CSTC Planning Portal
Carrier Sekani Geospatial Toolset (CSGT) Information Poster
- (8 MB)CSGT Background
The Carrier Sekani Geospatial Toolset (CSGT) Project
will enable the Carrier and Sekani people, through the CSTC,
to standardize their mapping needs and provide additional technical
support to the work being done in land use planning, economic
development, education and treaty (among other things).
The CSGT Project started in June 2007 and will be completed in
March 2008. The CSTC Land Use Planning staff wrote proposals,
in collaboration with faculty from the UNBC School of Environmental
Planning, and successfully received funding from Natural Resources
Canada GeoConnections Program and the BC Capacity Initiative
(Indian & Northern Affairs Canada). The CSGT Project has been initiated
because of the technical gap (in Geographic Information System - GIS and
mapping) that the CSTC and its member First Nations are currently facing.
As a service provider to the Carrier and Sekani people, in-house mapping
services are extremely limited due to financial constraints and a lack of
appropriate mapping applications for First Nations’ needs.
The CSGT Project will work with applications and strategies by building
upon standardized Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) applications
that will provide web-based mapping tools to assist with making better informed
decisions about land and natural resource uses within Dakelh territory. The
CSGT Project is also building upon the work being done by the Tsilhqot’in
National Government (TNG). (The official name of the TNG Project is called the
Tsilhqot’in Stewardship Planning Portal - TSPP). The long-term goals of the CSGT
are to offer more assistance and services to the CSTC member First Nations for
the purposes of:
- Effectively organize existing traditional spatial data;
- Better collecting & representing traditional knowledge in a spatial context (i.e. 3D data);
- Perform spatial analysis of traditional data with respect to other proximal information;
- Provide in house mapping services;
- Improving communications with other stakeholders.
While several members of the CSTC have gathered and/or created geospatial data for land use planning (i.e. Traditional Use Studies and Contamination Studies), the ability for key staff and leaders to access mapping data has been problematic because of the level of technical understanding these “users” require to view, add to, and/or produce maps. Mapping applications, tools, standards and accessibility are ongoing challenges for all the CSTC communities due to changing technologies, staff and financial resources. This project will provide for economies of scale and coordination of mapping strategies for land use decision-making.
CSGT Outcomes
The CSGT Project will work on developing several things:CAPACITY
- Train CSTC members in areas of web-based GIS, cartography and mapping technologies;
- Improve data management for mapping needs of CSTC & member First Nations;
- Create networks with other First Nations initiatives throughout BC & Canada.
TECHNICAL
- Build upon the software application (based on Open Source technology) developed by the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TSPP Project);
- Create tools and plug-ins that work with the TSPP to meet the needs of CSTC & its members, such as web-based GPS downloader and web-based 3-D animation for landscape illustrations/data capture;
- Begin the design and implementation of a Cumulative Impacts Model interface using web-based interfaces.
RELATIONSHIPS
- Improve relationships and communications within the CSTC communities by providing a tool that everyone can understand, create and use;
- Improve relationships and communications with government and industry by providing advanced mapping information during negotiations and projects.
CSGT Background
The main users of the web-based GIS that will be developed by the CSGT Project are the CSTC community members that will be able to view information about their territories, using the Internet, based on information that was created and managed by their own members and staff. Other users include different government agencies, industry and the public.
Security
Geographic data will be stored on the CSTC GIS Server (recently purchased)
and main GIS computer(s). Information made available through the Internet
will have varying degrees of protection and accessibility. Part of the CSGT
Project is to confirm Protocols, etc., with all the CSTC communities to
determine information sharing and hosting. The CSTC does not intend to give
out any sensitive information (i.e. sacred sited, TUS) to government or industry
without following strict rules and guidelines outlined by the CSTC communities
and CSTC.
For more information contact Mr. Jaime Sanchez, CSTC Land Use Planning Coordinator
at 250-562-6279 ext. 230 or at Jaime Sanchez