Report of the FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting

held in Fredericton, Canada, 7-10 October 1994


Detailed Report
Attendance List


Executive Summary

The FIG Commission 7 annual meeting was held in Fredericton, Canada, from 7-11 October, 1994, in conjunction with the FIG Commission 3 meeting and the 10th Annual Geomatics Atlantic Conference conducted by the Canadian Institute of Geomatics. Thirty five delegates from 22 countries were in attendance at the annual meeting. The Commission 7 brochure and poster were launched, the three new working groups formed in Melbourne met to prepare their workplans, and the final draft "Statement on the Cadastre" was presented for discussion. A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of short country reports from the 22 countries represented outlining recent trends and developments in cadastre and land management. In addition, technical presentations were given on land records in New Brunswick, land management and administration on the Kingsclear Native Reserve, and the operation of the New Brunswick Geographic Information Corporation.

Business Arising from the Meeting

Future Commission 7 Events

1995 The Hellenic Mapping and Cadastral Organisation is proposing to organise a Conference on the Greek Cadastre in Athens from 10-13 May 1995 with the support and participation of Commission 7.

The 1995 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in the Netherlands from 15-19 May 1995. It will include a 1-day seminar on cadastral reform in conjunction with Working Group 7.1 and serve as a farewell to Professor Jo Henssen (OICRF).

The 62nd FIG Permanent Committee Meeting will be held in Berlin from 22-26 May 1995, with Commissions 7, 8 and 9 participating in a special seminar dealing with the topic "From Centrally Planned to Market Economies - The Contribution of Land Regulation and Economics".

Commission 7 has been invited to participate in the 1995 Australasian Cadastral Conference to be held in Wellington, New Zealand from 14-16 June 1995.

Commission 7 supports in principle the 5th South East Asian and 36th Australian Surveyors Congress, to be held in Singapore from 16-20 July 1995.

The Cambridge Conference for National Mapping Organisations is to be held in Cambridge (UK) from 25 July to 1 August 1995, with Commission 7 hosting a special half-day session dealing with land and cadastral reform.

The XVII Brazilian Cartographic Conference is to be held from 30 July to 4 August 1995, with Commission 7 being invited to participate in a specialist Urban Cadastre workshop.

The FIG/CASLE Conference on "Sustainable Development: Counting the Cost - Maximising the Value" will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 13-17 August 1995. Commission 7 Vice-Chairman, Dr Paul Munro-Faure, is acting as the liaison person for the FIG.

1996 The 1996 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in Hungary at a date to be decided early in 1995. The meeting will include a 1-day seminar on land management in conjunction with Working Group 7.3.

The 63rd FIG Permanent Committee Meeting will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 15-19 April 1996, and Commission 7 will be participating in a seminar on cadastre and land management.

1997 The 1997 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in Malaysia preceding the 64th FIG Permanent Committee Meeting to be conducted in Singapore from 11-16 August 1997. The meeting will feature a 1-day seminar in conjunction with Working Group 7.2 dealing with cadastral systems in developing countries.

1998 The XXI FIG Congress will be held in Brighton (UK) from 19-25 July 1998, and will feature three special sessions dealing to present the findings of the Commission 7 Working Groups. The Small Group sessions which proved popular in Melbourne will continue, as will the poster sessions since they permit more delegates to present their papers and thus attend the conference.


Back Dept. of Geomatics

Report of the FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting

held in Fredericton, Canada, 7-10 October 1994

Detailed Report


Overview

The FIG Commission 7 annual meeting was held in Fredericton, Canada, from 7-11 October, 1994, in conjunction with the FIG Commission 3 meeting and the 10th Annual Geomatics Atlantic Conference conducted by the Canadian Institute of Geomatics. Thirty five delegates from 22 countries were in attendance at the annual meeting. The Commission 7 brochure and poster were launched, the three new working groups formed in Melbourne met to prepare their workplans, and the final draft "Statement on the Cadastre" was presented for discussion. A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of short country reports from the 22 countries represented outlining recent trends and developments in cadastre and land management. In addition, technical presentations were given on land records in New Brunswick, land management and administration on the Kingsclear Native Reserve, and the operation of the New Brunswick Geographic Information Corporation.

