Dr Pankajeshwara Sharma
As Associate Professor at the University of Fiji. I earned my PhD in Information Science from Otago University, Following my PhD, I joined the Department of Environment at the University of Auckland as a Postdoctoral Fellow, where I contributed to vital research on data sovereignty and Māori biodiversity data management in New Zealand. At the 2023 FOSS4G in Auckland, I presented our web based MapSafe: tool for achieving geospatial data sovereignty, an innovative tool https://www.mapsafe.xyz for secure data management, empowering sovereign data owners to obfuscate, encrypt, and notarize data—all client-side—ensuring data remains protected and verifiable.
This presentation will demonstrate a QGIS desktop based version of the web based tool.
Sessions
This presentation introduces a trustless, browser-based system for Indigenous geospatial data sovereignty. It combines geomasking, encryption, and blockchain to enable secure, third-party-free data sharing. Developed for Māori-managed Biodiversity Areas in Aotearoa New Zealand, the tool ensures privacy and control over sensitive spatial data in cloud environments.
MapSafe is a QGIS plugin that enables users to protect and share sensitive geospatial data with privacy controls like donut masking, encryption, and blockchain verification. It brings advanced geoprivacy functions into desktop GIS workflows, eliminating reliance on third parties and supporting compliance with data protection regulations.