GIS

Missing legislation for survey council and real estate in Ghana

The Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) has underscored the need for the passage of the pieces of legislation for Survey Council and Real Estate. Such legislation will give legal backing to operations in the land management industry and stem the incidence of multiple sale of land, with its attendant violence and protracted conflicts. It will also ensure that whatever gains are made in the Land Administration Project (LAP I and II) will be sustained. There will also be firm control over land management within the public and the customary sectors. www.spyghana.com

National GIS Organisation to be formed in India

The Union Government of India is planning to establish an Indian National GIS Organisation to collate, verify and maintain GIS data which could be accessed by stakeholders and the public, according to Union Secretary (Department of Science, govt of India) Mr. T Ramasami. He said the Government was taking up the project to create a national decision support system. A Cabinet note was put up last month and a decision may be expected soon. The Rs 3,000 crore project would be incubated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and it would be operated and maintained by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT). “National GIS is a development aspiration of India and it will help fast and evidence based resource planning,” he said. www.thehindu.co.in

National Map Corps Edits 25,000 Manmade Map Features

Civilian volunteers are making significant additions to the U.S. Geological Survey’s ability to provide accurate mapping information to the public. Using crowd-sourcing techniques, the USGS’ Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) project known as The National Map Corps (TNMCorps) encourages citizen volunteers to collect manmade structures data in an effort to provide accurate and authoritative spatial map data for the National Geospatial Program’s webbased The National Map. Structures being updated include schools, hospitals, post offices, police stations and other important public buildings. www.infozine.com

Azerbaijan conducted survey for new processing complex

Fugro Company jointly with British BP and French Total has recently conducted topographical surveys at the site 60 kilometres from Baku where a new Oil and Gas Processing and Petrochemical Complex (OGPC) will be located, according to SOCAR (the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan). In particular, aerial photography of the site was done. The data obtained in the survey is currently being processed by SOCAR Foster Wheeler LLC and upon approval will be used for the next stage of the project implementation. http://en.trend.az/

Govt of Korea cautious about Google Maps

The Korean government remains cautious about giving a license for mapping activities here to Google due to security concerns. Google has been working with Kim & Chang, the country’s leading law firm, to get permission for its mapping here, but has failed to persuade Korean officials.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt recently insisted that censorship around the world could end in a decade, and better use of encryption will help the public overcome government surveillance.

While Google is insisting its mapping activities were mostly aimed at providing creative value to people, there are still many issues that should be addressed and questions that Google needs to answer. www.koreatimes.co.kr

New Lands’ data centre in Kenya

The Lands Ministry will set up a geospatial data centre to make national geographic information available to Kenyans. The open data initiative will help investors and other stakeholders get accurate and reliable information on location of land, ownership, administrative boundaries and features on and beneath the land. www.the-star.co.ke/news/

NAMRIA re–mapping shows forest cover in CAR increases

Amidst issues on illegal logging and a downward trend on the national scale, the Cordillera has marked an increase in its forest covers from 2003 to 2010, according to the research done by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria), Philippines as reported by a regional environment official. The result was derived after they conducted a satellite re-mapping of the country’s forest cover in 2010, compared to the mapping list in 2003. http://baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph/

SDI implementation in Sri Lanka

The Survey Department of Sri Lanka has recently received a Cabinet approval to build the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. According to senior deputy Surveyor General at the Department of Survey, they have recently established a steering committee composed of representatives from relevant government organisations tasked with the responsibility to draft the policies, procedures and data standards necessary to foster the efficient use, management and production of geospatial information. www.futuregov.asia/

Soc Trang province of Vietnam launches geospatial database

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) handed over a geospatial database to the administration of Soc Trang province, as it joins four other provinces in the Mekong Delta in a climate change adaptation programme.

The climate change adaptation programme is national project which aims to help provinces in the Mekong Delta develop an effective strategy to adapt to climate change and ensure sustainable natural resource exploitation. The initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation and implemented by GIZ.

“Unmappable” Great Barrier Reef mapped

These world-first digital maps are a critical step towards identifying, managing and essentially preserving and protecting what lies within the waters of this global icon.

Project partner, Dr Robin Beaman of James Cook University, says the product is different to anything else available, as until now, nearly half of the shallow water reef areas on the Great Barrier Reef were not mapped using modern digital surveys. Instead of relying on traditional surveying vessels or aircraft to map the many ‘un-mappable’ areas of the reef, EOMAP used space-borne satellites to overcome these hurdles. The result is the largest project of its kind ever conducted in Australia, and possibly the entire world. The 3D water depth maps have a 30m horizontal resolution over approximately 350,000 km2 of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Torres Strait, providing not only more detailed individual reef data, but also a complete picture of Earth’s largest coral reef ecosystem. www.crcsi.com.au/

Land record computerisation in Pakistan

People in Punjab, Pakistan would now be getting property deeds and other documents relating to their land holdings and plots in only 30 minutes as the Punjab chief minister inaugurated land record computerisation centre in Lahore Cantonment.

He said when this modern system becomes fully functional in all districts of the province, the culture of corruption, bribery and forgery in the matters relating to land would be eliminated and the people would get rid of the obsolete and exploitative system of Patwaris and Tehsildars. www.nation.com.pk