A proposed bill could soon make mapping in Pakistan difficult or illegal for many, reports Murtaza Haider of Ryerson University. OpenStreetMap contributors and organizations like HOT could be particularly affected.
Islamabad on OpenStreetMap
Specifically, the bill would force any individual or organization involved in mapping or surveying activities to register with the Pakistani government. Failing to do so could result in up to one-year imprisonment and a fine of up to five million rupees.
The circumstances of the creation of the bill suggest that humanitarian organizations are particularly targeted by it:
[…] the Ministry of Defence (MoD) expressed its concerns about the quality of maps being produced by various departments of the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies in Pakistan. Furthermore, the MoD expressed reservations about mapping of sensitive areas in Pakistan. The MoD highlighted the need for legislation to act against such agencies.
This is a particularly worrisome development in the light of promising progress with utilizing open citizen mapping platforms like OpenStreetMap in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti or in recent efforts to increase flood resilience in Indonesia. Such a law would make similar work in Pakistan outright illegal or at least highly bureaucratic, stifling the momentum in citizen mapping that is based on tools that are easy to access and fast to get started on.
The bill is showing its first effects. The TED prize winner project SaafPindi wich maps water flows to control cholera temporary stopped its on-the-ground mapping efforts in Rawapindi, announced its lead Faisal Chohan last week.
Contrary to what Business Recorder suggests, the obligation to register any mapping activities with a central government agency would be in stark contrast to the legal realities in most countries, where surveying and mapping are free activities. We're hoping Pakistan considers its options and does not take this step backwards which would have severe implications for the availability of crucial geographic base line data.