情報地質 第27巻 第2号 031-039頁 2016年 31

Geoinformatics, vol.27, no.2, pp.031-039, 2016

Article

Web-based Mineral Information System of Thailand

Using Free and Open Source Software and Open Geospatial Consortium
Standards : A Case Study of ASEAN Region

1） 1） 2）
Nutjaree CHAROENBUNWANON ，Koji WAKITA ，Joel C. BANDIBAS

Abstract : This paper introduces the technique of mineral resources information management and distribution. It is
a Web-based Mineral Information System of Thailand using FOSS and OGC based web services and standards. It
distributes the geospatial content on the web through the formulation of web services such as WMS and WPS, launched
on a customized WebGIS portal. The web-based mineral information system plays a critical role in the national
dissemination of mineral information. It also supports the activities of the WGMID of the ASOMM. The approaches of
sharing mineral resources information, formulation of web services, and the setting up of a WebGIS portal for mineral
information processing and dissemination are presented. The primary advantages of these approaches are its cost
efficiency in the development and system maintenance, and the applicability of the server software and web-based system
to other geosciences fields.
Key words : Mineral, FOSS, OGC, WMS, WPS, WebGIS, Web service, Thailand

1. Introduction a single server. The Web-based GIS (WebGIS) proposed in this

The mineral resources information system is a significant
source of information for policy making in natural resources
management. Mineral resources reserves and managements are
important indicators of economic growth and social development
of countries in the ASEAN region. To integrate information
about mineral resources, ASEAN mineral resources database
and information system (AMDIS) has been proposed by the
governments of the Republic of Indonesia and Malaysia in 2004
th
during the 6 ASOMM (ASEAN Senior Official Meeting on
Minerals) under the activities of the Working Group on Mineral
Information and Database (WGMID). Free and Open Source
Software (FOSS) MapServer, PostgreSQL, PostGIS and PHP
are installed in a server running on Linux operating system
to be used in the formulation Web Map Service (WMS) and
Web Processing Service (WPS) following Open Geospatial
Consortium (OGC) based standards for the database (Bandibas
et al., 2013). Although the database made by ASOMM should be
properly called as ASOMM database, this paper uses a general
term “ASEAN” instead of “ASOMM”.
These software and web services were used to easily upload
and input the mineral data of Thailand to ASEAN web-based
mineral resources information system. The ASEAN WebGIS
system is a distributed database for gathering geospatial data on
paper is a distributed database system that individual server from
each ASEAN member country uses for creating and maintaining
its own database. It can formulate OGC based web services to
serve mineral resource data to the centralized ASEAN WebGIS
portal.
This paper describes in detail the procedure for the
integration of mineral resources information of Thailand to
ASEAN database and the formulation of Web Services to
process and share Thailand's mineral resources information
online. This new method of establishing a web-based Thailand
mineral information system using FOSS and OGC based
web services and standards is very useful not only for policy
makers in ASEAN countries, but also for the general public for
easy and efficient distribution and retrieval of information on
natural resources of their respective countries. Furthermore, the
introduced method is generally applicable to other geosciences
fields such as geo-hazard, groundwater and renewable energy.
2. MIST WebGIS
2. 1. Major Components of a WebGIS
WebGIS is an information system that allows users to view,
edit and manipulate spatial data over the web (e.g. Scott, 2000;
Stefanakis and Prastacos, 2008; Singh et al., 2012; Smith et al.,

