REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS FROM
THE SECOND PERMANENT COMMITTEE MEETING
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
29 SEPTEMBER - 4 OCTOBER 1996
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A. Introduction
1. The second meeting of the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (the Committee) was convened in Sydney on Monday 30 September 1996, as agreed at the inaugural meeting of Executive Board held in Kuala Lumpur during 14-15 May 1996.
B. Attendance
2. The meeting was attended by a total of 77 representatives, members and experts from 17 countries of Asia and the Pacific, as well as by 2 invited observers from countries outside the region and specialist agencies. The full list of participants appears as Annex 1 to this report.
C. President's Welcome
3. The President of the Committee Dato' Abdul Majid Bin Mohamed welcomed delegates to the meeting. He thanked AUSLIG and the Australian Government for agreeing to host the meeting. He urged all delegates to contribute their invaluable knowledge to the work of the Committee. The full text of the President's welcome appears as Annex 2 to this report.
D. Opening of the Meeting
4. Senator the Honourable Robert Hill, Minister for the Environment, officially opened the meeting. The Senator welcomed delegates to Australia and expressed Australia's delight at being the host nation for this important meeting. He noted that Geographical Information Systems are a key ingredient to support the Asia-Pacific region's rapid infrastructure development plans, which are needed to sustain the region's high economic growth rates. The Senator appreciated that the Committee's charter will maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of geographic information by providing a forum where a regional information infrastructure and input to the global infrastructure can be cooperatively developed. The Senator stated that Australia will take every opportunity to support the Committee. The full text of the Minister's speech appears as Annex 3 to this report.
5. The President thanked the Minister for his remarks and for taking time out from his busy schedule to open the meeting.
E. Keynote Address
6. The keynote address was presented by Mr Drew Clarke, on behalf of the Chairman of the Australian Organising Committee, Mr Brendan Godfrey.
7. Mr Clarke emphasised the importance of national, regional and global geographic information infrastructures in the process of informed decision-making. Sound management of environmental, resource and social programs at all levels requires access to reliable geographic information. Mr Clarke reconfirmed Australia's commitment to the development of its own national spatial data infrastructure and outlined the concepts adopted and the coordination process which had been put in place. He said that Australia was keen to see the Permanent Committee move through its formative stages and grasp some of the key issues and opportunities before it. He outlined some of the issues facing the Committee's four working groups and expressed the belief that all members can benefit from sharing the experiences of others. The full text of the speech appears as Annex 4 to this report.
F. President's Progress Report
8. The President reminded delegates that the aims of the Committee as resolved at its inaugural meeting were to: 'maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of geographic information in accordance with Agenda 21 by providing a forum for nations from Asia and the Pacific to: cooperate in the development of a regional geographic information infrastructure; contribute to the development of the global geographic information infrastructure; and share experiences and consult on matters of common interest.' He noted the formation of the Executive Board of the Committee in accordance with Resolution 4 of the inaugural meeting. The members of the Executive Board, as elected at the inaugural meeting, are recorded in Annex 5 to this report.
9. The President updated delegates on the progress made since the inaugural meeting of the Committee in Kuala Lumpur in July 1995. He noted that the Executive Board had held a meeting in Kuala Lumpur in May 1996. This meeting accomplished the important task of completing the draft of the Committee's Statutes and Rules of Procedure, as required under Resolution 6 of the inaugural Committee meeting. It was agreed that the draft Statutes and Rules of Procedure would be submitted to the Sydney committee meeting for adoption. The Executive Board also agreed on objectives for the four working groups to be used as the basis for discussion at the Sydney meeting.
G. Adoption of Committee's Statutes and Rules of Procedure
10. In formally moving the adoption of the Committee's Statutes and Rules of Procedure as drafted by the Executive Board, the President noted that Article 26 provided the opportunity for amendments to be submitted in writing to the Secretary prior to any committee meeting. The draft Statutes and Rules of Procedure had been circulated by the Secretary prior to this meeting and no written proposals for amendment had been received.
11. The committee unanimously adopted the Statutes and Rules of Procedure as drafted.
H. Adoption of Agenda
12. The agenda for the meeting as approved by the Executive Board was adopted unanimously. The agenda appears as Annex 6 to this report.
I. Working Party Deliberations
13. The four Working Groups met for the two days, 1-2 October 1996 and a number of papers and reports were tabled at those meetings. A list of the papers tabled appears as Annex 7 to this report.
14. Each Working Group prepared a report for consideration by the Permanent Committee and those reports are attached to this report at Annex 8 - Working Group 1, Working Group 2, Working Group 3, Working Group 4 .
J. Recommendations and Resolutions from the Working Groups
15. The reports of the Working Groups contain a number of recommendations and resolutions which were considered by the Plenary Session of the Permanent Committee on 3 October 1996.
