What is the name of the programme or project in which you are involved, and what are its overall aims?
Kenya wetlands conservation and training programme
Main aim is the conservation of wetlands in Kenya and building capacity for management and sustainable utilization of wetland resources.
The main spatial data component is the mapping of marine and terrestrial wetlands
 What is the geographical area within which the programme operates?
The whole country
 Identifying the major role-players in digital spatial data capture and maintenance and describing their roles within this
geographical area:
 What government organisations capture digital spatial data, and what data do they capture?
We have several government department dealing with spatial data these include
1. Department of Resource Survey and Remote sensing (DRSRS) DRSRS is a government department whose core business is
natural resource surveys, remote sensing, aerial surveys, vegetation mapping and database development. DRSRS's areas of
outstanding institutional expertise is animal censuses, habitat mapping and database development (GIS), monitoring, cropforecasting and early warning systems
2. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Focus on spatial data on protected areas, animal distribution and habitat quality and other
areas of important biodiversity e.g. Wetlands and unique and indigenous forests used for management of biodiversity.
3. Forest department produces spatial data on plantation and indigenous forests use d for forest management. Forest
Department is a government institution whose main mandate is forest resource management. The current activities carried
out by Forest Department include forest inventory, biodiversity surveys, socio-economic surveys and forest resources
management.
4. Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) KMFRI Is a parastatal whose mandate is research on marine and
fisheries.
5. National Museums of Kenya NMK is a parastatal whose mandate is conservation of natural heritage
6. Central Veterinary Laboratory (Vet Lab-CVL)
7. University of Nairobi Geography Department
8.
Department of natural resource
9. Surveys of Kenya, This is a government department responsible for the production topographic map for the country. Most
digital map within Kenya use these topomaps as reference
 How is the private sector involved in digital spatial data capture?
There are few privet organization involved in digital data capture, the majority are mainly specializing in aerial survey and map production,
little is done to incorporate other non digital information on to the maps. There are two private firms that do spatial data capture in the
country.
 Are any NGOs or academic institutions involved in creating, maintaining or managing digital spatial data, and if so, what are their
activities?
University of Nairobi, Moi University and Egerton University are the main academic institutions involved in managing spatial data. NGOs
mainly contract the universities and private firms if they need this service
 Is there a lead agency or organization which co-ordinates the capture, maintenance and management of spatial information needed
by the public sector?
There is none

Distribution mechanisms for digital spatial data :
 How is digital information distributed? Are any agencies involved in disseminating information and digital data on behalf of
others? Is the Internet used for providing access to spatial information, either through a map viewing facility, or enabling users to
download digital data?
Digital data is distributed though demand, the individual in need or organization has to look for this information. There is no agency in
charge of distribution of this data. Though there are three well organization know to provide this information namely Surveys of Kenya,
DRSRS and UNEP. UNEP GIS section has fertilities for access to digital data through the Internet.

Spatial Data Users:
 Are there users’ fora? Are there fora in which users can convey their needs to data producers?
None
 Co-ordination mechanisms and support:
 Is there currently any formal or informal co-ordination of publicly funded programmes involving spatial information? If so, what
is the lead agency or organization in coordinating or driving national spatial data infrastructure development efforts in your
nation, and on what authority does it perform this function? Do the laws or formal orders of any legislative or executive branches
of government within the region explicitly recognize the need to establish or further develop National Spatial Data Infrastructure
(NSDI) or Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure (RSDI)?
There is no formal co-ordination, there is informal data (not necessarily spatial) exchange mechanisms within the MOUs signed between
organizations. There is no law to that effect, the government dose not recognize the need for such a body, but organization and individuals do
but no progress has been made in that direction.
No
No


Is there any funding available for SDI development and co-ordination?

Has a long term vision statement or strategic plan been developed for managing and developing the spatial data assets of the
country or region through an NSDI or RSDI?
A description of the status and plans associated with the typical components of Spatial Data Infrastructure (if applicable): It is
difficult to describe that at the moment
 The collection and publishing of metadata (i.e. standardized data about spatial data sets that is used to document and can be
used to catalogue spatial data sets - metadata describe the content, quality, condition, and other characteristics of spatial data sets):
has a standard format for recording metadata been adopted, how widely is metadata routinely captured and through what
mechanisms is metadata made available to potential users of the associated data?
Many organisations do not develop metadata, the concept of metadata is still growing and many organisations have not considered the need
publish their data through metadata
 The development of a “clearinghouse” facility (i.e. a distributed network of data producers and users that can be used for
discovery and access to standardized metadata and / or geospatial data): what mechanisms are in place or being planned?
Kenya’s National Environment Secretariat (NES) and the Forest department (FD) were funded to develop the clearing house mechanism
through the BDM project to develop mechanisms for the clearing house mechanism. Consultations with stakeholders was done and
implementation document produce but no implementation was done. This was mainly due to end of funding and the incompetence of the lead
agencies. Organisations such as KWS, NMK and DRSRS that showed great interest have resorted to review their MOUs to achieve to some
extent the vision of the clearinghouse mechanism.

The development of data standards - standards for data content, classification and management that are available for the entire
community of spatial data producers and users: are there any formal or de facto data standards in operation? Are these standards
imposed on some producers, such as national agencies? How do these standards relate to international or standards or standards
applied in neighbouring countries?
We are still very far, as organizations have not embraced the need for standards. Until and unless a national body is formed to co-ordinate
these activities and the policies in place such development can only be hoped for.

Is there a prescribed or commonly used horizontal datum for the georeferencing of spatial data? What about a vertical datum?
No

Identification, state and availability of core data sets (i.e. common base sets of data with broad geographic coverage meeting
specified standards that are important to a broad variety of users. Other themes of data are built upon or referenced to these
framework data sets. These data sets might typically be available to all users through the networked clearinghouse with few or no
restrictions.) : is there a clear picture of what these core data sets should be? Have there been any processes to date, or are any
processes planned to determine these?
The core data sets are know and most are kept with national organisations such as KWS, DRSRS, FD. (See question on key players). Some
of these information is analysed to meet specific needs of the organization and to a small extent the whole country.
 Legal and economic frameworks for accessing spatial data and pricing policy: what are the legal and economic constraints
under which citizens, businesses or government agencies may gain access to spatial data?
Most government agencies provide the data free. The government parastatal provide data on cost recovery basis and Universities and private
organizations provide data on profit basis.

Liaison:
 Regional and Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Initiatives: Is there any formal affiliated with any global or (other) regional
spatial data infrastructure initiatives, or is there informal networking with other initiatives? If yes, which initiative(s)? None

Other useful information, for example:
 Has any analysis of user requirements or cost-benefits analysis been undertaken to estimate the benefits of building a spatial data
infrastructure within this geographical area? If so, please summarize, and provide details of how a full report may be obtained.
There are reports that deal with the above, but not specific on spatial data but rather on biodiversity information, The reports can be
obtained form NES office, they are two reports 1. National Institutional Survey Report for Biodiversity Data Management Project
2. Needs assessment survey BDM project
 Particular challenges identified regarding NSDI / RSDI development within the region;
Though there is no such project, the fore seeable challenge would be the information ownership and information exchange policy.
 Any web-sites or brochures where information relevant to SDI efforts in the geographical area within which the programme
operates may be found.
None