Day 1: Friday 7th October 1994

Welcome

The meeting commenced on the evening of 7th October with opening addresses at a dinner for delegates. The chairman of Commission 7, Professor Ian Williamson (Australia), welcomed 33 delegates from 22 countries. In addition, welcoming speeches were made by Mr Francis McGuire, Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Tourism for the Province of New Brunswick; Ms Nancy Vellonweth, President of the New Brunswick Geomatics Industry Association, and Dr Sue Nichols (Commission 7 delegate to Canada) of the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick and President-elect to the Canadian Institute of Geomatics. Professor Williamson also launched the new Commission 7 poster and brochures, and delegates expressed their appreciation to Dr Winfried Hawerk (Germany) and his wife for their contribution in preparing and printing the promotional material.

Day 2: Saturday 8th October 1994

Reports

Professor Williamson presented reports to delegates of the 1993 FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting in Cirencester (UK), the FIG Commission 7 meeting held in Melbourne in March 1994, and the 61st Permanent Committee Meeting and 20th General Assembly also held at Melbourne in conjunction with the XX FIG Congress.

Working Groups

During the meeting, several sessions were held by the three new Working Groups to discuss their terms of reference, objectives and workplans for the next four years, with delegates dividing amongst the Working Groups according to their interests. The Working Groups were chaired by Jurg Kaufman (Switzerland), Tommy Osterberg (Sweden) and Paul Munro-Faure (UK), who were assisted by their secretaries - Daniel Steudler (Switzerland), Agneta Ericsson (Sweden) and Mark Griffiths (UK) respectively. The three working group reports are attached.

Land and Land Records in New Brunswick

The afternoon was devoted to a special session given by Mr Willis Roberts and Professor Angus Hamilton on the history over the past 200 years of land and land records in the Province of New Brunswick.

Day 3: Sunday 9th October 1994

Statement on the Cadastre

Tommy Osterberg chaired the session to discuss the draft "Statement on the Cadastre" and the comments received were very constructive. The final draft document has now been prepared and will be submitted to the 62nd FIG Permanent Committee Meeting in Berlin in 1995 for adoption and distribution (see attached document). In addition, a translation of the draft will be made into the Russian language for distribution amongst appropriate Eastern European nations.

Country Reports

A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of 22 country reports by delegates discussing the issues and problems affecting cadastre and land management in their countries and the solutions being employed. This year the procedure was widened to include all countries represented at the meeting (see attached reports).

Day 4: Monday 10th October 1994

FIG Newsletter

Regarding the FIG Newsletter, it was agreed that it would not be beneficial to produce a separate Commission 7 newsletter and that the existing FIG Newsletter should be jointly produced between Commissions 3 and 7 given the close ties that exist between the two groups.

Marketing and Promotion

It was noted by Winfried Hawerk (Germany) that Commission 7 needs a marketing strategy, as does the FIG in general, and that the goals of the Commission marketing strategy should be:

- to increase the number of active members of Commission 7

- to raise the profile of the Commission;

- to enhance the image of the Commission; and

- to outreach to developing countries.

Possible ways in which these goals may be reached included:

- A 1-page advertisement in the FIG Bulletin;

- Direct marketing by means of letters to targeted groups, international bodies, and member societies. The letter should include details of what the Commission is, its activities, and benefits of membership. It should include a return slip and be accompanied by the Commission brochures, poster and the Statement on the Cadastre.

- Each delegate to Commission 7 should send details of Commission activities to their respective member societies for publication in national and regional journals and newsletters;

- Promotion of the working groups, annual meetings and seminars;

- Arranging for more people from developing countries to attend Commission 7 meetings;

- Expansion of the existing address database (lists to be obtained from W. Robertson (New Zealand) and T. Osterberg);

- Commission 7 to approach the host countries of each annual meeting for funding of delegates from developing countries to attend the meeting;

- Delegates working in developing countries should investigate potential funding and sponsorship of local representatives to attend the annual meetings as part of technical assistance programs;

- Delegates from each developed country to take responsibility for funding someone from a developing country, perhaps in their region, to attend the annual meetings.

