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GeoWorld February 2012

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In parallel, a spatial "scoring" tool is being developed in VB.Net and is aimed to be included into ArcMap. This tool, relevant at national or regional scales, aims to calculate scores for hazards with regard to their location. The score will be calculated depending on the hazard's location relative to population, hospitals or areas with industrial development. "With regard to the scoring tool, it would be a great help for prioritizing the cluster strikes and minefields in Western Sahara," adds Casswell. "Currently, we use our own cri- teria system based on proximity to water points, popula- tion centers, and primary and secondary routes. It would be useful to have a scoring tool to ensure consistency." This dynamic tool allows the users to choose their own parameters: Each hazard then is scored as follows: if two roads are nearer than 300 meters, and one hospital is nearer than 350 meters from the hazard, then the score is equal to: (2 x 2) + (1 x 3) = 7 points. Figure 5 is an example of a test result. The higher the score, the higher priority of clearance in that area. Online Course In partnership with Esri and the University of Kansas, GICHD developed an online course for novice users. Mine-action-oriented datasets were created, and theo- retical lessons with practical exercises were written. The course is composed of the following chapters: Figure 6. In the last chapter of the Esri Virtual Campus e-learning course on mine action, users learn how to deal with raster datasets, such as loading elevation data into an image mosaic. using standard or mine-action-oriented symbol libraries The course is free and can be completed at training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=catalog. webCourseDetail&CourseID=2065. Cartographic Symbols The "Cartographic Recommendations for Humanitarian Demining Map Symbols in the Information Management System for Mine Action" were developed by GICHD and the University of Kansas in 2005. Most of the existing cartographic symbols are based on ISO standards. However, some of them don't yet exist, such as in the methodologies and technologies developed in recent years. As a consequence, recommendations have been revised and updated. A new symbology was proposed, especially for hazards, hazard reductions and tasks. "Development of the new IMSMA symbology set, which fully encompasses all methods of land release, is an important step forward for [infor- mation management] and its application to mine action, and it will be a great advantage for opera- tional planning," notes Mickaƫl Creighton, land- release program manager, GICHD. Figure 5. Using the geospatial scoring tool, hazards from the southern sector are scored according to their distance to roads, hospitals and urban areas. Pierre Lacroix is a GIS expert at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and GIS consultant for GICHD; e-mail: pierre. lacroix@unige.ch. Daniel Eriksson is head of the Information Management section at GICHD; e-mail: d.eriksson@gichd.org. FEBRUAR Y 2O12 / WWW . GEOPLA CE . COM 29

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