Received: 2 February 2016; Accepted: 29 March 2016

1 ）Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 1677-1 Yoshida, Yamaguchi city, 753-7612, Japan. E-mail: nutjaree@dmr.
mail.go.th.
2 ）National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba city, 305-8567, Japan.
32 Nutjaree CHAROENBUNWANON, Koji WAKITA, Joel C. BANDIBAS
2015). Most WebGIS are powered by WPS and WMS. WebGIS
consists of 3 components, which are the Database, Web Services
and Web Application modules as shown in Fig. 1. The Database
module is setup on the server to store spatial and a-spatial data.
It mainly uses both the object-relational database management
system PostgreSQL and its spatial information processing
extension PostGIS. The Web Services Module is setup on the
server to process and disseminate the geospatial content online.
The web services follow the OGC standard, i.e. WMS and WPS
(Castronova et al., 2013; OGC, 2015a). The Web Services
Module receives requests from the Web Application Module.
And then it implements the requests on the Database Module.
The Web Application Module provides web-based graphic user
interface that allows users to access. The interface retrieves
the data and visualize spatial content using web browsers such
MS Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
The Web Application Module uses the OpenLayers JavaScript
libraries for the rendition of spatial content generate from the
Web Services Module.
Fig. 1. The major components of a WebGIS system.
2. 2. Software and System Tool
The web-based mineral information system of Thailand
(MIST) uses FOSS for geospatial (OSGeo, 2015) and other
applications. The following software is used to manage,
discover, process, analyze and disseminate Thailand's geospatial
contents.
Server Side Software:
　• Linux/CentOS (http://www.centos.org)
　in the role of operating system.
　• Apache Web Server (http://www.apache.org)
　in the role of web server.
　• PostgreSQL/PostGIS (http://www.postgis.org)
　in the role of the spatial database server.
　• phpPgAdmin (http://phppgadmin.sourceforge.net)
　in the role of a web-base administration tool for
　PostgreSQL.
　• PHP (http://php.net)
　in the role of scripting language.
　• GDAL/ORG (http://www.gdal.org)
　in the role of geospatial library.
　• UMN Mapserver (http://mapserver.org)
　in the role of the map server.
　• OpenLayers JavaScript Library (http://openlayers.org)
　in the role of the web client (interface).
Client Side Software:
　• QuantiumGIS (http://www.qgis.org)
　in the role of shape file and WMS Viewer.
　• GoogleEarth (http://earth.google.com)
　in the role of KML Viewer.
3. Methodology
3. 1. Formation of WMS and WPS Server
WMS and WPS were formulated using UMN MapServer.
UMN MapServer is an open source web mapping software
developed by University of Minnesota to display and query
spatial databases over the internet. It also supports OGC
specifications such as WMS and WPS. In its most basic form,
MapServer is a CGI program that sits inactive on a web server.
When a request is sent to MapServer, it uses information passed
through a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) to query the
database and generate a response. MapServer uses a Mapfile,
a structured text file defining maps coverage area, map data,
projection, symbology and other relevant information. It
provides MapServer information on how to query the database
and where to output the map images. The request may also return
images for legends, scale bars, reference maps and values passed
as CGI variables (MapServer, 2015). The WMS and WPS server
architecture is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. The WMS and WPS Server architecture.
The WMS and WPS were formulated on a server running
under Linux OS(CentOS v.6.6). The major software installed in
the server also includes Apache Web Server, MapServer version
6.2.2, PostgreSQL v.9.1.3, PostGIS v.2.1.7, phpPgAdmin v.5.0.4,
PHP v.5.4.29 and OpenLayers. The needed libraries such as geos
v.3.3.2, proj v.4.8.0, gdal v.1.9.0 and gd v.2.0.35 were also installed.
 Web-based Mineral Information System of Thailand Using Free and Open Source Software and Open Geospatial Consortium Standards: A Case Study of ASEAN Region
3. 2. Preparation of geospatial database and geospatial data
Geospatial database is a database that is optimized to store
and query data that represents objects defined in a geometric
space. The PostgreSQL software and its PostGIS extension
(PostGIS, 2015) that handle geospatial data were used in this
paper. PostgreSQL is an open source object-relational database
management system software that supports simple feature