16. The report of Working Group 1 was presented by the Secretary to the Group, Mr Baker. Attachment 1 to the report contains a draft action plan and the Working Group recommended that the Permanent Committee endorse the plan. This recommendation was accepted by the Permanent Committee.
17. Attachment 2 to the report by Working Group 1 contains a draft definition of the Asia Pacific Spatial Data Infrastructure and the Working Group recommended that the Permanent Committee endorse the definition. This recommendation was accepted by the Permanent Committee.
18. Working Group 1 drafted four resolutions for consideration by the Permanent Committee. All four resolutions were adopted by the Permanent Committee and are as follows:
Resolution 1
That the Permanent Committee seek Class A Liaison status with the International Organisation for Standards Technical Committee on Geographic Information Standards (ISO/TC211).
Resolution 2
That the Permanent Committee foster a close liaison with appropriate international professional and coordination bodies, such as ISPRS, FIG, ICA, IHO, IAG, ICAO and UNGEGN, and with regional economic and development initiatives, such as Global Mapping, SPREP (South Pacific Regional Environmental Program), SEMIS (Subregional Environmental Monitoring and Information Systems) and SOPAC (South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission), to ensure that:
the APSDI is compatible with other regional and global initiatives; and
the Permanent Committee avoids duplication of effort between these various bodies.
Resolution 3
That the Permanent Committee endorses regional training initiatives on geographic information infrastructure issues, such as the toponymy training course to be held by UNGEGN in Darwin, Australia, in mid-1997, and encourages member nations to participate in those initiatives.
Resolution 4
That the Permanent Committee establish a liaison with the European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information (EUROGI) and similar regional coordinating bodies.
19. The report of Working Group 2 was presented by the Chairman of the Group, Mr Bevin. The Working Group noted the importance of Agenda 21. Mr Bevin also reported that the Working Group had adopted, as a framework for its work program, the Bogor Declaration emanating from the joint UN/FIG Interregional Meeting of Experts on the Cadastre, held in Indonesia in March 1996.
20. Attachment 1 to the report by Working Group 2 contains a draft action plan and the Working Group recommended that the Permanent Committee endorse the plan. This recommendation was accepted by the Permanent Committee.
21. The Working Group also recommended that the Permanent Committee support the principle that, when Permanent Committee meetings are held, visits to local technical organisations be arranged. This recommendation was accepted by the Permanent Committee.
22. Working Group 2 recommended that a statement be submitted to the UN concerning the role of the private sector. The meeting amended the recommendation to acknowledge the role of all sectors (public, academic, and private) and also noted that the appropriate channel for that statement was through the UN Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The Permanent Committee adopted the following resolution:
Resolution 5
That the Permanent Committee prepare a statement to the 14th UN Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, to be held in Bangkok in February 1997, noting the importance of making use of the services of the public, academic and private sectors for the development of jurisdictional cadastral infrastructure and cadastral management systems.
23. The report of Working Group 2 recommended that the name and role of the Working Group be amended. The Permanent Committee agreed that the title of Working Group 2 be amended to 'Issues Relating to Cadastral Infrastructure' and that its role should be:
To assist the Executive Board and Permanent Committee to determine principles and options for the development of jurisdictional cadastral infrastructure and cadastral management systems.
24. The report of Working Group 3 was presented by the Chairman of the Group, Mr Matindas. Mr Matindas reported that, following discussions with the Executive Board, the Working Group proposed that the name and roles of the Working Group should be changed to remove a reference to international boundaries. The Permanent Committee agreed that the name of the Group should be 'Regional Geodetic Networks' and that its role should be:
To design a strategy for the development of a regional geodetic network infrastructure as the basis for the Asia Pacific Spatial Data Infrastructure.
25. The Working Group reported that they had drafted an action plan containing seven projects to be undertaken by the Group. The Permanent Committee endorsed the action plan with a modification to the aim of Project 1 to reflect the changes to the role of the Group. Thus, the aim of Project 1 is now:
To establish and maintain a precise relationship between permanent geodetic observation sites across the region to provide a base on which to build a homogeneous Asia Pacific Spatial Data Infrastructure.
26. The Working Group made six recommendations to the Permanent Committee. The first recommendation concerned the adoption of the DMA geopotential model. The Permanent Committee accepted these recommendations, with amendment to incorporate reference to GPS and levelling, resolving as follows:
Resolution 6
That the new DMA geopotential model be adopted as the reference geoid for the Asia Pacific region but that individual countries are encouraged to continue their gravity, GPS and levelling activities for the development of an improved geoid.
