humanitarian.info

MapAction have been a positive force in terms of rolling out humanitarian mapping in the field. Not content with walking the walk, they’re also talking the talk with the publication of a Field Guide to Humanitarian Mapping [pdf  3.1MB]. A practical guide for aid workers, it focuses on free resources to produce basic maps – an introduction to the topic of GIS, followed by chapters on GPS use, Google Earth and MapWindow.¹ I’ll  let head honcho Nigel Woof do the rest:

The guide is aimed at aid workers who are not GIS specialists, so it may not be useful for those who are already technically advanced in GIS. However, we would greatly appreciate it if you could help to disseminate the guide to anyone whom you think may find it useful. We are particularly trying to reach NGOs. This first edition is very much a ‘beta’ version and we would like to expand and update it later this year; so we would very much welcome your comments and feedback.

My short review: this is a fantastic addition to the field of humanitarian GIS, and it definitely fills a gap in the market for aidworkers who have no GIS experience but want to start mapping to support their work. Download it and distribute it to everybody you meet on your next mission, and let’s see if we can’t turn this ship around towards the fabled lost continent of Maplantis.

1. I’ve got to be honest – I’ve never used MapWindow, so I can’t tell you how useful this is. It’s built on .NET though, which strikes fear into my Xubuntu heart. Grass! [↩]