defined by OGC and simple feature Structured Query Language
(SQL). It could implement simple and complex spatial queries,
and functionalities that are very important for handling mineral
resources related information. PhpPgAdmin, the Web-based user
interface of the database was also installed in the server.
Geospatial data are information that describes either
location or shape that is stored in a database. The original data
were generated using ArcGIS software, which handles data in
shape format (.shp). The ArcGIS data were then uploaded to the
server and entered into the PostgreSQL database using a Web
application, which will be described in the next section. The
original shapefile data are provided by the Mineral Resources
Information Center of the Department of Mineral Resources
of Thailand (DMR). The geospatial data that entered into the
geospatial database as shown in the Table 1.
Table 1. List of geospatial data (table) in the geospatial database.
Table name Type Description
1) minarea250k Polygon Mineral resources information in
Thailand.
2) minoccur250k Point Mineral occurrence information
in Thailand
3) geology250k Polygon Geology information in Thailand
4) min_vchm Polygon Mineral resources and reserves
information in Chiangmai,
Thailand.
3. 3. Development of the web application
A web application was developed using JavaScript and
PHP to incorporate the different FOSS based software into one
composite application. Google Maps and OpenLayers APIs are
also extensively used to render the maps online. JavaScripts
are used to incorporate Google Maps and OpenLayers based
functions in the development of a Web-based dynamic spatial
data viewing system. The web application provides the user-
friendly interface and forms for the users to access data,
implement spatial data processing, database queries, data upload
and download. It is also used to implement WMS and WMS
requests and to display the request results like maps, feature
information and legends. The user interface consists of graphical
window showing Google base maps and geospatial layers (Fig.
3). The radio buttons on the right side of the window are used
to choose the base maps and the geospatial map layers. The
33
interface also provides a control panel to pan and zoom the maps
on the left side of the window.
3. 3. 1. Access and retrieval of geospatial data
The WMS Openlayer menu of the main page contains the
choices GetMap, GetCapabilities and GetFeatureInfo WMS
requests. These functions use the WMS that provides a simple
HTTP interface for requesting geo-registered map images
from one or more distributed geospatial databases. A WMS
request defines the geographic layer(s) and area of interest to be
processed using a set of instructions in the form of URI, which
consists of the WMS Universal Resource Locator (URL) and the
request parameters. The response to the request is one or more
geo-registered bit map images (returned as JPEG, PNG, etc.) and
XML documents that can be displayed in a browser application
(OGC, 2015b). OpenLayers is an open source software WMS
client, whose JavaScript mapping library constructors are used
to display results from WMS request responses. It provides
Graphic User Interface for implementing WMS requests
and viewing results in map images, table or xml-formats
(OpenLayers, 2015). These requests were used to retrieve
mineral resources information as shown in Fig. 4a. The figure
shows the GetFeatureInfo response for the mineral resource and
reserve information in tabular form and the GetMap response for
the mineral resource area, mineral occurrences and geological
maps of Thailand in map images.
GetMap request is used extensively to retrieve a map image
for a specified area and content in a WebGIS. An example of
a GetMap request URI for the mineral areas in Chiangmai is
shown below. Fig. 4b shows the result of the request.
http://localhost/cgi-bin/dmr_wms/min_vchm_wms? 　
REQUEST=GetMap&SERVICE=WMS&
VERSION=1.1.1&LAYERS=min_vchm&
FORMAT=image/png&SRS=EPSG:24047&
BBOX=401900.03,1909732.19,529893.30,
2220672.02&WIDTH=500&HEIGHT=700
The GetCapabilities is a WMS request to retrieve metadata
about the service including supported projections, map extent,
available layers, data owner and additional information in the
abstract and usage constraints. The URI of the GetCapabilities
request for the layer of Chiangmai mineral information is shown
below. Fig. 4c shows the result of the request.
http://wms4.dmr.go.th/cgi-bin/dmr_wms/min_vchm_wms?
SERVICE=WMS&
VERSION=1.1.1&
REQUEST=GetCapabilities&
34 Nutjaree CHAROENBUNWANON, Koji WAKITA, Joel C. BANDIBAS

