluate mine action programmes. The GICHD also contributes to the implementation of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, the Convention on Cluster Munitions and other relevant instruments of international law. The GICHD follows the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.
About Esri
Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world’s mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news.
