 A view of the Za’atri camp for Syrian refugees from a helicopter in 2013. Photo by the United States Department of State/Flickr

Managing Syrian Refugee Camps Using ArcGIS

By Eyad Ghattasheh, Openware

As the Syrian crisis enters its seventh year, civilians continue evacuating towns the delivery of all aid types to refugees in and cities seeking safety in other Syrian cities or neighboring countries. The the conflict areas through the use of reli- need to manage facilities has become a serious concern for able and up-to-date information. In 2013, humanitarian organizations and the governments of neighboring countries. REACH began activities in Al Za’atri camp to improve access to facilities by familiar- izing refugees with them through GIS maps. As of April 5, 2017, the High In addition to water sources, hospitals, REACH GIS experts created thematic Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and schools, mosques, kitchens, restrooms, maps to show statistics for the demographic the Regional Refugees Response showers, and sanitary dumps, Al Za’atri data on Syrian refugees. ArcGIS for Desktop (SRRR) report that hosts 656,913 camp provides residents with other facili- is used to map all camp facilities and analyze “registered” Syrian refugees. Of this number, ties. Managing these facilities became more the accessibility of these facilities. As part of 140,990 (21.5 percent) are in refugee camps, challenging as the population exploded and this proximity analysis, Theissen polygons while 515,923 (78.5 percent) are scattered the area served expanded. Management were created to calculate the number of tents across Jordanian urban territories. Al includes distributing facilities throughout served by a water tank, kitchen, restroom, or Za’atri camp, which has grown to encom- the camp, monitoring the condition and effi- other specific facility. After calculating these pass more than one camp, is the largest cient operation of facilities, and determining statistics, facilities could be rearranged to refugee camp in the world. Its population as the need for additional facilities. provide equitable access to them. of 2015 was 71,227, and it is the fourth larg- In 2010, REACH was started as a joint The first map of Al Za’atri camp was cre- est populated place in Jordan. initiative as part of the IMPACT Initiative, ated using a UNOSAT satellite image as a Al Za’atri camp is also the most mapped Agence d’Aide a la Cooperation Technique et guide. Inside the camp, field crews equipped refugee camp in the world. Originally, Al au Developpement (ACTED), and the United with Garmin eTrex GPS devices, collected Za’atri camp was designed to accommodate Nations Operational Satellite Applications the positions of facilities to assist in the 20,000 refugees, but because the situation Programme (UNOSAT) to provide informa- creation of vector data. Information, such in Syria has worsened, its area has grown tion and maps for decision-making using as Arabic streets names as they were spelled accordingly. GIS. The goal of using GIS is to enhance by refugees, were written on hard copies of

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the satellite image. Because all camp resi- Fund (UNICEF)—enhanced its mapping by or by telephone at 00965-60402910. dents are Muslim, it also was important that also creating a public-facing web map using the map indicated the Qibla, the direction ArcGIS for Desktop and JavaScript. About the Author Muslims should face when praying. The data collection process is the respon- Eyad Ghattasheh has been working in the Once this data was collected, GIS experts at sibility of ACTED, Japan Emergency NGO GIS industry since 2000. He has applied his REACH’s Amman-Jordan base station down- (JEN), and Oxfam. Data verification is the GIS skills in his work for many entities, both loaded it from the GPS devices and converted responsibility of the United Nations Office local and international, including Jordan’s it to a geodatabase feature class. Information for Project Services (UNOPS), and develop- Department of Statistics; the Norwegian that had been written on the satellite image ment is REACH’s responsibility. The final People’s Aid on Syria-Jordan demining and was added as an annotation feature class and product is an interactive map showing the the Unexploded Ordnance Disposal Project; placed in the same geodatabase. The map cre- entire wastewater network (pipes and four the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) ated from these feature classes represented sizes of septic tanks) for Al Za’atri camp on the Jordan Atlas project, Information all the facilities, landmarks, and street names with filtering capabilities, along with the Management System for Mine Action for Al Za’atri camp in one powerful static camp basemap showing the streets, cara- (IMSMA) and ACTED/REACH on support for map. This map was a decision-making tool vans, tents, and services. The map is up- the Syrian crisis refugee camps in Jordan. In for the humanitarian community and the dated periodically to incorporate any work 2013, he joined Openware, the Esri distributor refugee population in the camp. done by stakeholders and partners. in Kuwait, as a GIS As the camp was extended and camp shel- The ArcGIS platform enlightened all consultant and sup- ters changed from tents to caravans in most stockholders and partners about the refu- ports many projects. parts of the camp, it was necessary to create gees’ life inside and outside the camp and Ghattasheh has a a basic wastewater network. Caravans made taking action easier and faster. bachelor’s degree are equipped with wash or restrooms and For more information, contact Eyad in geomatics from kitchens. REACH accordingly—and in coop- Ghattasheh, GIS consultant, Openware via the University of eration with The United Nations Children’s email at [email protected] Palestine, Gaza.

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