Fig. 3. The main page of MIST.

accessing and manipulating databases. PHP scripting language

and OpenLayers JavaScript mapping library constructor are
used to display data from WMS request response. The mineral
column of Chiangmai minerals and the rock type column of
Thailand geology in the MIST database are used to query
the database and show the query results in the form of WMS
response. The SQL used for querying the database is divided
into 4 categories as shown in Table 2. The WPS Openlayers
Query application interface consists of 2 windows which are the
application controls and map display. For example, the result of

Table 2. Category of query and SQL command.

Query SQL command Result

Category
Single $sql="select $mineral_column, Records of
ST_ASText(ST_Transform(geom, mineral area
4326)) from $dbtable where choosing one
$mineral_column='$which_mineral'”
; mineral type

Compound $sql="select $mineral_column, Records of

ST_ASText(ST_Transform(geom, mineral area
4326)) from $dbtable where choosing two
$mineral_column='$which_mineral1' mineral type
Fig. 4. WMS requests and their results. or $mineral_column=
(a) WMS GetMap and GetFeatureInfo using OpenLayers. '$which_mineral2'";
(b) Result of WMS GetMap Request. Within $sql="select $mineral_column, Records of
(c) Result of WMS GetCapabilities Request. ST_ASText(ST_Transform($mineral_ mineral area
geom,4326)) from $mineral_dbtable2, within the
$polygon_dbt able1whereST_ chosen rock
3. 3. 2. WPS for Querying, Displaying and Downloading Within(ST_Transform($mineral_ type area
Spatial Data geom,4326),
ST_Transform($polygon_geom,4326))
WPS provides a standard interface that simplifies the task
and $polygon_column=
of making simple or complex geospatial processing services '$which_polygon';";
using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). WPS provides Intersect $sql="select $ mineral_column, Part of the
a robust, interoperable, and versatile protocol for process ST_ASText(ST_Transform($mineral_ chosen
execution of web services (OGC, 2015c). WPS Openlayer Query geom, 4326)) from $mineral_ mineral
dbtable2 INNER JOIN $polygon_ covering part
menu is used as an interface to implement WPS using forms. dbtable1ONST_Intersects($mineral_ of the chosen
Inputs entered on the form are used to formulate SQL scripts to geom,$ polygon_geom) and$ rock type
access and query the database. SQL is a standard language for polygon_column ='$which_polygon';"; area.
 Web-based Mineral Information System of Thailand Using Free and Open Source Software and Open Geospatial Consortium Standards: A Case Study of ASEAN Region
a single mineral query implementation indicates a limestone area
on the map shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. WPS Openlayer Query and its result with single mineral query form.
Moreover, the web application provides download options
of query results in shapefile and kml file formats that can be
handled by GIS software installed on desktop such as QGIS
(Fig.6). This function is shown in the WPS Spatial download
menu of the main page. The database can also be queried using a
bounding box to define the area to be selected. Fig. 7 shows the
portion of Chiangmai mineral resources and reserves in kml file
format selected using a bounding box that also can be handled
by software installed on desktop such as Google Earth.
Fig. 6. WPS Spatial download file using a single mineral query form.
Fig. 7. WPS KML file downloaded from Bounding Box query.
35
3. 3. 3. Overlay and analyze
WMS overlay function is used to overlay multiple WMS
layers. Thailand Geology and Thailand Mineral Area are base
overlays in this application. Users can add available WMS layer
by entering the WMS URL and layer name. Fig. 8 shows the
Chiangmai and Kanchanaburi mineral layers overlays using
the application. Overlaying WMS layers is very useful for data
analysis. Users can obtain information from each WMS layer
and can use the delete, hide, show and adjust opacity functions
provided in this application. GetFeatureInfo request can also
be implemented to retrieve layer attributes. Adding Chiangmai
Mineral Area and Thailand Geology layers can provide
information for comparison or analysis as shown in Fig. 8b.
Fig. 8. WMS overlay application.
(a) Adding WMS layers via application form.
(b) Comparison or analysis information with overlays of Chiangmai
Mineral Area layer and Thailand Geology layer.
3. 3. 4. WMS and Web Map Viewer implementation
The concept of developing WMS and web map viewer
through web application form is shown in Fig. 9. This function is
used to easily formulate WMS and a web map viewer to render
the maps using a form. In addition, forms are also used to import
geospatial data into the database by uploading shape files to the
server and inputting them into the database (Fig. 9-1). Options
on which information to be included in the GetFeatureInfo
response are also available during WMS formulation is shown
in Fig. 9-2. WMS map file can be automatically generated
by filling up the form with table name, column names, map
projection and others (Fig. 9-2a). WMS map file can also be
automatically generated which information to be included in the
GetFeatureInfo response by filling up the form (Fig. 9-2b). The
service's URL and layer name could also be made available for
display on other applications like the ASEAN mineral database
36 Nutjaree CHAROENBUNWANON, Koji WAKITA, Joel C. BANDIBAS
portal.
The web map viewer is an application that enables the
display of the map served as WMS. It also provides display
control tools such as layer list, zoom in, zoom out and panning
(Fig. 9-3). The web map viewer application also provides
interface to view the map on the web using a form where inputs
could be placed to create an html template page to formulate
WMS (Fig. 9-3a). The web map viewer can also be used to
choose which information to be included in the GetFeatureInfo
