Earthquakes, floods, landslides, wildfires, drought and nuclear accident pose significant challenges for disaster risk management (DRM) in Moldova. In the event of an emergency, the local authorities must react quickly and effectively. Beyond that, working on preparation, prevention, and coordination across institutions is essential.
This is where the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) becomes critical. When spatial data is standardised, accessible, and shared across institutions, emergency services can function as an integrated system rather than a series of disconnected actions. Through the GEO CODEX project, Moldova aims to improve its emergency response with strengthened evidence-based geospatial data management and governance.
“A governance-focused approach is essential to establishing a national spatial data infrastructure because technical solutions alone cannot guarantee coordination, trust, or long-term sustainability. While standards, platforms, and interoperable systems provide the backbone of spatial data sharing, governance defines the rules, roles, and responsibilities that ensure these tools are used effectively and responsibly.” Kadaster
Emergency Response is a Data-Driven Chain
At the centre of Moldova’s emergency response system is the National Emergency Call Service 112, which relies on fast and accurate geospatial data to dispatch police, fire, and medical services. Precise location information, up-to-date maps, and interoperable datasets enable operators to identify incidents, guide response teams, and coordinate interventions in real time.
Emergency response depends on a continuous flow of geospatial information:
- During the emergency call, the caller’s location is identified using reference datasets such as addresses, administrative boundaries, and street networks.
- Incidents are then visualised through operational mapping tools, allowing dispatchers to guide response teams effectively and quickly.
- On site, responders access contextual information on buildings, land parcels, terrain, and potential risks.
- After the event, incident data is analysed to detect spatial patterns and inform future prevention and preparedness measures.
This process chain depends on accurate, interoperable, and continuously updated spatial data — the core function of a well-governed National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). Yet, challenges remain as this data is at times not well managed and sometimes difficult to access. As Jaap Zevenbergen University of Twente’s ITC stresses stresses:
“When authorities in the middle of an emergency are confronted with outdated spatial data, valuable time may be lost by early responders, or certain people might be forgotten (when for instance their house is not shown). Time spent on trying to access fragmented or hard to access data, delays the overall response and can even lead to incorrect decision making, when due to time pressure only part of the needed data is used.”
Using Geospatial Data for Disaster Prevention
Geospatial data is increasingly used in Moldova to support disaster risk prevention and preparedness in the form of risk maps. These maps depict hazard-prone areas such as flood zones or wildfire hotspots and indicate who or what could be affected. Historical data helps identify trends and prioritise preventive measures.
However, access to these risk maps currently remains limited and lack a consistent legal and technical framework. This highlights the importance of strengthening NSDI governance, ensuring that data can be shared securely, reliably, and across institutions when it matters most.
Better rules and coordination turn data from a scattered asset into a shared, trusted foundation for smarter, faster, and more aligned decision-making across institutions. In public safety, spatial data isn’t just information—it’s infrastructure. When it’s accurate and standardised, emergency services can act faster, coordinate better, and save lives. – Joep Crompvoets, KU Leuven
GEO CODEX: Strengthening NSDI as a Platform for Cooperation
By strengthening collaboration between government institutions, academia, and users, the project aims to turn geospatial data into a shared public good that supports public safety, disaster prevention, and long-term resilience.
On 16 December 2025, the project consortium initiated a strategic taskforce with the aim of being formalised within the NSDI Council structure. This marks an important step toward institutionalising coordination and shared responsibility and strengthens Moldova’s capacity to respond faster to emergencies and anticipate risks to protect communities more effectively.
AGCC hopes that this project will lead to a better-functioning National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), supported by strong governance structures and enhanced institutional capacity. For institutions, this will result in more effective and cost-efficient policymaking, as high-quality spatial data will be readily available to address a wide range of societal challenges. For citizens, improved data accessibility and interoperability will contribute to better public services. Over the long term, the increased effectiveness and reduced costs are expected to encourage stronger government support for further opening and sharing spatial data. – Marina Procopi, AGCC
GEO CODEX is a Government to Government (G2G) project funded by Matra, a programme focused on strengthening democratic institutions and good governance through spatial data, public-sector innovation, and peer learning is a cross-border exchange between Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadaster (Republic of Moldova) and partners in the Netherlands. Matra is commissioned by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).