After spending almost four months conducting research and teaching GIS in Bangladesh my assessment about the state of GIS would 6.5 out of 10. Prior to coming here I would have given 3 out of 10. So this is very encouraging. Although GIS has been introduced in Bangladesh for sometime now, its exposure is limited to a small community of GIS users. Unlike the evolution of GIS seen within the developed world, its application has been ad-hoc without any systematic guidance from the Government of Bangladesh. For example, the US Bureau of Census, US Department of Defense, USGS and some major GIS software developers had a stake over the proper development of GIS in the United States. The Government of Bangladesh is yet to appear as the major developer or disseminator of GIS in Bangladesh (short history of GIS can be found here http://search.com.bd/banglapedia/HT/G_0076.htm). The academic community (Department of Geography, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Jahangir Nagar University) and Center for Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) has taken the lead in shaping a GIS community that is struggling to make its way into the larger community. The Government of Bangladesh took some major projects in GIS (Dhaka Municipal Corporation City Master Plan, RAJUK Master plan; Department of Land Development (LGED) and the Transportation Planning Department took projects on their own but failed to capitalize on their projects due to shortcomings within the goal of the projects and due to lack of coordination among participating agencies. Furthermore, the GIS professionals have been called upon on as-needed-basis leaving them in the dark about future goals of various GIS projects in this country. As I have argued in my seminars and presentations here in Dhaka, perceiving GIS as a technical tool is short-sighted. In order to effectively utilize this tool, it must be exposed to policy planners beyond its technicalities. In this regard the Government of Bangladesh should seek funding and resources to help the academic and the GIS community in this country.
