Geospatial Data Sharing: Preliminary Studies on Issues and Challenges in Natural Disaster Management

The rapid development of information technology has led to the demand for the latest, precise and easy to understand data. Data especially geospatial data is becoming increasingly crucial in all types of planning and decision making. Geospatial data sharing can be categorized into different disciplines such as public safety, disaster management, transportation, traffic control, tracking, health, environment, natural resources, mining, agriculture, utilities and many more. Whether as a way of distribution or retrieval of data, geospatial data has become an essential component of government GIS operations. Despite the prominence of this activity and its centrality to the day-to-day function of many government systems, the geospatial data sharing is still given less attention in the field of natural disaster management. Preliminary information is gathered from Literature Reviews (LR) and unstructured interviews with experts to seek information in depth. Thirteen (13) issues and challenges of geospatial data sharing in Malaysia Public Sector (MPS) for natural disaster management have been identified.