Background

During the XXIV FIG Congress in Sydney, 2010, a seminar was organized to address the challenges Small Island Developing States are facing in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and with a special focus on the South Pacific Region.

The Seminar emphasized the importance of good land governance especially in relation to climate change and natural disaster; access to land, coastal and marine resources; and secure land tenure and administration. The seminar adopted the “Sydney Agenda for Action” that aims at developing the capacity of land professionals to deal with these challenges.

Purpose

FIG will support its membership in the region to realize a two-­day Pacific Region Small Island Developing States Symposium  that will include the following thematic tracks

• Improved governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests
• Geospatial information management; and
• Secure land and property rights for all.

Cross cutting themes include capacity development, professional development and climate change.

The Symposium will include plenary presentations and technical sessions that could take the form of workshops, panel discussions and roundtables to address these themes. The overall goal is to deliver professional knowledge, engage professionals and stake holders and contribute towards in-­‐region information dissemination and capacity development.

Partnership

FIG is partnering Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Fiji Institute of Surveyors (a member association of FIG), the University of South Pacific  and the Fiji Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources to realize this Symposium.

The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN GGIM), the United Nations Regional Committee on Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP), United Nations Human Settlement Program (UN-Habitat) and Global Land Tool Network (GLTN) are supporting the Symposium.