Merging GIS Tools with Humanitarian Relief Requirements--Lessons Learned and the Way Forward

Author: Jean-Yves Bouchardy
Organization: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

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bouchard@unhcr.ch

This paper describes the various requirements the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has for geographic information (e.g., with respect to contingency planning, emergency relief, care and maintenance, rehabilitation, repatriation, and mitigation) and how these may differ from other requirements often encountered by the professional GIS community. Due to the rapid evolution of GIS technology it is important for the GIS/Mapping Unit to take advantage of the most recent tools including updated databases, GPS readings, satellite images, digital terrain models, and new software solutions such as Web-based interactive mapmaking. Examples of requirements, applications, and lessons learned from recent relief operations in Kosovo and Timor are described.