THE ACQUISITION, PRODUCTION AND DISSEMINATION OF GEOSPATIAL DATA FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Abstract. The crisis management of a disaster, whether caused naturally or by human action, requires a thorough knowledge of the territory involved, with regard to both its terrain and its developed areas.

Therefore, it is essential that the National Mapping and Cadastral Agencies (NMCAs) and all other public and scientific institutions responsible for the production of geospatial information closely co-operate in making their data in that field available. This crucial sharing of geographic information is a top-level priority, not only in a disaster emergency situation, but also for effective urban and environmental planning and Cultural Heritage protection and preservation.

Geospatial data-sharing, responding to the needs of all institutions involved in disaster surveying operations, is fundamental, as a priority, to the task of avoiding loss of human lives. However, no less important is the acquisition, dissemination and use of this data, in addition to direct, “in-the-field” operations of specialists in geomatics, in order to preserve the Cultural Heritage located in the crisis area. It is in this context that an NMCA such as the Italian Military Geographic Institute (IGMI) plays a key role.