Spatial data sources

Spatial evidence connects development projects to settlements, livelihoods, services, and the resources people use. A useful collection brings together reference geography, official statistics, environmental observations, and local knowledge. Each source contributes at a particular scale and for a particular period.

Begin with the assessment question and the decision it will inform. Then choose the geographic unit, population, observation period, and evidence needed. The geospatial methods guide develops this approach; the baseline survey discussions connect it to household measurement and fieldwork.

Source directory

Search by topic, provider, place, or intended use. Use and access notes identify methodological considerations, licensing information, and further documentation. Entries describe providers, collections, and dataset families; select a specific edition before analysis.

Directory reviewed 10 October 2026. Download the source records for provider links, documentation, and metadata. The file also retains the earlier directory’s regional and historical references.

Select evidence for the question

Assessment question Starting sources Evidence to develop locally
Who may experience a change in land or resource access? Project alternatives, settlement and building data, administrative geography Affected-person listing, occupancy, tenure, seasonal use, and livelihood dependencies
How accessible are services and markets? Roads, paths, crossings, facilities, elevation, population Travel mode, seasonal conditions, facility capacity, cost, and people’s actual routes
How might environmental change affect livelihoods? Land-cover histories, water, catchments, climate and hazard records Farming, fishing, grazing, resource use, exposure pathways, and differentiated vulnerability
How are settlement and service demands changing? Census tables, population estimates, built-up change, transport links Mobility histories, rental markets, workforce plans, informal activity, and repeated observations

The area of influence follows the mechanism of impact. Water connects upstream and downstream users; a road changes a network; construction employment can alter housing and service demand beyond the site. Explain the extent selected and revise it as field evidence develops. IFC Performance Standard 1 provides the assessment context.

Distinguish an observation from a modeled estimate or administrative designation. Population grids allocate counts using assumptions and supporting data. Building detections describe structures. Land-cover classifications describe surface characteristics. Household use, occupancy, and rights require their own evidence. For a worked example of the relationship between mapped overlap and exposure, see spatial baseline analysis.

Nepal, Bhutan, and eastern Indonesia

Nepal. Start with National Statistics Office census tables and compatible geographic codes. Record the reporting level, denominator, and observation year. District splits and local-government changes require explicit correspondence between older profiles and current boundaries. ICIMOD’s regional environmental products provide complementary landscape evidence. The Nepal district discussion maps the historical profile index and identifies shared references and gaps; dataset curation explains how to join census and survey evidence.

Bhutan. Combine National Statistics Bureau tables with documented NSDI and sector layers. Dzongkhag averages provide context for investigation at gewog, settlement, and household levels. Mountain access also depends on slope, crossings, season, and service availability. Use the Bhutan source guide and demographic and spatial risk discussion to develop those relationships.

Maluku and Tanimbar. BPS census, Susenas, Podes, and regional statistical publications measure different populations and units. Align project questionnaire definitions with the relevant national instrument and edition. Retain islands, ports, sea crossings, and seasonal connections when assessing access. The Maluku survey discussion and map link regional context to the project question sets; the questionnaire guide develops instrument design and field procedures.

Across these settings, compare equivalent measures: household versus person, usual residence versus presence, reporting period, geographic edition, and the population covered by the survey. Retain weights and design variables for sample-based estimates. Document the remaining differences alongside the comparison.

Combine sources consistently

District relationships and household relationships operate at different levels. Robinson’s work on ecological inference and Kwan’s analysis of geographic context explain why an aggregate association needs an explicit basis before it informs conclusions about individuals. Georeferencing Best Practices provides practical guidance on coordinate interpretation and uncertainty.

Community knowledge and data governance

Participatory mapping can document seasonal access, local names, cultural places, customary territory, and livelihood relationships that official layers omit. Agree who participates, how differing accounts are recorded, who controls the record, and which locations may be shared. Community review is part of interpretation as well as disclosure.

The CARE Principles address collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics. The First Nations principles of OCAP® provide a specific governance framework in Canada. Apply these in their institutional and community contexts. Educational maps, legislative boundaries, historical treaties, and community-defined territories serve different purposes; retain that distinction when bringing them together.

Retain a reusable source record

Create a record for the exact edition used, and link it to each analysis that depends on it. A provider directory helps discovery; the edition record supports a reproducible result.

Record Information to retain
Identity Producer, title, edition, persistent identifier, and official landing page
Time and geography Observation period, publication and retrieval dates, geographic codes, boundary vintage, extent, and coordinate reference system
Measurement Unit, denominator, definitions, classification, sampling design, and missing-value codes
Files and lineage Distribution URL, format, checksum, companion files, transformations, joins, and validation results
Access and use License and attribution, permitted audiences, disclosure decisions, and related articles or maps

The FAIR Principles guide documentation and reuse. DCAT distinguishes datasets from their distributions and access services. The downloadable directory uses a small custom schema; individual editions need the additional measurement and file information above.

Keep large originals in controlled storage and retain small working extracts: the relevant area, rows, columns, bands, or resolution. Preserve the relationship between each extract and its source. A compact table or geographic subset can support a notebook without transferring an entire national collection. The map-sharing discussion demonstrates native JavaScript maps and reusable local outputs.

Authors can use AWS sources, Source inventory, and References in the site editor to curate editions and archive choices. Public links lead to the provider. Delivery of an archived file depends on the reader’s permissions and the recorded access conditions for that edition. The curation guide explains the workflow.

References

Provider documentation is linked in the directory. The following works support the methodological guidance.