Integrated mapping agency needed

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto opened a national seminar on mapping yesterday, calling for the establishment of an integrated center of information on land and geographic mapping.

He said the various related agencies need to establish a better network for land mapping activities in order to avoid an overlapping of responsibilities.

"It's not easy to coordinate different agencies in charge of mapping land, especially when each agency has its own interests that shapes its methodologies," he said at the Bina Graha presidential office.

Good coordination would help the agencies improve efficiency, he pointed out.

In the past, different maps used for different purposes have often caused land disputes or ineffective development planning.

The two-day seminar, sponsored by the National Land Agency and the German Alumnae Association, is being held at the Sahid Jaya Hotel in Jakarta.

The keynote speaker was Minister for Agrarian Affairs/Chairman of National Land Agency Soni Harsono, who said in his speech that he expected new and accurate maps would soon be published.

"But we have to first establish unified perceptions and concepts of land mapping," Soni said, referring to the planned center whose function would be, among other things, to share land and geographical information to related agencies.

Topics addressed in the seminar include the science and technology of mapping, optimizing the use of land mapping for business purposes, and better coordination for policy making activities.

The seminar is being accompanied by an exhibition of government and private agencies' work and methodologies in data surveying. (14)