About

Welcome to the SASDI Electronic Metadata Catalogue

The Electronic Metadata Catalogue provides the public with information about existing spatial data that is currently available for use. The Spatial Data Infrastructure Act, 2003 (SDI Act, No. 54 of 2003) requires an Electronic Metadata Catalogue (EMC) as a component of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI).

The EMC is a web-based application service that allows users to explore spatial information resources by querying the associated metadata records contributed by organs of state or independent contractors. It allows for storing and retrieving metadata and is a mechanism for users to query data based on specific attributes.

The Electronic Metadata Catalogue falls under the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Services (SPLUMS) branch of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), who are responsible for the Coordination of the development of a SASDI (Section 3 of SDI Act). It aims to serve as the secretariat for the CSI (Committee for Spatial Information).

The Electronic Metadata Catalogue enforces policies and standards to facilitate the sharing of geospatial information as well as avoid duplication of data capture. It acts as an inventory to increase the speed and quality of data analysis, where the responsibility of maintaining data and the associated metadata lies on the custodians of the data. Custodians are responsible for registering the data capture projects in addition to capturing, managing, maintaining, distributing and defining the use of spatial information.

The purpose of the Data Collection Project Register (DCPR) is to ensure efficient data capture management where custodians are required to notify intention of data capture and non-custodians are required to apply to capture spatial data. This is to coordinate efforts to optimise the process and costs associated with capturing spatial data.