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Connecting The Pacific With Maps

Tuesday, 12 November 2013 14:20 administrator
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12th November, 2013 – Around 150 Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing (GIS/RS) users and stakeholders from around the Pacific region will gather in Suva next week for the 2013 Pacific GIS/RS User Conference. The Conference runs from Monday 18th November to Friday 22nd November.

This year’s theme of the conference is “Connecting the Pacific with Maps”. Cutting edge advancements in GIS/RS technologies will be presented and discussed in-depth as well as an array of applications including the management of resources in small island Pacific nations.  

GIS is a computer-based tool used to collect, combine and overlay information in the form of easily understood maps constructed from up-to-date satellite images and field data.  Whereas, remote sensing is the collection of information from afar using sensors on aircraft, satellites, ships and other vessels. Together, the two can be used to make critical decisions about the physical and built environment.

The conference will be opened by Professor Michael Petterson, Director of Applied Geoscience and Technology Division, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

“SPC recognises the power and versatility of GIS and its ability to combine, synthesise, model and present disparate geographical data sets. The demand for GIS and its applications to Pacific Development grows year on year. In a similar vein satellite and airborne data improves in quality and resolution at a frightening pace. The increasing usage of this powerful imagery and data allows rapid and accurate assessments of resources, land use, and environmental issues as never before. SPC is proud to be part of such a modern and forward looking meeting and welcomes all delegates to come and assist with the Pacific development agenda”, Professor Petterson commented.

Current and upcoming trends in the geographic technology fields such as LiDAR (light detection and ranging), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), recent progress in vegetation and land cover mapping, improvements in satellite technologies, applications in disaster reduction and climate change adaption, web mapping and open source software will be discussed during the conference.

The Pacific GIS/RS Conference has been held annually since its inception in 1999. Organisation of the Conference is voluntary and is overseen by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, University of the South Pacific and the Fiji Department of Lands. Financial contributions from various departments of the Fiji Government, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), satellite data and GIS/RS software vendors has allowed the participation of Pacific Island nationals and partners at the Conference.

For further information contact – Sachindra Singh: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or refer to the conference website: http://picgisrs.appspot.com

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Last Updated on Thursday, 10 December 2015 09:57  

Newsflash

4 September 2014, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Apia, Samoa - Small island developing states of the Pacific face a set of difficult and complex challenges in securing safe drinking water and sanitation facilities for their citizens – challenges not easily addressed by single communities, organisations or sectors working in isolation. To make progress in the area of safe water and sanitation, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is convinced that a multi-sector, partnership approach is the key, and SPC is promoting the use of partnerships to tackle the region’s most difficult water and sanitation challenges head on.

Dr Colin Tukuitonga, SPC’s Director-General, feels that effective partnerships are the way forward in harnessing the energy and expertise needed to overcome the challenges of securing safe and sustainable drinking water and sanitation facilities. ‘At SPC we already work closely with our member countries and territories to help bring the various sectors together and demonstrate the benefits of sustainable water and sanitation solutions,’ Dr Tukuitonga said. ‘What we’re now seeing in the region is increasing collaboration between sectors, stakeholder groups, and also between Pacific Island countries and territories.’

Dr Tukuitonga was speaking in Apia at the United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States, or SIDS, which is bringing together partners from across the globe to focus the world’s attention on a group of countries that remain a special case for sustainable development in view of their unique and particular vulnerabilities.