The Meaning of the Globe Symbol in the Commission 7 Poster

The red symbol in the Commission 7 poster is intended to be an eye catching image. A stylised gyroscope was chosen because of its similarity to a globe and, like Commission 7, it is wide in operation. It also relates to the earth and the surveying profession, and when it spins has its own direction and remains stable in that direction. The gyroscope symbol can also be used as a pointer in the brochure to denote key information aspects.

Awards for International Cadastre and Land Management Projects

There was discussion of the suggestion of making awards available for successful international projects in cadastre and land management. Delegates were divided in their views of the benefits of these awards and Professor Andrzej Hopfer (Poland) is to prepare a report for consideration by the Commission.

List of Consultants

The suggestion that a list of consultants be prepared by the FIG was discussed and again, delegates were divided in their views as to whether such a list should be produced, given that many delegates to Commission 7 are also actively engaged in international consultancies. It was decided that Commission 7 should not produce such a list of its own members and that the issue of an FIG listing should remain with the FIG Bureau to determine.

Future Commission 7 Activities

1995 The Hellenic Mapping and Cadastral Organisation is proposing to organise a Conference on the Greek Cadastre in Athens from 10-13 May 1995. It was agreed that Commission 7 should support the conference in principle and Professor John Badekas (Greece) is to prepare a draft program for further consideration by Commission 7.

The 1995 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in the Netherlands from 15-19 May 1995. The program will include 3 half-days for Commission business and a 1-day seminar on cadastral reform in conjunction with the work of Working Group 7.1. Jan Sonnenberg (Netherlands) and Jurg Kaufmann (Switzerland) are to finalise the program of events. Technical visits are planned to study the national cadastral system, a land consolidation project, and a polder authority. In addition, a major issue to be discussed at the meeting will be the meaning of privatisation as part of cadastral reform, given that this can take many forms in different jurisdictions around the world. Finally, the annual meeting will serve as a farewell to honour the retirement of Professor Jo Henssen (OICRF) and welcome the incoming Director of the OICRF, Mr Paul Van der Molen.

The 62nd FIG Permanent Committee Meeting will follow the Commission 7 annual meeting in Berlin from 22-26 May 1995. Winfried Hawerk (Germany) discussed the proposed program and it was noted that Commissions 7, 8 and 9 will be involved in a special session of the meeting on 23 May 1995 dealing with the topic "From Centrally Planned to Market Economies - The Contribution of Land Regulation and Economics".

Following the Berlin PC Meeting, a small Workshop on Cadastre in Developing Countries will be held in Sweden, hosted by Tommy Osterberg (Sweden).

Commission 7 has been invited to participate in the 1995 Australasian Cadastral Conference, to be held in Wellington, New Zealand from 14-16 June 1995, and organised by the Surveyor-General of New Zealand, Bill Robertson (Commission 7 correspondent).

Commission 7 supports in principle the 5th South East Asian and 36th Australian Surveyors Congress, to be held in Singapore from 16-20 July 1995.

Commission 7 also supports the Cambridge Conference for National mapping Organisations, to be held in Cambridge (UK) from 25 July to 1 August 1995. The Commission will host a special half-day session on 28 July dealing with land and cadastral reform, at which several Commission 7 delegates will make presentations concerning both developed and developing countries.

In conjunction with the XVII Brazilian Cartographic Conference, to be held from 30 July to 4 August 1995, Commission 7 has been invited to participate in a specialist Urban Cadastre workshop. Although the conference conflicts in its timing with the Cambridge Conference mentioned above, it is likely that some Commission 7 delegates will be able to attend subject to suitable funding.

