Biodiversity is the strongest natural defense against climate change, and Colombia ranks among the most biodiverse nations on the planet. According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 10% of the world’s biodiversity can be found within Colombia’s borders. The country is at the forefront of sustainability in Latin America, with innovative conservation initiatives such as payment for environmental services and the creation of ecological corridors. Leading these efforts is the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Cundinamarca (CAR Cundinamarca).
CAR Cundinamarca acts as a guardian of the natural resources under its jurisdiction, and access to actionable data is critical. But decentralization of information, data interoperability challenges and lack of robust policies and standards were imposing operational obstacles. To address these challenges, CAR Cundinamarca was the first environmental entity in South America to create a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). Named IDECAR, its objective is to foster data organization, systematization, standardization, sharing and use. To ensure success, the organization implemented Octave’s smart monitoring solution, which includes Octave Alto Data Management (formerly ERDAS APOLLO), Octave Alto Enterprise (formerly M.App Enterprise) and Octave Alto (formerly Luciad) technologies.
Because it is structured by parameterizable APIs, Octave technology made it easy to configure a tool without the need for extensive development time.
Because it is structured by parameterizable APIs, Octave technology made it easy to configure a tool without the need for extensive development time.
CAR Cundinamarca implemented a robust data governance project, which began with inventorying and cataloging over 1.5 million geographical and non-geographical data. Using Alto Data Management, more than 68,000 geospatial assets were automatically imported, cataloged, linked and stored. Large imagery files were compressed by 90% with Octave GeoCompressor. Data is now standardized, organized and easily accessible to authorized users. Next, a customized, web-based geospatial portal was built on Alto Enterprise, incorporating advanced 3D capabilities enabled by seamless integration with Octave Alto Browser (formerly LuciadRIA). Several geoanalytical thematic dashboards were also built to monitor strategic information and projects.
Automation rules help users and administrators maintain data governance across the entire organization. Either by mass imports or manual input, data is automatically classified, stored and standardized by Alto Data Management and spatialized on Alto Enterprise to feed CAR Cundinamarca’s geoportal and geoanalytical dashboards. Through web services, static data is made available on a web-based geoportal with more than 100 layers of information and robust resources that allow internal users to display digital twins, model spatial analyses and visualize actionable information. Users can explore and visualize dynamic data on geoanalytical dashboards equipped with advanced filters, search tools and reporting functionalities that support a wide range of use cases, including analyses, research, planning and real-time monitoring of information related to air and water quality, biodiversity, risk management, soil usage, territorial cadaster, mining activities and strategic ecosystems.