Geoshare Jamaica: Revolutionising Mapping for Smarter Planning and Infrastructure Development

As spatial data continue to play a vital role in planning, infrastructure, and public service delivery, Geoshare Jamaica stands out as a reliable and secure web-based platform offering organisations and individuals efficient, customised mapping solutions.

Officially launched on April 1, 2020, Geoshare was developed under the National Land Agency (NLA) Enterprise License Agreement with the Government of Jamaica and the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), positioning it among the leading Geographic Information Systems (GIS) products globally.

Manager for Business Services at the NLA, Charmaine Hewitt, told JIS News that the introduction of Geoshare marked a significant step towards greater collaboration among government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as the private sector.

“The platform is ideally suited for organisations needing to manage or monitor extensive property portfolios, including private-sector firms, utility companies, and public agencies. It also supports cable zone monitoring and facilitates public engagement through infrastructure maintenance and service reporting tools,” she further shared.

It also supports high-level presentations, strategic planning, and real-time monitoring, making it an indispensable tool for effective decision-making.

Additionally, the platform boasts a robust suite of features, including strong security protocols such as firewalls, malware scanning and protection, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) protection, and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, ensuring that users’ data is always protected.

“Its interactive interface also includes tools for location tracking, measurement, offline access, and a diverse selection of 26 base maps, supporting a wide range of spatial data, including building footprints for civic infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, churches, police stations, as well as parcel and street centreline data,” Ms. Hewitt informed.

She said the National Land Agency “envisions Geoshare as a platform that fosters collaboration across government ministries, departments, agencies, and private-sector entities”.

Ms. Hewitt encourages individuals and organisations interested in leveraging Geoshare’s capabilities to contact the NLA via email at charmaine.hewitt@nla.gov.jm or by phone at 876-381-5906.