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Issue Date: April/May 2000

SA Department of Land Affairs hosts 4th international GSDI conference

1 April 2000

The South African Department of Land Affairs' Chief Directorate: Surveys and Mapping acted as host for the 4th Global Spatial Data Infrastructure (GSDI) Conference, held in Cape Town from 13-15 March 2000. The Conference was officially opened, on Monday (13 March 2000), by The Vice Chairperson of the GSDI Steering Committee, Derek Clarke, Chief Director, Surveys and Mapping, Department of Land Affairs, South Africa. The conference theme was `Engaging Emerging Economies' and a large number of African delegates attended along with delegates from all regions of the globe.
South Africa was specifically selected as host to promote the development of spatial data infrastructures in the African region. Spatial data infrastructures [SDI] are an essential part of the national infrastructure of a country providing the policies, standards, organisational arrangements and fundamental spatial data sets required for orderly and sustainable development. Many development issues transcend national and even regional boundaries and it is important for African countries to recognise this fact.
The GSDI - formed by the linking of national and regional spatial data infrastructures - is a global and open process for coordinating the organisation, management and use of spatial data and related activities. Its aims are to standardise national and regional spatial data infrastructures to help in the transfer of information between nations. It encompasses the broad policy, organisational, technical and financial arrangements necessary to support global access to geographic information.
One of the main objectives of this conference was to strengthen efforts within and between countries in building spatial data infrastructure that will support sustainable development across the globe. With this in mind, Orlando Nino-Fluck from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Jacob Gyamfi-Aidoo, coordinator of the Program on Environment Information Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa discussed the challenges faced by the less developed nations in implementing a national and regional spatial data infrastructure.
Another highlight of the conference was an update and status report by Prof Harlan Onsrud, University of Maine, USA on the global survey of National Spatial Data Infrastructure activity, initiated prior to the previous GSDI conference in Canberra, Australia.
A strong conference program assembled around these keynote speakers was complemented by an interesting mix of submitted papers. Diverse views on many aspects of the GSDI initiative were shared. The conference primarily discussed organisational, legal and technical issues concerning GSDI. More importantly it discussed issues of particular relevance to developing countries. Delegates were given the opportunity of meeting with the leading international experts and sharing experiences with colleagues from other countries.
A full session was reserved to review and discuss spatial data infrastructure activity in Africa.
Surveys and Mapping,
Department of Land Affairs
(021) 689 9362


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