CARICOM

UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON CENSUS

CARTOGRAPHY AND MANAGEMENT :

CENSUS MANAMGENT AND PLANNING WITH THE USE OF GIS

Port of Spain 22-26 Oct 2007

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION

• Introduction• What is GIS and the Benefits• Census Management and Planning

with the use of GIS in 2000 Round• Country Experience• Major Challenges• Recommendation for the way forward• Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

• The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) comprises 15 Member States and 5 Associate Members

• The countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have a long history of conducting population censuses

• Appreciable regional collaboration and coordination in conducting population censuses have existed over the years.

•

What is GIS

Geographic Information System or GIS is a

collection of computer hardware, software,

geographic data and personnel assembled

to capture, store, retrieve, update,

manipulate, analyse and display

geographically referenced information.

How is it applied• Cartographic segmenting activities are developed

within census preparatory tasks and consist of

executing a set of different field and office tasks,

directed towards dividing the territory of each district

of the country into work areas (Enumeration Districts)

which shall be assigned to various census officials

(Enumerators and Supervisors) during the Survey

stage.

What are the benefits

The data integration functions provided by

GIS, for example linking of information from

many different subject matters have led to a

wider use of statistical information in the

Caribbean region.

What are the benefits

• Cartographic presentation of census results using GIS provides a powerful means for visualizing the results of census.

• Maps are integral part of policy analysis in the public and private sectors in the region.

What are the benefits

• In addition to enabling more efficient production of enumerator maps and thematic maps of census results, Geographic Information System (GIS) now plays a key role in census data analysis and dissemination

Census Management and Planning with the use of GIS in

2000 Round

In the framework of the preparatory tasks of

the 2000 Round of Censuses, some Member

States and Associate Member States in The

Caribbean Region embarked on developing

digital mapping and applying Geographic

Information System (GIS).

Management and Planning with the use of GIS 2000

Round During the 2000 Round of censuses GIS

was new in the region and not all Member

States had the technology

The extent to which Member States used

GIS in the 2000 Round of Censuses differ

from country to country but mostly

centred on work load allocation.

Management and Planning with the use of GIS in 2000 Round

Effort were made by Member States to

ensure that common GIS technology were

used

The main software used is ArcGIS.

COUNTRY EXPERIENCE

• Group 1: St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago - GIS for Mapping, workload allocation, analysis and dissemination and has functional Cartographic Unit. In addition, St Lucia will use GPS technology in 2010 Round.

• Group 2 Anguilla, Cayman Islands, OECS, Jamaica and Bermuda - GIS for mapping

• Group 3 – Introductory to GIS: Guyana, Suriname, Bahamas, - Introduced to GIS and will be used in 2010 Round

Major Challenges

Arising out of the experience of the 2000

Round of Censuses on the use of GIS were

the following challenges:

• Acquisition Cost – Funding of Equipment

and software

• Availability of Technical Expertise

• Retention of Qualified Staff to manage

Project

• Rapid Change of Technology

Recommendation for the way forward

The Caribbean Community and the Member

and Associate Member States hope to

improve and consolidate on the support

and cooperation for the forth coming 2010

Round.

Recommendation for the way forward

Successful implementation of GIS for

management and planning of 2010 Round

of Censuses requires the following:

• A detailed assessment of the status and

need for assistance of Member States;

• Strengthening of the regional

coordination mechanism;

• Providing advisory and technical support;

Recommendation for the way forward

Training in vital areas (and updated

versions) in the use of GIS.

Tertiary Institutions in the region to

expand Geography/Cartography programs

to include GIS to train more persons to

better respond to market and labour

requirements in the region

Procuring of key equipment and software

for use by Member and Associate Member

States.

conclusion

Note the benefits and successful

application of GIS in some Member States;

Note the challenges arising from the 2000

Round of Censuses.

A more improved, sustained and

aggressive efforts on the application of

GIS in the Region in the 2010 Round.

THANK YOU

THE END

CARICOM