Integrated mapping agency needed

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)