Floss in Cadastre and Land Registration

The future of GeoNetwork

Even though the GeoNetwork project is no longer managed at and sponsored 

 entirely by FAO, it is very much alive. The project never has a dull moment, is fun 

for the team to work on and has created a wide collaborative network between 

expert users and developers. Since the initial release, GeoNetwork software down-

loads have almost doubled on a yearly basis. GeoNetwork users world-wide are 

suggesting new functionality and requesting improvements. These suggestions 

and requests are acted upon by developers through contracted work for paying 

clients. The new functions that cover a common requirement will end up as part 

of the software. An open discussion takes place on mailing lists and during face to 

face meetings, resulting in proposals and a roadmap.

As any complex open-source project, GeoNetwork faces a number of chal-

lenges. Developers are spread out over different countries and continents, and 

rarely have the chance to meet face to face. Maintaining and upgrading the soft-

ware requires effort, money and time. The development team regularly meets 

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 online and during one or two annual events where time is explicitly dedicated to 

work of common interest. The future of GeoNetwork depends on if there will be 

sufficient interest from clients that keep investing in the project. The signs are pos-

itive, causing the GeoNetwork software development to thrive and the communi-

ty of users to grow exponentially. Government agencies are increasingly interest-

ed in providing access to spatial datasets to citizens as part of an eGovernment 

policy, and use GeoNetwork for their metadata management. To provide services 

and support for GeoNetwork to these government agencies and other stakehold-

ers, GeoCat BV was  established in 2007, while other companies also offer ser vices 

based on GeoNetwork.

With the increasing availability of spatial datasets on the Internet, users will 

need tools to share, find and browse through those datasets. GeoNetwork is pro-

viding these tools and rapidly becoming the most popular browser for geospatial 

datasets, proving its ultimate goal to offer the best geospatial catalog in the world.

3.3  The OSCAR Project

 

G. Brent Hall and Geoffrey Hay