PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: USAID/DART USING GIS TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ISLAMABAD 017853

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID
USAID/W FOR A/AID ANDREW NATSIOS, JBRAUSE
DCHA/OFDA GGOTTLIEB, MMARX, RTHAYER, BDEEMER
AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA
SOUTH ASIA RESPONSE MANAGEMENT TEAM
SOUTH ASIA EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE
DCHA/FFP FOR JONATHAN DWORKEN
ANE DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR MARK WARD
BANGKOK FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR TOM DOLAN
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR WILLIAM BERGER
ROME PASS FODAG
GENEVA FOR RMA AND NKYLOH
NSC FOR JMELINE
EUCOM FOR POLA/J3/J4/J5
BRUSSELS FOR USAID PLERNER
NEW YORK FOR TMALY
SECDEF FOR SOLIC/PKHA, USDP/J3
JOINT STAFF WASH DC FOR J3/J4/J5
HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE FOR J3/J5

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID AEMR ASEC MASS ECON KMDR KPAO OIIP OPRC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: PAKISTAN - EARTHQUAKE: USAID/DART USING GIS TO
IDENTIFY UNMET HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

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SUMMARY
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1. Since the beginning of the earthquake response, the
USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has included
a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Officer. The GIS
Officer, currently from the U.S. Department of State's
Humanitarian Information Unit, regularly prepares maps and
information products to demonstrate the extent and type of
humanitarian requirements and show the locations of partner
activities. USAID-funded nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) recently submitted information on the coverage area
of their activities, which was transferred to a GIS program
and displayed in a comprehensive map. The USAID/DART used
the map to identify unmet humanitarian needs and avoid
duplication of services. The GIS Officer has provided an
important service to the USAID/DART by providing the team
with "eyes on the ground" knowledge. End Summary.

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Scope of Work
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2. In the early stages of a disaster, maps are developed to
show areas that are most severely affected, the number of
people in need, and accessibility to the affected areas.
Much of this information is reported and mapped as large
polygons, each colored to reflect a single piece of data
such as the percent of damage. Once this information is
mapped, demand is often created for more detailed
information about specific areas.

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Maps as Program Tools
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3. In recent years, GIS has become an important tool for
the humanitarian and disaster response community and at
present is widely used in the earthquake response in
Pakistan. The US military is using GIS for helicopter
landing zones and delivery of materials; the UN Humanitarian
Information Center and Joint Logistics Center both have GIS
staff for production of specialized maps; and some NGOs are
using GIS for information management. Additional details
regarding multi-agency information management in the
Pakistan earthquake response will be reported septel.


4. The USAID/DART is creating maps to track the operational
locations of implementing partners in order to determine if
needs are being met and if areas exist where people are not
being reached. Maps are also used to identify gaps in
coverage to enable implementing partners to expand their
areas of operation to cover these needs. On November 17,
the USAID/DART invited partner nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) to a coordination meeting in Islamabad that included
a mapping exercise. Each partner delineated their area of
operation on a paper topographic map and the information was
then transferred to a GIS system through on-screen
digitization. The partners' working areas were displayed as
distinct polygons. Once all of the partner program data was
digitized onto one map, the USAID/DART had a collective
visual representation of all NGO program areas.


5. The USAID/DART Program Officer held follow-up meetings
with individual NGOs and took along maps showing the
combined program areas as well as a detailed map showing the
operational area of each NGO. The maps triggered
discussions about on-the-ground coordination between NGOs
working in the same location, areas where needs appeared to
be unmet, delivery routes to the areas, and possible
duplication of NGO services in a particular area. Partners
were also asked to add any program updates to the maps. The
changes were subsequently relayed to the GIS Officer to more
accurately reflect the reality on the ground.


6. The USAID/DART used the maps produced by the GIS Officer
to assist with grant proposal reviews. Program staff
entered new or second tranche grant proposal information in
the GIS to determine if the areas specified in the proposal
were already covered, whether the proposal appeared to
extend into an area with no previously identified damage,
and to ascertain whether the proposed program location could
be modified to cover an area of identified need.
Information from this process was used to support funding
decisions.


7. At a second coordination meeting on November 24, NGOs
were asked to provide additional information for mapping.
NGOs responded to a questionnaire that asked if partner
programs were meeting all or partial needs for shelter and
emergency relief commodities. They were also asked if they
knew of areas where these needs were not being met. In some
cases, individual NGOs were working in up to seven separate
sites and implementing different programs at each site.
Data from the questionnaire was then linked to the
respective NGO polygons in the GIS by the GIS Officer. Maps
were produced showing commitments for winter shelter kit
distribution and emergency relief commodity distribution.

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A Replicable Model
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8. To promote donor collaboration, the USAID/DART shared
map products with colleagues at the UK's Department for
International Development (DFID). Recognizing the value of
the GIS program, DFID has begun to implement a similar
program to map the program location of DFID-funded NGOs. At
DFID's request, the GIS Officer is providing assistance in
duplicating the same model with DFID-funded NGOs.

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Value Added for USAID Mission
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9. USAID/Pakistan requested the assistance of the GIS
Officer in identifying and testing GIS software for possible
use in the Mission. To more effectively display the
geographical coverage of programs, USAID/Pakistan aims to
import spreadsheets with location coordinates into a
comprehensive map. The GIS Officer recently gave a one-hour
GIS presentation and demonstrated ways that GIS tools can be
useful for program management. The Mission plans to use
maps created by the GIS Officer designed to track the
locations of USAID-funded earthquake activities as a
starting point for reconstruction planning, thereby allowing
USAID to build on existing relationships with local
government officials, NGOs, and other stakeholders.

CROCKER