Mauritius Ocean Observatory E-platform - the Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Republic of Mauritius

With the need to enhance informed decision-making and understanding of the marine environment, a national Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI), the Mauritius Ocean Observatory E-Platform (E-platform), was developed to support the Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) initiative of the Republic of Mauritius. The aim of the E-platform is to centralize geospatial data pertaining to the maritime zones of the Republic of Mauritius to facilitate data discovery and sharing among government agencies, parastatal bodies, scientists, and public users and identify potential gaps in information. The E-platform is built using GeoNode, an open-source platform, which integrates currently used standards for MSDI. This paper presents an overview of the different activities undertaken to implement the E-platform within the MSP framework. In particular, the E-platform is discussed with reference to the four pillars of an MSDI: governance, technology, data, and capacity building.