“Canada
partners India to unleash the power of GIS”
Says
Dr
Irwin Itzkovitch, Assistant Deputy Minister,
Earth Sciences Sector, Natural Resources Canada
while discussing various aspects of Indo-Canada
relationship in the field of Geomatics
What
is the role of Natural Resources Canada?
Natural
Resources Canada (NRCan) helps shape the important contribution
of Canada’s natural resources sector to our economy,
society and environment. The segments on which NRCan
focuses are forestry, energy, minerals and metals, and
Earth sciences, including geomatics, geoscience and
related industries. Canada’s natural resources
industries are high-tech, innovative and growing. They
are global leaders in productivity and have developed
innovative technologies and world-class niches in all
aspects of natural resources. Although it is the provinces
of Canada that own the natural resources within their
borders, NRCan plays a role in areas of federal jurisdiction
including fi scal policy, international trade and science
and technology.
Canada
is a leader in Earth Science. Comments?
We are known
as a leader in Earth Sciences because of the way we
manage land and natural resources and for applications
of science and technology. We endeavor to ensure a better
quality of life both at home and abroad and hence would
like to share our experiences with other countries.
We are working in partnerships with other countries
for mutual benefi ts and growth.
Tell
us about GeoConnection.
GeoConnections
was established as a national partnership in 1999 involving
the federal and provincial governments. The program
provided
$CAD60 million in federal funding towards cost-shared
partnerships with governments, non-government organizations,
universities and, in particular, the private sector.
These partnerships developed our country’s spatial
data infrastructure as a collaborative endeavour - focusing
on technological innovation, framework content development
and the implementation of standards and policies that
promote exchange of spatial information. The federal
investment leveraged a total of $150 million in activity
by 2005 and resulted in the backbone infrastructure
that now supports a wide array of applications.
Where
does India stand in your international partnership strategy?
India
has been one of the first countries with which we began
cultivating a partnership to share our knowledge of
spatial data infrastructure. It was nearly four years
ago that our Minister came to India to establish and
strengthen the relationship. Since then we have come
a long way. There have been several visits from our
departments and there have been many discussions on
the capabilities and potential of working with private
sector of both countries.
We also have been involved in helping develop India’s
approach in building its National Spatial Data Infrastructure
(NSDI). The process started in the NSDI Agra workshop,
held in November 2003. Since then, the federal government,
along with Canadian companies, have been working very
closely with the Government of India on this issue.
In addition, we have jointly launched a study to develop
an integrated disaster management system for India,
again with the involvement of the private sector.
In
which direction is the Indo- Canada relationship moving?
Geomatics and
geospatial information are essential for development
and
we are collaborating on several projects and initiatives
to share our experiences in this field. Let me give
you some examples. In addition to NSDI that I discussed
earlier, we have recently entered into an agreement
with the Punjab Government to develop its agriculture
geospatial information and dissemination system. We
are also discussing with the Government of Andhra Pradesh
a similar project but focused more on drought conditions.
In the area of public health, we are working with the
Geological Survey of India (GSI) of the Ministry of
Mines in developing strategies for mitigating the health
hazards posed by arsenic in drinking water. Another
initiative that we have with the GSI is the development
of a landslide hazard warning system for India.
What
is Canada’s approach and experience towards NSDI?
Canada’s
approach recognized the political reality of our country
where the provinces and local governments hold considerable
control over natural resources, public safety issues,
health care delivery and decisions concerning them.
As a result, much of the spatial information developed
to support these decisions can be found throughout those
jurisdictions. The Canadian approach - a decentralized,
standards-based infrastructure that promotes the sharing
of data from the closest point to source - is a direct
reflection of our political situation. I believe this
approach works well for any country with a decentralized
administrative structure.
How
do you see the developments related to NSDI in India?
India and Canada
face similar data fragmentation challenges as a result
of similar parliamentary systems and the division of
decisionmaking authorities between levels of government.
As a result, the approaches and expertise that our countries
develop are comparable. I believe that our Indian partners
can learn form our successes but also from the challenges
that we have faced during the last 5 years. In that
sense, I believe that we have what is needed to further
our partnership and share expertise and lessons learned.
What
is your opinion on data sharing vis-a-vis security concerns?
I believe that data security must be taken seriously
and that spatial data
infrastructures must be developed to accommodate the
sharing of sensitive information but that security is
not a reason in and of itself not to share valuable
information. In fact, the 9/11 Task Force and others
have pointed to the lack of sharing of critical information
as a key impediment to meeting public safety/security
goals. As long as the concerns are fully identified,
the proper network security and data encryption methods
can be put in place to ensure that sensitive data is
only used by authorized offi cials. The key is not to
use security as a reason to hoard data but to embrace
its challenge, fully realize the implications and address
it through proper measures.
Is
there anything you would like to share with our readers?
I am very pleased with the growing relationship and
feel that there are many more opportunities that can
be developed. There is tremendous knowledge available
in this country and we can help by sharing our experience
and expertise.
I also believe that this is an exciting time for India,
with the development of its spatial data infrastructure
and the new map policy released in May of last year,
which provides improved access to geospatial information.
I am pleased that Canada is partnering with India on
this important journey to unleash the powers of GIS.
Dr
Irwin Itzkovitch was appointed Assistant
Deputy Minister, Earth Sciences Sector, Natural
Resources Canada, on December 4, 2000. He has
a distinguished record of accomplishments in both
the private sector and the public sector.
His
work in the private sector includes serving as
Noranda Inc.’s Senior Vice- President, Shared
Business Services and Chief Technical Officer.
His fields of expertise include the management
of innovation for profit, strategic planning and
policy development, marketing, corporate acquisitions,
and new business development. Dr Itzkovitch also
served as NRCan’s Director General, Mineral
Technology Branch. In that capacity, his leadership,
insight and energy were vital forces in leading
mining, minerals and metals technological development
and transfer to the private sector. While in the
private sector, Dr Itzkovitch served on two infl
uential government S&T advisory boards. He
has also served on, and presided over, numerous
professional institutes and societies. Dr Itzkovitch
holds a PhD in chemistry from Queen’s University
and also attended the Executive Management Program
of the University of Western Ontario Business
School.
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