HISTORY OF GIS AT RURAL PHYSICAL PLANNING DIVISION (RPPD)
RPPD is regarded as the pioneers in GIS in the Caribbean. In 1982 the division developed Jamaica's first Geographic Information System (JAMGIS)under the directorship of Mr. Robert de Kruyff. It was not until 1986 however, that the GIS was successfully implemented. This project was a multi-disciplinary effort by staff from Michigan State University, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) , Ohio State University, the Government of Netherlands and the Government of Jamaica under the Comprehensive Resource Inventory and Evaluation Systems (CRIES) project.
The objectives of this project was the creation of a national resource database consisting of soils and land use cover. The strategies put in place to achieve this consisted of land resource assessment, land use identification, cartography and database assembly and analysis. Some of the noticeable outputs are:
- The Cocoa Pilot Project Atlas
- The Natural Resource Atlas for the Parish of Clarendon
- The Watershed Inventory Project, 1991
- The Jamaica Physical Land Evaluation Programme (JAMPLES), 1989, used to determine land suitability for specific crops
In 1982, the Division also implemented the Jamaica Soil Survey Project. Semi-detail soil survey and land evaluation were carried out for the St. Catherine Coastal Plains, Montpelier, North Manchester, Clarendon, Linstead, Bog Walk, Worthy Park and Lluidas Vale. The results of these surveys were published in reports of the same name accompanied by maps. A new soil legend and an agro-climatic zones map were also developed for Jamaica.
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