Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/109821
Web Applications opposing views on the pace of oil sands development and its ecological, economic and social impact. To ensure sustainability of the oil sands, the Government of Alberta developed a 20-year strategic plan that aims to balance the environmental, social and economic impact of oil sands development. The plan outlines strategies for responsible development and identifies priority activities to address immediate challenges. In addition, it guides long-term investment in infrastructure and technology. The plan calls for maximizing research and innovation to unlock the deposit���s potential, while reducing the environmental footprint associated with oil sands development. It also prescribes increasing available information to enhance accountability in managing oil sands. Bringing Data Together Data about oil sands industry environmental performance has always been publicly available, but had been difficult and time-consuming to track down. People often had to search the Web sites of four different ministries and five agencies. In some cases, information was only accessible in person at public libraries or through access-to-information requests, for which requesters had to pay a fee. To address this challenge, ESRD created OSIP, which brings together various data on oil sands industry performance in one place. Launched in November 2011, ���OSIP displays the geographic distribution of oil sands operations across Alberta. 24 G E O W O R L D / F E B R U A R Y 2 O 1 3 more than 1,100 unique users now visit OSIP each month (osip.alberta.ca). Good science and innovation is driven by factinformed debate and dialog, and OSIP is an ideal way to make the latest data and research information easily���and widely���accessible. The ministry interviewed various industry stakeholders and incorporated feedback into OSIP���s design. During its research, the ministry identified four tiers of users based on the depth of information each required. Intelligent Web Maps to Unlock Data Since the 1980s, ESRD used Esri���s GIS technology to support land-use planning, environmental analysis and operations. It���s the de facto standard within the Government of Alberta for spatial data storage, maintenance, analysis and presentation, and it effectively supports the business requirements of the province���s various GIS applications. Recognizing its capabilities for integrating data and delivering rich knowledge and analytics through intelligent Web maps, ESRD decided to use GIS as the technology foundation for OSIP. From a business perspective, the ministry knew that the public was becoming increasingly comfortable seeing information presented as maps, so it determined that using GIS to share oil sands environmental information was a good approach. In addition, the ministry collects this information directly in geospatial format, making it possible to view and analyze the same data internally that���s presented to the public through the portal. OSIP consists of an interactive map and data library that contains the most recent oil sands-related information available. Some data are updated annually, while others are refreshed as frequently as every 15 minutes. The portal uses Esri���s ArcGIS for Server technology to bring information from multiple databases into one easy-to-use platform. Users can navigate OSIP using common Web browsers and tablets; the OSIP data library also is accessible using smartphones. The interactive map allows users to quickly select and view information such as details and locations of oil sands operations, regional environmental-monitoring stations, surface-mining disturbance and reclamation. The Web map was created using the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, which enables easy self-serve access to secure geographic information. OSIP maps oil sands projects by status and type of extraction method. About 20 percent of Alberta���s oil