response (Fig. 9-3b). It provides a form for filling up a WMS
URL and layer name to view a map served as a WMS from
anywhere in the web.
Fig. 9. The concept of developing WMS and web map viewer through
web application form.
4. Discussion
4. 1. Advantage of WebGIS for ASEAN mineral database
The GIS and WebGIS efficiently provide spatial
information. A GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping
and analyzing events and places on the Earth's surface. It is
capable of assembling, storing, manipulating, and displaying
geographically referenced information (USGS, 2007). The
benefits of GIS lie in its capacity to visualize spatial information,
to create maps with images for a vast range of tasks and to
provide solutions for problems. However, obtaining and
maintaining a GIS is very expensive. Furthermore, it is still a
big problem to share data and to use them for the development
of GIS applications. Data reuse for new application and data
sharing are daunting task because of the heterogeneity of
existing systems in terms of data modeling concepts, data
encoding techniques and storage structures, etc. (Chuanrong et
al., 2015)
WebGIS is system provides GIS functionality in the forms
of web services that are accessible online. The system has the
potential to make distributed geographic information available
easily available worldwide. Internet users will be able to access
GIS applications from their browsers without purchasing
proprietary GIS software. However its performance is affected
by the bandwidth and network traffic between the server and
client particularly when data traffic involves large files. Although
GIS can be efficiently used to create and display maps, WebGIS
offers a better solution if the purpose is to freely share spatial
information.
The ASEAN member countries setup the AMDIS project
under the ASOMM. The ASEAN member countries agreed to
setup a mineral database for common use not only for ASEAN
but also for the whole world. For this purpose, they establish
a mineral database in a main server in Indonesia, and tried to
show the data online. However, the dissemination of mineral
information from a centralized database system on a single
server was not implemented completely. This is because the
ASEAN member countries prefer to put up their data both on
their own server and on the central ASEAN server.
To solve the problem of a centralized WebGIS system,
the authors proposed a distributed WebGIS system for the new
ASEAN Mineral database. A distributed WebGIS for sharing
spatial information could encourage data providers to distribute
data freely online. Establishing a distributed WebGIS system
provides the following advantages for the ASEAN mineral
database.
(1) Member countries manage their own mineral data in their
own server.
(2) Member countries distribute their mineral data locally and
to the ASEAN WebGIS portal.
(3) The ASEAN mineral database could be easily revised
because the data is stored in the owners' local server.
This paper proposes the development of a distributed
WebGIS system for the ASEAN mineral database. Thailand's
MIST, components of the distributed system, will serve as a
showcase for the other ASEAN countries to follow.
4. 2. Advantage of FOSS and OGC standard
The DMR has deployed and setup a centralized database
since 2003. This was outsourced to a private company for the
development of database system with the commercial software.
The main problem after the geo-database establishment was
the difficulty of the updating procedures of all feature classes.
Improvement of web-based applications could not be changed
 Web-based Mineral Information System of Thailand Using Free and Open Source Software and Open Geospatial Consortium Standards: A Case Study of ASEAN Region
easily because of its rigid design. The database structure,
especially of the mineral resources, did not improve consistently
with rapid changes of information technology. The un-updated
mineral information may affect the resource evaluation process.
In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes to use
FOSS and OGC standard for the dissemination of the mineral
information.
FOSS has extensively used by many organizations in
their information management system. The IT trend of moving
the functionality of information system onto the web make
Linux based FOSS more attractive, not only because of their
cost effectiveness, but also of their robust capabilities. OGC
serves as a global forum for the collaboration of developers
and users of spatial data products and services, and to advance
the development of international standards for geospatial
interoperability. The use of open standards helps to advance the
profit and benefits of investments thereby, reducing operating
costs in the long term. Besides, governments face the challenges
of next generation data sharing and collaboration. Sharing is
often necessary among different communities. Thus, OGC can
help define how OpenGIS standards are put to their best use for
future requirements and mission (Trakas, 2010). OGC proposed
various international standards for spatial data such as WMS,
WFS, WPS and WCS. The proposed WebGIS system uses WMS
and WPS. WMS is an internet interface, which provides a simple
HTTP interface for requesting geo-registered map images from
distributed geospatial databases (OGC, 2015b). WPS provides
rules for standardizing how inputs and outputs (requests and
responses) for geospatial processing services, such as polygon
overlay (OGC, 2015c). WMS and WPS are very important
interoperable tools to distribute the geospatial data through the
World Wide Web.
The web services that use FOSS and international standards
such as WMS and WPS are necessary to share the ASEAN
mineral resource information online. ASEAN member countries
developed their own database using different software, data
formats and data models. Most of their data are encoded
