Using an open-source spatial database and GIS to manage multi-scale land-use/ land-cover data in Laos PDR 2020 School of Science, Faculty of Health and Environment Science A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Research) By Mr. Kongkeo Sivilay Primary Supervisor: Dr. Bradley Case Secondary Supervisor: Graham Hinchliffe i Abstract Managing multi-level geospatial datasets, particularly the land-use and land cover data in highly changeable environments and social entities, such in Lao PDR is, always a challenging task for GIS specialists. They have to handle a variety of data types such as vector, raster, and non-spatial data from various data sources to fulfil the tasks. Over the years, GIS has developed rapidly and is considered one of the fastest growing industries; its market value was estimated at 10.8 billion USD in 2018 and continues to grow very strongly (Prescient & Strategic (P&S) Intelligence Private Limited, 2019). The commercial GIS enterprise provides complete package solutions for organisations; however, they have limitations and often come with a high cost and maintenance fee. This cost is a prohibitive factor for financial-constraint countries such as Lao PDR, and the package tends to lack flexibility for integrating with other applications as well as scalability. In the open-source geospatial communities, developers have been collaborating to deliver commercial-grade products that are freely available to the public. For instance, under Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) there are a number of powerful geospatial libraries such as GDAL, Orfeo Toolbox, PostGIS, QGIS, and MapServer. Taking advantage of this technology to fulfil the gap and fit the context of a financial-restricted environment is an approach worth investigating. This research examined the potentials of the open-source relational database PostgreSQL and its geographical extension PostGIS (hereafter referred to as PostGIS database) in concurrent use with desktop GIS application, QGIS by storing and managing multi-level land-use and land cover datasets with an aim for increased performance and efficiency over the existing workflows. The research was carried out at a governmental institution in Lao PDR where substantial proportion of land-use and land cover data were located. The research findings indicated that the open-source spatial database resulted in 70 percent increase in performance and efficiency over the existing approach, as well as delivering opportunities for enhanced data security/integrity and accessibility. Additionally, the research findings supported the notion that the spatial database has greater flexibility for future integration and scalability, which were in line with the participant interview-based results. ii Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincere appreciation for my supervisors, Dr Bradley Case and Graham Hinchliffe, from the School of Science, Health and Environment Science Faculty of Auckland University of Technology for their supervision and guidance throughout my academic journey. It would have been impossible to complete this research without their assistance. I would love to thank my families, loved ones, and friends back home who always supported me to overcome the difficulties and challenges throughout my studies, and life being away from home. Last, but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT), the Government and the people of New Zealand for providing me this prestige scholarship to study here in New Zealand. It is truly a life-changing experience. I have really enjoyed the spectacular sceneries, hospitality and, of course, I have learned so much both academically and professionally. Now, it is time for me to go back to my home country to influence the positive change. tēnā koutou! Thank you! iii Attestation of Authorship To the best of my knowledge and belief, I here declare that this submission is the result of my original work and that it contains no material previously written and published by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgement) and where due reference is made. This thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award of any degree or certificate of either this university or any other academic institution. 25th May 2020 _____________________________________ __________________________ Signature Date iv Ethics Approval This research was approved by the Auckland University of Technology Ethics Committee (AUTEC) at the meetings held on the 4th March 2019, subject to nine conditions and revisions. Then the revised ethical application and revisions were resubmitted, and the research’s ethical application was approved by AUTEC on 2nd May 2019 and due to expire in three years on 2nd May 2022. v Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................ ii Attestation of Authorship ................................................................................................ iii Ethics Approval ................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures .................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ ix Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... x Glossary of terms ............................................................................................................ xii Chapter 1 Introduction to the study ............................................................................... 14 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Research background ....................................................................................... 15 1.3 Research rationale ............................................................................................ 17 1.4 Research scope and location ............................................................................ 18 1.5 Research question ............................................................................................ 19 1.6 Research framework ........................................................................................ 19 Chapter 2 Literature review ............................................................................................ 21 2.1 Origins of spatial database ............................................................................... 21 2.2 Key benefits of PostGIS database ..................................................................... 21 2.3 Types of spatial analysis enabled by native PostGIS functionality ................... 22 2.4 PostGIS databases as a foundation for building open-source Web-GIS applications ................................................................................................................. 23 2.4.1 PostGIS database for MapServer application ........................................... 26 2.4.2 PostGIS for GeoServer application ............................................................ 27 2.5 Employing PostGIS database to manage and geo-process land-use and land cover spatial datasets .................................................................................................. 27 2.6 Managing geospatial datasets within a PostGIS database by small to medium- sized organisations ...................................................................................................... 29 2.7 Utilisation of PostGIS database in other geospatial domains .......................... 29 2.8 Limitations of PostGIS database ....................................................................... 30 Chapter 3 Research approach and methodology ........................................................... 32 3.1 Participants ....................................................................................................... 33 3.2 Datasets and organisation ................................................................................ 33 3.3 Testing scenarios .............................................................................................. 35 3.4 Equipment ........................................................................................................ 37 3.5 Data analysis ..................................................................................................... 38 3.6 Ethical compliance ............................................................................................ 39 3.7 Limitations and difficulties ............................................................................... 40 vi Chapter 4 Research findings and analysis ....................................................................... 41 4.1 Participants background competency .............................................................. 41 4.2 Results of test scenario-one