27. The second recommendation concerned the adoption of the ITRF, which the Permanent Committee accepted, resolving as follows:
Resolution 7(a)
That ITRF be adopted as the reference frame for Geodesy in the Asia Pacific region and that the values produced can be regarded as WGS84 for practical purposes for spatial data.
28. The Working Group further recommended that a joint Asia Pacific Geodetic Project be supported, resolving as follows:
Resolution 7(b)
That the joint cooperative Asia and the Pacific Regional Geodetic Project be supported as a step towards the establishment of a regional geodetic infrastruture and the maintenance of a geodetic network for GIS applications.
29. The remaining Working Group recommendations were: that a WWW site be established with a Geodesy section; that the Permanent Committee encourage expert countries to arrange geodetic training courses; and that the name of the Working Group be changed to Asia and the Pacific Regional Geodetic Networks. The Permanent Committee accepted these recommendations and the details are contained in the Working Group Report. Australia gave notice that it would make a proposal that extended the Working Group recommendation concerning the establishment of a WWW site, later in the meeting.
30. The report of Working Group 4 was presented by the Acting Chairman of the Group, Mr Holland. Mr Holland noted that there was a close relationship between some of the activities of this Working Group and those of Working Group 1. Mr Holland reported that the two Working Groups had already held a joint meeting and that they will continue to work closely together to ensure that their activities were coordinated, especially with regard to a questionnaire that both groups proposed to distribute to Permanent Committee members.
31. The Working Group reported that it had reviewed its terms of reference and had recommended some changes. The Permanent Committee accepted the recommendation and full details are contained in the Working Group Report. The meeting agreed that the title of the Working Group should be: Legislation and administrative arrangements for the acquisition and sharing of spatial data, with the following role:
To assist the Executive Board to provide guidance on the nature of legislation and administrative arrangements appropriate to the design, acquisition, management and sharing of spatial data.
32. The Working Group reported that it had drafted a plan of action based on the elements of the Asia Pacific Spatial Data Infrastructure and that a small group of collaborators had been established to coordinate that program. The Permanent Committee adopted the report of the Working Group.
K. Resolutions from the Floor
33. Mr Brendan Godfrey, representing Australia, proposed three resolutions for consideration by the Permanent Committee. The meeting adopted the recommendations and resolved as follows:
Resolution 8
That a World Wide Web home page be established for the Permanent Committee on the Internet.
Resolution 9
That the papers relating to Permanent Committee meetings be indexed and numbered in a manner suitable for permanent referencing.
Resolution 10
That the papers relating to Permanent Committee meetings be submitted in a standard digital format, with abstract and keywords, suitable for dissemination through the Internet and other computer media.
L. Next Meeting
34. The President noted that Article 14 of the Statutes of the Permanent Committee requires that a meeting be held in conjunction with UN Regional Cartographic Conferences. He advised that the next Conference would be held in Bangkok in February 1997 and that a meeting of the Permanent Committee would need to be held at that time. The President undertook to liaise with the UN with regard to this meeting and a meeting of the Executive Board.
35. The President advised members that, at the Permanent Committee meeting in February 1997, there would be an election of members to the Executive Board including President, Vice-President and Secretary.
M. Executive Board Meetings
36. The Secretary, Mr Bevin, reported that the Executive Board had met during the week of this meeting. Mr Bevin said that the Board had discussed a number of issues that had resulted in the proposal of Resolutions 8, 9 and 10.
37. With regard to the establishment of a World Wide Web home page, Mr Bevin reported that it had been proposed that the image map of the Asia Pacific region, prepared by AUSLIG and displayed at the meetings during the week, would be used on the title page. Mr Bevin added that the map was not intended as an authoritative record of boundaries or names.
38. The Secretary concluded by advising that there would be a further meeting of the Executive Board following the Plenary Session of the Permanent Committee.
N. Future Meetings
39. The President reported that the delegate from Iran had requested an opportunity to make an announcement and invited the delegate to address the meeting.
40. Mr Rajabifard delivered an invitation from the Government of Iran to the Permanent Committee to meet in Tehran in February 1998. The proposal was supported by China and by Brunei. The meeting endorsed the proposal by Iran and referred the invitation to the Executive Board for consideration.
41. The delegate from China gave notice to the meeting that his country intended to extend an invitation to the Permanent Committee to meet in Beijing in 1999 and the meeting noted that intention.
O. Other Business
42. The delegate from Fiji, noting the poor attendance at this meeting from some parts of the region, asked the Executive Board to address the need to encourage a wider representation at future meetings of the Permanent Committee. Bangladesh supported the remarks by Fiji and asked the Executive Board to especially invite those countries who had not attended this meeting, to participate in the next one. The President took note of the concerns expressed and observed that all member countries in the region had received invitations to the meeting in Sydney.