using their own language together with English. Sharing these
information online makes standardization very important. In
the proposed distributed WebGIS, it is necessary for member
countries to exchange data using standard format through the
use of WMS and WPS. In the proposed system (MIST), FOSS
software such as MapServer, PostgreSQL, PostGIS and PHP and
Linux operating system are used in the formulation of WMS and
WPS. The standardized web services make it possible to easily
share and exchange ASEAN mineral resources data.
37
4. 3. Advantage of the proposed “Web-based Mineral
Information System”
The advantage of FOSS and OGC standards in the
development of WebGIS are discussed in this chapter. The
proposed MIST is a WebGIS using FOSS software in the
formulation of OGC based web service. This paper describes
how they are used in the implementation of the MIST in
previous chapters. In this section, the advantages of using FOSS,
OGC standards and WebGIS for the mineral resources database
of Thailand and ASEAN countries is discussed.
Thailand mineral database faces problems of outdated data
model and format, and the difficulty of sharing data. Thailand's
current information system was developed by a private company
using commercial software. It is characterized by a rigid design
and non user-friendly interface which is difficult to change
after the contract expired. The cost of signing a new contract to
update the WebGIS system could be prohibitive.
The ASEAN mineral database faces different difficulties.
It is using a WebGIS system using OGC standards and FOSS
software. It is similar to the one proposed in this paper.
However, the system is centralized and data is stored in a single
server. The system requires member countries to also input their
mineral resources data to the central ASEAN server. Hence,
each member country needs to input their data twice, one to their
local server and the other to the ASEAN server.
The experiences from the previous ASEAN WebGIS
created awareness among ASEAN member countries that a new
database system should be a distributed WebGIS. The server of
each ASEAN member country should be used for storage and
maintenance of its mineral resource information. Fig. 10 shows
the proposed ASEAN distributed WebGIS. However, it is not
easy to establish a distributed WebGIS using distributed database
among ASEAN member countries. This requires individual
WebGIS system to formulate the web services for the ASEAN
WebGIS. This difficulty is compounded by the insufficient know
how of most ASEAN member countries to formulate the needed
web services.
Fig. 10. The ASEAN Distributed Mineral Resources WebGIS.
38 Nutjaree CHAROENBUNWANON, Koji WAKITA, Joel C. BANDIBAS
To solve the aforementioned problems, this paper proposes
the distributed WebGIS using FOSS and OGC standard. The
proposed system contains the WMS concept model for its
formulation which enables member countries to formulate WMS
by just filling up an html template page. By using this concept
model, member countries can input geospatial data in shape file
format into the database through the web application form.
The proposed dissemination system only uses FOSS for all
components of the applications. By using FOSS, the application
can be freely modified to fit with the newly developed system.
OGC standards are essential requirements for interoperability.
Using the standards, the mineral data can be exchanged and
distributed freely among ASEAN member countries.
This paper introduces the WebGIS for Thailand mineral
resources database. It will be beneficial to further improve
the database management system using distributed servers
instead of the centralized architecture used by the DMR and
other government agencies. The change may lead to increase
database accessibility and usage accountability in each bureau
of the organization. Once the bureau updates and publishes
the information, the central unit can use WMS to efficiently
disseminate the information. The proposed system can be
applied not only to the Thailand mineral database but also to
the ASEAN Mineral database. It should be a model for other
ASEAN member countries to follow and to establish the
distributed ASEAN mineral information system. The distributed
server system will improve the database management, increase
database accessibility and usage accountability among the
ASEAN countries.
Future plans include the improvement of the information
system and increase of the contents stored and served by the
data sharing system. This will further promote the integration
and interoperability of spatial information system in the ASEAN
region for their sustainable development. This paper proposes
a new mineral resources information dissemination system
of Thailand and ASEAN countries. This distributed WebGIS
using FOSS and OGC standard is a powerful tool for decision
makers and general public in the formulation of policies for the
management and sustainable utilization of natural resources in
the ASEAN region.
5. Summary
A new disseminating system of mineral database of
Thailand and ASEAN countries was proposed. It distributes the
geospatial content on the web through the formulation of web
services such as WMS and WPS, launched on a customized
WebGIS portal.
The processes of development of the dissemination
system of Thailand mineral database were described. They
include approaches of sharing mineral resources information,
formulation of web services, and setting up of the WebGIS
portal for mineral information processing and dissemination.
The benefit of FOSS, OGC and WebGIS for data
dissemination was discussed. The primary advantages of these
approaches are the cost efficiency in the development and
system maintenance, and the applicability of the server software
and web-based system to other geosciences fields due to its
compliance with established standards.
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　　　要　旨

