The Chengdu Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information ManagementChengdu, China, 15-17 October 2013The Chengdu Forum on United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management was held at the Jinjiang Hotel in Chengdu, China from 15 to 17 October 2013. Nearly 200 participants from 40 countries participated and represented the United Nations, International Organizations and Industries. FIG Vice President, Prof. Cheng Pengfei representing FIG was present at the meeting. Mr. Xu Deming, General Director of National Administration of Surveying, Mapping, and Geoinformation, Deputy General Director of Ministry of Land and Resources of the Republic of China was invited as speaker at the opening ceremony. Mr. Deming stressed that, surveying, mapping and geoinformation have the superiority of integration when talking about acquisition of information, analysis and judgment. In addition efforts should be made in the areas of risk management, disaster reduction and mitigation. The Chinese Government is impressed by the United Nation’s efforts on the Mechanism Construction among member States. He also indicated that apart from the support from the Chinese Central Government, the Chinese Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation sector benefits from international communication and cooperation. China is committed to have wider and deeper communication and cooperation with other countries in the field of surveying, mapping and geoinformation.
Mr. Wu Hongbo, Deputy Secretary General of United Nation attended the opening ceremony. Mr. Hongbo expressed his sincerely thanks to the the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation and to the People's Government of Sichuan Province. He stated that UN-GGIM is aiming to respond to the multiple challenges of sustainable development of global society. Geospatial information plays a critical role in sustainable development and humanitarian aid. A UN hosted conference on Sustainable Development spoke loudly about that. This forum has global representatives and experts from all over the world to share the information and experience on city risk and hazard surveying. UN is devoted to the development of GGIM. The Chengdu Forum had 8 sessions with 25 speakers from China and overseas. Some of the conspicuous subjects presented were “Understanding Urban Hazard and Risk Process ”, “Hazard and Risk Modeling Applications”, “Geospatial Challenges in Responding to Urban Disasters”, “Hazard and Risk Geospatial Information Requirements”, “Developing Geospatial Applications and Methods”.
The UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) was established to ensure that Member States can work together, share knowledge and support the development of strong geospatial information bases. The work is all based on a common recognition of the value geospatial information can play in developing our economies, in providing critical services, in underpinning sustainable development and, in doing so, enhancing people’s lives the world over. Prof. Cheng Pengfei 25 October 2013 |
