Pacific Island Coastal Inundation Capacity and Planning
Woolpert Asia-Pacific received the highly coveted J.K. Barrie Award and the People and Community Award at the Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards for the Pacific Island Coastal Inundation Capacity and Planning project.
The J.K. Barrie Award is the apex of achievement in the spatial industry with Woolpert Asia-Pacific receiving it at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. APSEA recognize and celebrate individual’s and organization’s achievements within the spatial information industry across the Asia-Pacific region.
Challenge
The project team was engaged to provide land and bathymetric aerial lidar expertise with NGIS providing capacity building and training.
Solution
The team trained the people in Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea to prepare them for sea level rise associated with climate change. The training including spatial modeling and decision-making using lidar and aerial imagery. The judges were particularly impressed with the team's emphasis on customized solutions in training each country to provide the appropriate data, skills, and tools necessary for each respective community.
Results
An emphasis on community involvement ultimately contributed to winning the People and Community Award. The project team made a conscious effort to include local residents at every stage. This happened by enabling locals to identify priority areas for survey and involving them in acquiring the data. NGIS Australia also enabled government officers to create coastal inundation maps and present output to their colleagues.
The project was showcased by Google at the White House Climate Data Initiative launch as a global example for increasing climate change awareness and preparing communities worldwide using spatial information and mapping. The Pacific Island Coastal Inundation Capacity and Planning project exemplifies our collaborative abilities with external organizations.
Client
NGIS Australia
Location
Asia-Pacific Region