オープンソースソフトや OGC 国際標準を用いたタイの鉱物資源ウェブ情報システム

─ ASEAN 地域におけるケーススタディ─

1） 1） 2）
ヌトウジャリー チャロエンブンワノン ・脇田浩二 ・ジョエル C. バンディバス

本論文では，新たに構築した，オープンソースソフトや国際標準（OGC 標準）などをベースにしたタイの鉱物資
源のウェブ情報流通システムを紹介する．このシステムでは，新しくカスタマイズした WebGIS ポータルにおいて，
OGC 標準である WMS や WPS に基づいて空間情報コンテンツの流通を行う．この新しいウェブベースの鉱物資源情
報システムは，タイ国内における鉱物資源情報の普及において重要な役割を持っている．また，このシステムは，
ASEAN の鉱物資源に関する事務レベル会議における鉱物資源情報作業部会の活動にも貢献している．本論文では，
鉱物資源情報の共有，ウエブサービスの構築，WebGIS ポータルの立ち上げなど，このシステムが完成するプロセス
を提示している．このシステムは，構築や維持管理においてコストパフォーマンスが高く，他の地球科学分野にお
けるウェブベースの情報流通においても適用可能である．

キーワード：鉱物, FOSS, OGC, WMS, WPS, WebGIS, Web サービス, タイ

1 ）山口大学理工学研究科
2 ）産業技術総合研究所