Implementing GIS in the Lebanon - A Case Studyby Jacques Ekmekji,
Director GIS Services Division,
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Jacques Ekmekji |
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Abstract : |
The rise of modern Geographic Information Systems (GIS) coincides with sixteen years of war in the Lebanon (1975-1991). At a time GIS, with the wide spread of personal computing, was witnessing its first public appearance in the United States and the Western world the Lebanon was struggling to maintain some kind of sanity in a country torn by civil war, foreign aggression, chaos and destruction. It was in such terrible conditions that GIS made its first public appearance. The GIS kickoff initiative was launched at the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture (FEA) of the American University of Beirut (AUB). A day to be remembered.The audience, faculty and students, was to disperse only when the impact of the mortars and shells started getting louder and closer.
Where does GIS stand today with security restored, development and reconstruction in progress, and a 21st Century Lebanon in the build? What were the main milestones on the road to Doha '97 ?
This paper discusses the driving forces behind GIS in the Lebanon, the challenges encountered, GIS at work, and the GIS prospects.
Jacques Ekmekji - Profile :
Jacques Ekmekji did B.S. civil engineering from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 1971. He is an associate of the firm Khatib & Alami (K&A), a multidisciplinary engineering firm ranked among the top ten international design firms in the Middle East. Presently he is Director of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Services Division at K&A and Principal-in-Charge of the design office in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. GIS projects under Mr.Ekmekji's directorship include the Electricity of Lebanon's GIS project otherwise known as project GISEL, Lebanon's Staged Wastewater Program (LSWWP), SOLIDERE's Integrated Spatial Information Systems (ISIS), and a 300 hectares community development project in the township of Mechref in the environs of Beirut.
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