Making decisions single-mindedly looking at one dimension can be misleading, but a composite decision is necessary as a means of looking at the bigger picture.
Better informed decision making is considered vital in assisting individuals, organizations, societies and nations to solve real-world problems. Decision making is the process that leads one to make a choice between a set of alternatives to meet specific objectives. The capabilities of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technologies in problem identification, real time data acquisition, management and analysis of data and the visualization of the results makes it useful for decision making.
Geographic Information Systems is sometimes used interchangeably with the other terms, namely “geographic information science” and “geospatial systems”. GIS is broadly defined as an integrated collection of computer hardware, software and procedures designed to capture, store, retrieve, manipulate, analyze and display a particular geographic feature or landscape in order to support decision making for planning, management of land use, natural resources, environment, transportation, urban facilities, and other administrative records.
The history and development of GIS can be traced back to period of 1830s when the outbreak of cholera in Paris led Charles Picquet to create a map which showed how the disease was spatially distributed across 48 districts. This was the first application of spatial analysis which ignited the interest of John Snow the British Physician. In 1854 following the outbreak of cholera in London, John Snow created a cholera map and discovered that the ailment was commonly found close to water sources. In the age of 1950s maps became commonly used for car navigation, locating houses and streets as well as in new development planning.
However this was not considered to be GIS because these maps were just drawings without database linked to them. Since this was found on paper design which was very arduous in measuring and calculating distances, between 1960 to 1975 computer mapping was introduced. This is the period were the concept of GIS was initiated by Roger Tomlinson well known as the father of GIS. In the history of GIS, Roger Tomlinson is renowned for developing the Canada Geographic Information system (CGIS). The CGIS was used by the Canadian Government to collect, store, analyze and manipulate geographic data for the Canada Land Inventory which was meant to map the soil, drainage and climate characteristics to determine land capability for crop types and forested areas in the Canadian rural areas at a scale of 1:50 000. This was key in advancing GIS technology in computer mapping applications namely digitizing, measurement, overlay analysis, inter alia. This was followed by the Commercialization of GIS software in during the period 1975-1990 which was marked by the rise of ESRI the largest GIS software company in the world.
From 1990 to date the history of GIS is known for people as well as companies across the world adopting GIS software (QGIS, ArcView and ArcGis) among others, launching of satellites in the space and the integration of remote sensing technology. The launching of satellite paved way for the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) – a radio navigation system developed by the US Department of Defense that provides geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth. Today the system is used in navigation, mapping, surveying, and other uses in which accurate positioning is required. In the world facing problems as a result of climate change, growing population, severe environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss, the evolution of GIS will play a part in how we understand and address these problems.
What distinguishes GIS from other information systems is its ability to integrate spatial data, maps and data from several sources, thus users can create information and knowledge that can be used in planning, problem solving and decision making. Apart from being able to integrate large amounts of spatial and non-spatial data, GIS is flexible, fast, accurate and cost effective.
GIS has been used in a number of arenas because it works as a comprehensive system in planning, implementing and assisting strategic decisions. If one can visualize the potential of a system in which several map layers are arranged to display data on population characteristics, drainage and relief features, transportation networks, economic activity, political jurisdiction and other characteristics of the social and natural environment then it is possible to carry out multi-criteria analysis.
Making decisions single mindedly looking at one dimension can be misleading, but a composite decision is necessary as a means of looking at the bigger picture.
GIS is a powerful tool that can play a role in Environmental and Natural Resource Management. As the world faces serious land degradation due to human pressure natural resources GIS offers the potential for solving these problems by providing ways of generating information, regular monitoring and analysis as well as prediction of future events. Further, recording and assessment of the availability as well as the condition of natural resources can be done with the aid of GIS as this will help in formulating effective legislation, policies and conservation programs. Suitability analysis which involves determining the fitness of a landscape condition to support a well-defined activity or land use can be done with the help of geospatial tools. Through GIS it is possible to determine whether a site is suitable for landfilling, agricultural activities and even habitation in the face of natural disasters.
Geographic information systems can also be used in carrying out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) projects. An EIA is a decision making process which aims to identify the future consequences of a current or proposed development. In all stages of the EIA, because of the spatial nature of the environmental impacts,
In the context of ecology and wildlife management, GIS plays an important role in wildlife distribution, movement and habitat use patterns and processes to be mapped and analyzed, which can provide valuable information for the development of management strategies. In urban planning, the municipalities integrate GIS in managing their amenities for example locating electric cables and water reticulation pipes, detecting water leakages and this will help in planning for facility maintenance.
Every year records the occurrence of natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, volcanoes. Zimbabwe recently experienced Cyclone Idai in the year 2019. GIS can be used to map the flooding patterns and formulate flood hazard maps to inform evacuation efforts. Natural disasters are unavoidable, causing significant deaths and loss of property. GIS is one of the technologies essential in disaster management.
GIS can help in the preparation and mitigation of these catastrophic events through capabilities of visualizing the areas exposed, assessing vulnerability and prioritizing sites prone to damage consequences. Apart from that, it can also be utilized in formulating risk assessment measures, mitigation capacity assessment and modelling future occurrences.
The commercial sectors have benefited from incorporating GIS in business service planning as it proves to be capable for distribution planning, routing and market analysis to mention a few. For market and revenue predictions, GIS uses buffer and overlay tools to produce information with regards to existing performance and to calculate the impact of the changing distribution network.
GIS is not limited to big institutions but at individual level one can make use of the technology given that the mobile phones nowadays either in Android, Microsoft and other versions can be installed with mobile GIS software. Taking for example Google Map (apk) that can be accessed at Google play store, one might find it useful for car navigation, locating houses, streets, food outlets, service stations, accommodation sites, health services and transport route planning purposes.
