News in 2013
|
National Society of Professional Surveyors 2013 Spring
Meeting
Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States, 12 - 14 April 2013
The national leadership of the National Society of Professional
Surveyors, NSPS (otherwise known to many within FIG as the American
Congress of Surveying and Mapping, ACSM) in the United States met in the
suburb of Gaithersburg, Maryland, outside Washington DC between 12th and
14th April, 2013. President CheeHai Teo was invited out to the NSPS
2013 Spring Meeting since he was in Washington DC during the week for the
2013 World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, a conference where FIG again
collaborated with the Bank.
CheeHai Teo was accompanied by the President of FIG Foundation,
John Hohol and NSPS Executive Director Curt Sumner, who
introduced the FIG President to many of the governors and members of the
executive board including the outgoing President of NSPS, Robert Dann,
the newly elected President of NSPS, Lamar Evers, newly elected
President-elect Jon Warren, newly elected Vice President Patrick
Smith and secretary/treasurer John Fenn. CheeHai Teo was
also introduced to NSPS Office Manager, Membership Services, and Book Sales,
Ms
Trish Milburn.
Background row, right to left,
Robert Dann, Curt Sumner, Lamar Evers,
Patrick Smith
At the Board of Governors meeting on April 13th, it was remarked that the
Spring Meeting is important as NSPS national leadership come together to
dispense the work of the Society nationally and to bring back to their
respective states the deliberations and decisions.
FIG President welcomed the opportunity to address the Board of Governors
Meeting and to informed colleagues and fellow surveyors at the meeting on
recent global initiatives as well as international activities that has an
impact on the national and local practising scene. These included -
- The landmark resolution at the 23rd Session of UN-Habitat Governing
Council in April 2011 that affirmed the Continuum of Land Rights, which
include rights that are documented as well as undocumented, from
individuals and groups, from pastoralist and informal settlers, that are
legal as well as extra-legal and informal. This range of rights
generally cannot be described relative to a parcel, and therefore new
forms of spatial units are now needed.
- The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial
Information Management, established in 2011 to bring together, for the
first time at the global level, governmental experts from all member
states to consult on the rapidly changing field of spatial or location
information and to promote the use of geospatial information to address
global challenges facing humanity today
- FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure
of Land, Fisheries and Forestry endorsed on 11th May 2012 by the United
Nations Committee on World Food Security. The Voluntary Guidelines (VG)
represents a historic breakthrough that countries have agreed to these
first-ever-global tenure guidelines, particularly in the administration
of tenure.
- The joint World Bank/FIG Expert Group Meeting on Spatially
Fit-for-Purpose on April 12th, initiated initially to address the over
or under subscription of spatial technologies and accuracies. An initial
outcome is the consensus that Surveyors must be fit for purposes in all
their activities. World Bank and FIG are considering a statement of
principles as a next step.
Later in the morning, the Board of Governors consider a series of
initiatives to advance advocacy and further uplift the standing and image of
the Profession in the United States. The Board also embarked on strategic
planning, where the meeting considered the Profession’s strength, weakness,
opportunities and treats. The exercise analysed and prioritises core issues
to be addressed in the search for the more feasible path forward towards
greater significance and relevance within the Profession’s practising
jurisdiction.
It is worth noting that the NSPS Surveyor's Creed and Canons state
that “As a Professional Surveyor, I dedicate my professional knowledge and
skills to the advancement and betterment of human welfare”. The challenge
before the global community of surveyors is its contribution towards the
implementation and successes of these global initiatives, beginning at the
local level. FIG President opined that local practices and initiatives that
are aligned to national and international initiatives and understanding
should contribute towards global efforts in addressing the many challenges
face by humanity today.
CheeHai TEO
April 2013
21 May 2013
|
