NICARAGUA GEOGRAPHICAL ASSISTANCE DISTRIBUTION PROJECT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 001432 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID AINT MASS PGOV PINR SOCI NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA GEOGRAPHICAL ASSISTANCE DISTRIBUTION PROJECT ¶1. (U) Summary: At the Ambassador's request, post has developed an online application that graphically displays all USG assistance projects directed at specific localities from 2000-2003 to the present. The Geographical Assistance Distribution (GAD) Project also shows the geo-political breakdown of Nicaragua's departmental representatives and local governments. The GAD Project is available on the Department of State OpenNet network under Embassy Managua's Intranet web page and may be accessed by clicking on "Other Links," then "GAD Project." The direct OpenNet address is: webmanagua.managua.state.gov/DisplayContent.a sp?PAG_ID=37. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The Nicaraguan GAD Project contains over 4,000 data points on about 200 maps displayed on the national, departmental, and municipal level. The municipal maps illustrate projects from a full range of USG agencies, including: State, Agriculture, Defense, USAID, OPIC, Peace Corps, and MCC. All of the maps are Adobe Acrobat files that can be downloaded or printed. National Level - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) The national-level maps display results from the November 2006 national elections. One map shows the 70 departmental deputies who were elected by party, and another file displays the 20 national deputies chosen proportionately from party lists. A third map reveals the relative geographic strengths of the different parties by showing the presidential vote totals by department (first and second place parties). Departmental Level - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (U) Departmental maps may be accessed from the GAD home page by clicking on the name of the department. These maps display the departmental population and the political affiliation of the municipal mayors, as well as offering a bird's-eye view (via icons) of the different agencies with projects in that department. Each departmental map also contains a corresponding link (by clicking on the department's name) to the Nicaraguan Municipal Association (AMUNIC) web site. The AMUNIC web site offers political, historical, geographic, demographic, and infrastructure information on each municipality. (Note: The AMUNIC population figures are based on outdated estimates. The GAD maps contain information from the last official census. End Note.) ¶5. (SBU) On the departmental and municipal maps, certain municipalities are marked with a check icon. Though not explained in the GAD, the check indicates that more information on the municipality is available in a classified database maintained by the Political Section. Post is planning a mirror site on the SIPRnet that will include direct links to the database. Municipal Level - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) The municipal maps, reached by clicking on the municipality's name on the departmental map, display the mayor and councilors coded by party affiliation, the population, and short descriptions of USG projects undertaken in that locale. Where the information is available, we have indicated the specific neighborhood or village where the projects are located. Planned Upgrades - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) The following are planned upgrades to increase the utility of the GAD Project: -- The project information on the current municipal maps is very brief due to space constraints. We plan to develop a database on all of the projects that will contain much more detailed information (e.g., funding, time period, NGO partners, etc.) and link to the maps. -- Post agencies have formed a committee to review unsolicited project proposals from mayors, NGOs, and other sources. We plan to include links on the municipal maps to these proposals to more easily match ongoing activities with solicited requests. -- The Adobe Acrobat platform that we are using is limited. We intend to identify and upgrade to a suitable geographical information systems (GIS) platform in the future that will allow a variety of users to input data and access a much wider range of information. TRIVELLI