The Peruvian regional government of Loreto has been making great strides in in the implementation of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). In recognition of their efforts, Loreto has received several awards including the “Presidency of the Council of Ministers’ Technological Innovation Award ” (2015) and the “Good Practice in Public Management Award.” Their award-winning work, initiated in 2012, aims to implement technological tools and institutional frameworks that promote transparency and improve services in public management.
The green economy – a regional integrated development policy based on forest conservation – requires quality spatial information to inform decision-making and planning for integral regional development through the promotion of investments and the unlocking of projects while counteracting climate change and ensuring the conservation of Loreto’s 36 million hectares of forest.
By standardizing the way spatial data is produced and organized under certain standards, IDE enables information to be combined and visualized rapidly while making territorial delities of regional natural resources (such as forestry, fishing, or other resources). This allows the region to be much more competitive and above all contributes to the value of their forests.
The Loreto SDI Geoportal serves as the technological tool implemented by the regional government to facilitate timely access to quality spatial information on fundamental data such as forest management, regional conservation areas, fishery resources, populated centers, amongst others. Soon, information on schools, hospitals, infrastructure, mining, and wildlife will also be incorporated (http://geoportal.regionloreto.gob.pe/).
As more official information is integrated into this system, the more powerful it will become. Official criteria must be identified for each and every type of geographic data. In addition, the region must establish an institutional framework that validates the official character of these agreements, a set of specialists dedicated to promoting this process, as well as a virtual space to host already processed information.
To make decision-making more effective, the Geoportal provides spatial information acquired for timber or non-timber concessions, forest permits, or forest management plans such as annual cutting plots or selective tree harvesting to decision-makers, concessionaires, and citizens alike.
With SDI, the regional government of Loreto has access to more information to make better decisions regarding the management of natural resources, as well as to monitor the potentiaThe implementation of the SDI in Loreto serves as an excellent example of collaboration between the public sector and civil society. The different components of the SDI have been developed innovatively by the regional government of with the support of different civil society organizations such as DAR, WCS, and PFSI.
Watch Governor Fernando Melendez explain the importance of the tool for making informed development decisions: