FOURTEENTH UN CARTOGRAPHIC CONFERENCE FOR ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION CONCLUDES IN BANGKOK
Press Release
DEV/2134
FOURTEENTH UN CARTOGRAPHIC CONFERENCE FOR ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION CONCLUDES IN BANGKOK
19970210 NEW YORK, 7 February (DDSMS) -- The Fourteenth United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific concluded its session today at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand. The Conference, which received full support from the Royal Thai Survey Department, was serviced by the Department for Development Support and Management Services (DDSMS), which provided substantive inputs, as well as by staff of the Office Services from the United Nations Headquarters and ESCAP.The primary objective of the Conference was to provide a regional forum where government officials, planners, scientists and experts from Asia and the Pacific and other regions could meet to address the common needs, problems and experiences in the field of surveying and mapping, cartography, hydrography, remote sensing, land and geographical information systems, including educational and training aspects, scientific and technological requirements, implementation issues and benefits.
The Conference acknowledged the significant progress made in the cartographic and related field since the previous regional conference held in Beijing in 1994, where goals in the area had been reappraised to meet the "sustainable challenge" of the twenty-first century. Adopting 20 resolutions, the Conference set a challenging agenda for governments of the region into the new millennium.
The Conference stressed the significant and continuing contribution of surveying, mapping and charting to the implementation of Agenda 21 in the region. A strengthening of communication and cooperation between countries in the region and sharing of skills and experience, joint project activities and common approaches to policy and management issues, were made possible through the activities of the Permanent Committee on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific.
The Conference emphasized the growing awareness among member States of the concept of the spatial data infrastructure (SDI), the acceleration in implementation of national SDI programmes, and the recognition of the importance of regional and global SDI. Due recognition was also given to the increasing role of academic and research institutions, the private sector, and non-government organizations exemplified by the recently created ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics (ASEAN FLAG).
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Another major trend acknowledged by the Conference was the decisive move towards a common geocentric datum for the region, the increasing availability of fundamental datasets, and the growth in the use of Internet as a newly available and primary means of communication in the region.
The 20 resolutions adopted by the Conference focused on transfer of technology, harmonization and standardization of datasets, role and involvements of non-governmental organizations and other issues all related to facilitate the implementation of Agenda 21.
The participants recommended that the Economic and Social Council should convene the fifteenth conference for the Asia-Pacific region sometime in the year 2000 with a primary focus on the continuing assessment and improvement of the contribution of surveying, mapping and charting in support of the implementation of Agenda 21.
In his closing statement, the President of the Conference encouraged countries in the region, large and small, to actively participate and contribute to future conferences. Speaking on behalf of the participants, one representative from a small island country, reminded the Conference that mankind had not inherited the Earth from its ancestors, but rather borrowed it from its children. Accordingly, the Conference stressed the global consensus towards establishing a global SDI which would provide worldwide coverage and linkages to the geographic data needed for a broad spectrum of technological applications to help resolve social, economic and environmental problems.
Some 158 representatives and observers from 29 countries and territories, and five from intergovernmental and international scientific organizations, participated in the Conference.
The final report of the Conference will be published and forwarded to member States. A compendium of technological papers will be published after the Conference as a United Nations sales publication, and submitted to the United Nations Sales Section for distribution. Copies will be mailed to the Permanent Missions to the United Nations.
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