Greetings all - This posting was put up on the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) Listserve, and may be of interest to ECOLOG listers.
Lara Juliusson ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Society for Conservation and GIS [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, January 29, 2007 11:00 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Conservation Geoportal: Who has data and maps?... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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, decision-making, 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
