Introduction IT Synergy is developing a Decision Support System (DSS) based on a Geographic Information System (GIS) core and implemented entirely using open source tools, components, and methodologies.

The DSS is a system which provides modeling facilities encompassing the aggregate water resources available to Egypt down to the level of irrigation units. The expected usage of this system will cover the generation and analysis of what-if scenarios, representation of water resource trends (both real and simulated) in geographically correct and accurate visualizations, and the reflection in software of the network of water resources enabling intensive and thorough analysis to support the Egyptian government in guiding their water management policies towards sustainability and environmentally responsibility.

The project involves the design/implementation of a Decision Support System (DSS) for the Ministry of Water Resources, which also includes installing a Geographical Information System as part of it. DSS is a tool that help managers and decision makers from the Ministry to take decisions about the availability of water resources in specific locations inside the country based on the the information forecasted by the the models developed in the application. It will only use open source software that have passed the OGC Compliance Testing Program.

The DSS project was conceived to propose a methodology for integrating environmental and socio-economic aspects in the water resources planning exercises, and develop a computer-based tool that multiplies the Decision-Makers capacity of analysis and evaluation, thus stimulating a wider and more integrated perspective in the planning process, also fostering dialogue among various actors.

This project intended to provide the technical-scientific capability to assess and evaluate possible alternatives in a systematic fashion instead of providing absolute solutions. Rather than adding a bit of knowledge ‘vertically’ and getting more insight on some particular aspect, the idea is to broaden the understanding of the Egyptian system ‘horizontally’, by integrating the knowledge and tools already available through an innovative cross-sector and multidisciplinary view.

The principal challenge underlying Egyptian Environmental Policy is to manage the scarce common resources of water and cultivable land more effectively to meet the growing needs of the population, which is placing enormous pressure on agricultural production and on the non-renewable and limited natural resources. Thus a balance shall be achieved between the needs of a progressing economy and the protection of natural resources, while addressing the impact of current environmental problems.

The DSS methodology will be assessed and actively used by policy-makers and researchers in Egypt. The models representing the Egyptian Water Resources and associated Socio-economic and Environmental System will be properly calibrated and available for planning purposes.

Parties Involved

IT Synergy is the technology consultant behind the project. We have many years’ worth of GIS experience and we also have extensive experience assuming the role of project formulators and managers.

The system is being developed in the context of a joint UNDP and Italian Cooperation project with the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources & Irrigation being the primary beneficiary. Project stakeholders include the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and the project falls under the Program of Institutional Support to the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency.

The System

The DSS is built using open source components on a GIS core. The technology selections which IT Synergy has made as part of the initiative have had fundamental and very significant impacts on the success of the project.

Geographical Information Systems

While the concept of a GIS has been around in one form or another for a few decades now1, the technology itself has not had an impact proportionate to its potential in the overwhelming majority of deployments. Additionally, GIS deployments can be complex affairs both from a technological and from an organizational and planning perspective; very few GIS projects reach fruition as a consequence of not only this complexity but also as a consequence of the traditionally high costs associated with GIS systems, hardware requirements, and skills.

IT Synergy is a company with pedigree in the field of GIS development; we have been designing, developing, implementing, and successfully delivering GIS solutions since the middle of the 1990’s. Just as we have a tradition of working with GIS we also have a reputation for bringing open source software into the enterprise and government environment. Our work in GIS development is a very good example of how open source may be leveraged to create advantage in such environments, and our work on developing the DSS application for the Egyptian Ministry for Water Resources and Irrigation is the best example of this.

For the purposes of this project, we have selected the most prominent and capable components from amongst the very wide array of GIS components offered by the open source GIS stack. Our chosen development environment is composed of the Linux operating system, the PostGIS spatially enabled database server, the MapServer environment, the Chameleon GIS interface system, and many other components such as GDAL and OGR.

Linux is considered the flagship of the open source revolution and it is a deserved title. The operating system is truly world class and constitutes the most solid, scalable, reliable, and cost effective back-end which is currently on offer whether from the open source world or from commercial proprietary vendors. With Linux as a base platform on which to develop and subsequently to base the system on, we are assured the performance and continued operation of the underlying systems serving the DSS.

PostGIS is the spatial extension to the world class open source PostgreSQL database server. As underlying technology, PostgreSQL is unsurpassed, providing stability and performance regarded as the benchmark by which other database servers – even commercial ones – are compared. PostgreSQL is responsible for such critical infrastructure as the global root DNS servers; there are no better database servers today.

MapServer, Chameleon, GDAL, OGR, and other supporting tools and libraries are similarly open source and are of a quality rendering them reference GIS implementations. All of these technologies communicate through open protocols and transparent interfaces and APIs, providing a solid foundation upon which the DSS application can be built.

The DSS Application

The DSS application, as previously mentioned, provides a very advanced computer model for simulating the water assets and resources availing themselves on a national scale to Egypt. The domain which is to be modeled is very vast but engenders one common characteristic of overriding importance and significance: all the data elements from waterways, canals, monitoring stations, and many other features have a geographic dimension. This is the primary reason why the application is built on GIS technology; the spatial dimension must be accounted for.

Java

IT Synergy selected the Java programming language to develop the application in based on several factors. First of all, the Java programming language is free and open; this means that the resulting application will be accessible to subsequent system owners and that there are no licensing issues to pose future risk factors at a programmatic niveau. Also, the language itself is a very clean implementation of a design principle called object orientation; essentially, all code segments are encapsulated in a manageable and compartmentalized fashion which has the desirable effect of not only simplifying the code but also reducing barriers to access. With Java, it becomes possible within the context of a technology-heavy project such as this to incorporate a capacity-building component including training the Ministry staff (as represented by the Strategic Research Unit in the National Water Research Center) on not only system usage and administration but, more importantly, system programming in Java. The objective is as simple as it is clear: to create within the technology recipient a profound institutional capability to assume sovereignty over their information system as represented by the DSS.

Modularity

The architecture of the DSS which is developed in Java also represents a unique opportunity to do things right. We have designed the architecture along modular lines leading to a plug-in schema at almost all levels. As we are developing a water demand model, it is similarly possible to create plug-in models of arbitrary complexity and subject matter, such as salinity modeling, purity modeling, and any other type. It is also possible to develop plug-ins and DSS extensions in different languages – it is an open system in every sense of the word.

Map Acquisition & Distributed Information Sharing

It has been IT Synergy’s experience that the data and map acquisition component of GIS projects will often tend to be one of the more challenging tasks. With the DSS project, this has been the case and we have devoted substantial segments of effort and initiative not only at the acquisition, rationalization, and incorporation of geographical and hydrological data into our systems but also to more conceptual and impactful solutions to the ever present challenges of building and maintaining a correct, precise, relevant, and often voluminous geographical dataset.

To address this challenge, we have designed the DSS and underlying GIS architecture to work with non-local sources of data. Third party information providers are configured to provide access at terms which they dictate and which our system is capable of integrating and working with at levels of competence equivalent to locally stored maps and feature layers. It is thanks to this innovation in addition to our active role in the purveyance of maps from different sources and our investigations into diverse information sources that the DSS now enjoys what is likely to be the most complete geographical information repository at a national (and, in some contexts, regional) scale.

Our initiative with respect to map acquisition and information accumulation transcends the base requirements for the development of this DSS and the fruit of this effort extend beyond what is expected by counterparts and demanded by the project work plan. It has been our vision that the technologies developed for the Ministry when coupled with the capacity building will result in an information system which will grow beyond what we have developed and will constitute a true example of development through information and communications technology.