Date:         Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:05:31 -0500
Reply-To:     [log in to unmask]
Sender:       Biological Conservation and GIS <[log in to unmask]>
From:         [log in to unmask]
Subject:      Conservation Geoportal:  Who has data and maps?...
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Who has data and maps?

Have you noticed that half of the postings to this forum are requests for 
data?  Clearly, data discovery and access are a core need of our 
community. Fortunately, the Conservation Geoportal now provides an 
efficient way to fulfill this need. 

The Conservation Geoportal - www.conservationmaps.org - was announced last 
September. Since then, over 300 users have registered and nearly 1000 
metadata records have been posted, covering a range of conservation 
topics, geographies, and organizations. This is a good start, but is only 
a fraction of the potential GIS datasets, maps, and publishers relevant to 
conservation. So, we are issuing a renewed call for content to help 
populate the catalog. 

If you have (or know about) data, maps, or map services relevant to 
conservation, please carve out a few minutes to create and post metadata 
records for them using the online form. If you already have metadata (in 
ISO or FGDC XML format), simply upload the files, or tell us where they 
reside in an existing online metadata repository (WAF, OAI, CSW, ArcIMS, 
or Z39.50). We are especially interested in links to live map services, 
which can be viewed and mashed up in the Geoportal's Map Viewer.

If we all register a few maps or datasets, and/or encourage others to post 
their metadata, it will add a lot of useful content to the Conservation 
Commons and greatly increase data sharing and integration across our 
community.  This should result in better conservation science, 
decisionmaking, and education.


What is the Conservation Geoportal?

In case you are not aware of it, the Conservation Geoportal is a new 
metadata catalog for discovering and publishing information about 
conservation-related GIS data sets, maps, and map services. It has been 
designed specifically for the conservation field, and is intended to cover 
all conservation geographies and themes (natural and cultural). It also 
includes a simple map viewer for displaying and mashing-up standard map 
services, allowing interactive maps to be easily created, saved, and 
shared.

The Geoportal has the following capabilities:

- Discover and access conservation maps and geographic data online 

- Display and combine live web maps with the built-in Map Viewer 

- Customize, save, and share live maps through permanent URLs and context 
files

- Define and save advanced searches that combine thematic and geographic 
criteria

- Publish descriptions and links to your data and maps

- Register other catalogs and clearinghouses for discovery through the 
Geoportal

It is important to note that the Geoportal does not store data and map 
files or host map services. It simply stores metadata records that 
describe and link to resources that reside elsewhere online (or offline, 
but available on request). Thus, map and data publishers have complete 
control over how their resources are described, accessed, and licensed. 
Moreover, data, maps, and services can exist in any format (.SHP, .MIF, 
.KML, WMS...) or database schema. 

The power of the Geoportal lies in the ability of users to quickly find 
and evaluate data and maps for any conservation topic or geography and to 
provide a convenient, high-profile place for anyone to publish their maps 
and data. 

If the metadata describe and link to a standard map service (ArcIMS, WMS, 
WFS) the data can be streamed into the Geoportal's Map Viewer, mashed-up 
with data from other map services, and saved and shared for future use. 


Help us manage channels and shape the Conservation Geoportal

We are currently recruiting Channel Stewards to help manage the content of 
channels and serve on our Editorial Team. Channels (listed on the right 
side of the home page) allow quick browsing by conservation topic or 
institution. Channels contain links to the best maps and datasets 
available for that topic or institution. They complement the Geoportal's 
general search capabilities by providing a curated and organized list of 
resources.  Let us know if you are interested in helping to steward a 
channel, or have suggestions for channel content.

If the Geoportal gets used by our community, additional resources will be 
invested to enhance it, including adding channels for GIS models and 
tools, user review and rating functions, RSS feeds, etc...  We are also 
working to identify hosting services for groups that do not have a server 
to store and publish their files and map services. Please use the Feedback 
link to offer suggestions or get help.

So, if you use other people's data or want your data to be used by others 
for conservation purposes, please spend some time on the Conservation 
Geoportal, publish metadata, and participate in the Conservation Commons!

http://conservationmaps.org 
http://conservationcommons.org 


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