The Logistics Cluster therefore asked UNJLC to support this procedure by producing detailed convoy route maps for submission to the IDF. All movement of humanitarian aid, each operational/security assessment and every staff movement required the same clearance documentation. For cargo movement, the Logistics Cluster Transport and Program sections provided UNJLC with information on the number of convoys, starting point and required destination, including both Consolidated Loading Points (CLP) and Extended Delivery Points (EDP). Many of the convoys began in Damascus or Arrida in the north via the humanitarian corridor established early in the mission.

The UNJLC GIS unit would begin by consulting with Security Officers and those with local knowledge to design a feasible route, then pulled together the required coordinates and assigned waypoints from known village points or clear landmarks. The team was in constant contact with the security offices and recce teams (including those of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency as well as the French, Norwegians and British) who were out performing road conditions surveys. This meant all damaged roads and bridges could be immediately taken into account and possible detours found. Once finished, these maps showed the exact route of each convoy moving through Lebanon on a daily basis, giving all the data required in an easily accessible format and speeding up the process of convoy approval.

At one point in the conflict during a period of heavy bombing, a major water pipe in Nehme just south of Beirut was broken, shutting down water supply in the area. The Government of Lebanon requested UNJLC's help and with the data in place. A route was planned from Beirut to Nehme and the repairs done.

Often routes had to be changed due to the denial of concurrence for certain roads or destinations, or recent bomb damage/security concerns which required an alteration. Sometimes several versions were produced before requirements for all parties were met. The maps therefore had to be produced fast and meticulously to avoid delays in departure.

The waypoint structure also formed the core of UNDSS and WFP field security management requirements since the system enabled the assembly of precise routes and assigned specific locations from which to track the convoy's progress through radio checks. Convoy leaders and SRSA teams were not permitted to leave without a copy of their map.

 "Logistics Cluster Transport and Program managers would come and tell us, 'We need these trucks to go here, here and here'. From that information, we could then pull up the coordinates and get to work," explains Shawn Messick, the head of UNJLC's GIS section. "It was the first operation we've encountered where the day-to-day movement of cargo and recce teams required this level of detail. Precise distances, waypoints… we'd never seen a demand to use this level of detailed information to support routine operations before. As it turned out, it proved the perfect way to avoid confusion and gave a simple play-by-play account of all the day's movements.

"We were very fortunate in that a detailed dataset already existed. It was developed by the Lebanese government and they immediately released it to us. It's an excellent example of data intended for reconstruction and development purposes being put to use for crisis management. They had a huge amount of information and it left them well prepared for this situation.

"The experience after this operation may be that there should be a higher level of investment in data collection and access on the part of the development community. I would also like to see more discipline in recce missions collecting GPS data so we could rapidly begin to make use of this additional information."

The mapping of convoys began at the outset of the operation, with the first map being produced on July 28th, and ended a few days after the ceasefire when notification for convoy movement was no longer required.

The UNJLC GIS team in Lebanon has been largely staffed by UNJLC partners VVAF (Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation), an international non-governmental organization that addresses the causes, conduct and consequences of war through programs of advocacy and service of victims of conflict.  iMMAP (the Information Management and Mine Action Program) is a leading advocate for the establishment of humanitarian relief and development standards for the practical use of information management and geographic information systems [GIS] in support of decision-making, defining the Common Operating Picture and promoting inter-organizational coordination, planning and collaboration. VVAF's iMMAP specializes in the operational application of cutting edge information management, survey, analysis and geographic information system (GIS) technologies and services. These services provide a core component of UNJLC's successful services.