The study reveals critical factors to improve the exchange of information in 52 small insular states in the development and reduce risks of human and economic losses facing acts of God.

Space Data (IDE) infrastructure is part of the strategies for the digital government of the spatial data, including technologies, policies, standards, and human resources connecting multiple groups of users worldwide to respond to different needs and manage risk disaster scenarios. 

January 29, 2022. Fort Lauderdale, Florida EEUU (Taylor & Francis Survey Review). Researchers from Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña (UNPHU), the National Geological Service, Dominican Republic, KU Leuven Belgium, and the university de Concepción, Chile, lead the research to determine the most critical factors to improve the performance of an IDE and facilitate the risk management. Disasters in the small insular states in development. 

The leading researcher, Gregorio Rosario Michel, explains that the results of this study benefit more than 50 very vulnerable countries to the challenges of climate change and natural phenomena such as droughts, floods, volcano eruptions, hurricanes, quakes, among others; where disclosed in a publication of the prestigious international magazine “Survey Review,” from the company Informa Taylor & Francis Online Peer-Reviewed Journals, under title   Identifying Critical Factors to Enhance SDI Performance for Facilitating Disaster Risk Management in Small Island Developing States.”

In this digital transformation era, the appropriate implementation of the IDE potentiates the availability and accessibility of information and geospatial services of quality in all phases of risk management facing disasters. Notwithstanding, it is evidenced that a lot of countries in development face great difficulties to implement their IDE as the limited allocation of funds and the lack of staff duly trained, the deficiencies in infrastructures and communication services, the fragility of the political environment, organizational factors, lack of a culture of prevention, among others, appoints the engineer, Rosario Michel. 

Engineer Gregorio Rosario Michel 

The research equipment explains that the results of the study lead to a better understanding of the importance of IDEs. Also, allowing the exchange of spatial information to strengthen the capacity of the small insular states in development to approach the risk management facing natural disasters appropriately, mitigate in a better way the economic losses and humans, meeting in a better way the achievement of goals of sustainable development. The study offers a solid base for the development of regional mechanisms of multilateral cooperation and the exchange of geospatial resources between the decision-makers and agencies of emergency response in the Caribbean and other insular states in development worldwide, including other impacts of global kind (as the adaptation to the climate change). 

Gregorio Rosario Michel, Teodoro Jiménez Durán and Fernando Alfredo Manzano Aybar (Dominican Republic), María Ester González-Campos (Chile), and Joep Crompvoets (Belgium) conducted the study, funded by the National Fund of Innovation and Scientific and Technological Development (FONDOCyT), from the Department of Superior Education, Science, and Technology of Dominican Republic.  (MESCyT); through the project FONDOCYT 2018-2019-1E3-065, with support from the University of KU Leuven.  

To perform this study, a survey e-Delphi was applied to an extensive group of international and national experts about the use of IDE in managing risk mitigation facing emergencies. They covered three rounds of surveys by the methodology to achieve a design and implementation of an IDE. In this way, the PEIDS of the Caribbean and the world will be able to complete an appropriate form to make decisions in the emergency scenario, in natural principles, and general of any kind. 

The researchers conclude that from a list of 23 factors, the most critical ones for the performance of IDE are those related to persons (integration, training, volunteering, etc.)  and political aspects (regulations about access to information, among others). 

The ideas from the study and its publication will help the decision-makers design roadmaps to improve the exchange of spatial knowledge to make IDEs more resilient and able to reach the achievement of the Goals of Sustainable Development more efficiently. 

About the project FONDOCYT 2018-2019-1E3-065

This project is regarding the allocation of funds competitive for the research proposal submitted by the researchers’ authors of articles for the call 2018-2019, from FONDOCYT of MESCYT. 

The researchers Gregorio Rosario Michel, Teodoro Jiménez Durán and Fernando Alfredo Manzano Aybar from the Dominican Republic, María Ester González-Campos from Chile, and Joep Crompvoets from Belgium dedicate their activity to the study of applications of the information geospatial for the improvement in the decision making facing the solution of problems affecting the technologies and societies. 

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