Where on earth are you?

By Salma Yusuf

You might not know it, but you're already a global citizen, and geography is a part of your everyday life.

Geography is more than just maps. It is about knowing what's where, why it's there and why it matters. In other words, geography opens doors.

One of the hottest fields today is Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS uses computers and software to leverage the fundamental principle of geography – that location is important in people's lives. “It helps a retail business to locate the best location for its next store and helps environmental agencies to track environmental degradation. It can even help route delivery trucks and manage road paving. It helps marketers find new prospects, and farmers increase production and manage their land more efficiently,” says Mr. Eddie Appathurai, General Manager of EMSO, Environmental Science Division, explaining its many uses.
GIS takes the numbers and words from the rows and columns in databases and spreadsheets and puts them on a map, thereby providing useful information, like where you may have the most number of customers if you own a store, or will show you multiple leaks in your water system, if you run a water company.

"What makes this software special is that it does not only show information. It allows you to understand, question, interpret and visualise your data in ways simply not possible in the rows and columns of a spreadsheet," remarks Nadika D. Senadheera, GIS/RS Specialist, Environmental Science Division, EMSO Ltd. "It helps to integrate data in various formats and from many sources."

In order to raise awareness on the importance of GIS, the Environmental Science Division of EMSO Ltd, the authorised distributor in Sri Lanka for environmental Systems Research Institute Inc., Redland California, organised an event to highlight the importance and use of GIS. Held on November 15 at the British School in Colombo, the event, "GIS Day 2006," was the first of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka, and attracted students from many national and international schools.

The event served to make people aware of GIS technology and the important contributions it’s making in the fields of science, technology, information and the humanities, through a series of presentations from a distinguished panel made up from different disciplines. A.L.S.C Perera, Superintendent of Surveys (GIS), Survey Department of Sri Lanka, Dr. A.J Sathrasinghe, Deputy Director of Census & Statistics, Dr P.S Kariyawasam, Chief Medical Officer of Health at the Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council, Dr P. Thenkabell, an American National who joined International Water Management Institute HQ SL 2003, Principal Researcher and the Head of the RS GIS unit, and S. Jayatilaka, GIS Consultant for 15 years, who all shared their experiences on how GIS impacted in their areas of focus and work.

“GIS Day” provided an opportunity for those curious about GIS to see its applications in action. "The ability to see geographic features on a map gives users a better understanding of a particular location, enabling planners, analysts and others to make informed decisions about their communities," explains Appathurai, adding that GIS is used throughout the world to solve problems related to the environment, health care, land use, business efficiency, education and public safety.

"Most recently we have seen how GIS technology can be used to aid disaster management in tsunamis, cyclones, floods, terrorist activities etc," says Appathurai, while Nadika added that the applications of GIS technology are endless and only limited by the imagination of its users. From border patrol agents to doctors, and from federal agency employees to local city planners, people in nearly every profession all over the world are reaping the benefits of this extraordinary technology.

Appathurai states that EMSO Ltd takes pride in having introduced this powerful technology to Sri Lanka over 15 years ago, and now support many Government, Non-government, UN organizations, Research Institutions and Universities to use GIS technology effectively for better planning and increased productivity.