The FIG, through Commission 7, is supporting the FIG/CASLE Conference on "Sustainable Development: Counting the Cost - Maximising the Value", to be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 13-17 August 1995. Commission 7 Vice-Chairman Dr Paul Munro-Faure is the liaison person for the FIG. The planned FIG/UN HABITAT conference proposed for Nairobi has proven difficult to arrange, and the Harare conference is to some extent being held in its place.

1996 The 1996 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in Hungary. The date is uncertain at this time but it is expected that the meeting will precede the annual GIS/LIS conference which will have its date decided in March 1995. Paul Munro-Faure (Commission 7 Vice-Chairman) and Andreas Hodobay-Borocz (Hungary) are to prepare the draft plan for the meeting, which will include a 1-day seminar on Land Management incorporating the work of Working Group 7.3, for discussion at the 1995 Commission 7 Annual Meeting.

The 63rd FIG Permanent Committee Meeting will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 15-19 April 1996. A symposium on Cadastre and Land Management will be conducted at the meeting and prospective authors are invited to submit a 1-page abstract and a short curriculum vitae to the Commission 7 Secretariat before 28 February 1995.

1997 It was confirmed that the 1997 Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be held in Malaysia preceding the 64th FIG Permanent Committee Meeting to be conducted in Singapore from 11-16 August 1997. The Commission 7 meeting will feature a 1-day seminar dealing with the work of Working Group 7.2 on Cadastral Systems in Developing Countries. Dato Abdul Majid Bin Mohamed (Malaysia) and Tommy Osterberg (Sweden) are responsible for preparing a draft program of events.

1998 The program for the XXI FIG Congress to be held in Brighton (UK) from 19-25 July 1998 was discussed and it was agreed that the concept of small group sessions had worked well at the XX FIG Congress in Melbourne. On the other hand, while poster sessions were not favoured it was recognised that they permit attendance by many delegates who might not otherwise be able to attend. In addition, while joint sessions with other Commissions allow for integration it was stressed that they must be strongly focussed. One negative aspect of the Melbourne congress was lack of interest shown in the technical sessions that were held the day after the official farewell dinner. Finally, it was agreed that every effort must be made to ensure that authors attend the conference to present their papers. In 1998, the Commission 7 program will include three sessions centred around the findings of the three working groups.

Day 5: Tuesday 11th October 1994

Technical Tours

On the final day of the annual meeting, technical tours were held to study land management and administration practices at the Kingsclear Native reserve, and the operations of the New Brunswick Geographic Information Corporation in Fredericton.

Vote of Thanks

Commission delegates expressed their appreciation to the sponsors of the annual meeting and especially to the organiser, Dr Sue Nichols, and her assistants, Frank McCulloch and Michael Sullivan. In addition, Mr Al Karklins was thanked for his translation services to the Latvian delegates.

I.P. Williamson

Chairman, FIG Commission 7

1st December 1994


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Attendance List - 1994 FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting

Grant, Don Australia Hunter, Gary Australia

Williamson, Ian Australia Karklins, Al Canada

McCullough, Frank Canada Nichols, Sue Canada

Tsolakis, Kyriakos Cyprus Pesl, Ivan Czech Republic

Ekner, Bodil Denmark Uimonen, Mikko Finland

Hawerk, Winfried Germany Badekas, John Greece

Hodobay-Borocz, Andreas Hungary Sutherland, Michael Jamaica

Eglitis, Mintauts Latvia Pakalns, Janis Latvia

Sonnenberg, Jan Netherlands Benwell, George New Zealand

Crocker, Graeme New Zealand Robertson, Bill New Zealand

Rygh, Gottfred Norway Zuniga, Concordio Philippines

Hopfer, Andrzej Poland Renar, Roman Slovenia

Rezek, Jurij Slovenia Fourie, Clarissa South Africa

Aricsson, Agneta Sweden Osterberg, Tommy Sweden

Kaufmann, Jurg Switzerland Steudler, Daniel Switzerland

Griffiths, Mark United Kingdom Munro-Faure, Paul United Kingdom

Scruggs, Bob USA

Apologies were received from 11 delegates and correspondents.


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Maintainer : David Mercer - webmaster@fig7.org.uk
Last Modified: September 1996.