Overview
Approximately 60 delegates, correspondents and invited observers from 32 countries attended the very enjoyable 1997 Annual Meeting of FIG Commission 7, held in Penang, Malaysia, from 5-9 May. The event was extremely well organised by a committee chaired by Dato' Abdul Majid Mohamed, Director-General of the Department of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia, in conjunction with the Ministry of Land and Cooperative Development, Malaysia, and the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia. In addition, at the opening ceremony the new ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics (FLAG) was officially launched. Apart from Commission 7 business, participants to the annual meeting visited the Penang offices of the Department of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia, the Department of Land and Mines, Malaysia, and the Penang GIS (PEGIS). Several cultural and tourist visits were also arranged. On Wednesday 7th May, over 100 participants attended an international symposium titled "Cadastral Systems in Developing Countries". Papers were presented on topics such as cadastral reform and a national infrastructure for land information systems in Malaysia, women's access to land and security of tenure, and legal, institutional, land policy and technical options for cadastral systems in developing countries. Various reports were received as well as decisions taken regarding certain future events and Commission operations. All delegates agreed this was one of the best meetings ever, and congratulated Dato’ Majid and his colleagues for organising such an excellent event.
Events Supported by Commission 7 During 1996/97
• the International Meeting on the Hellenic Cadastre, Athens, Greece, 23-27 June 1996 (attended by several invited Commission 7 delegates).
• the International Conference on Land Tenure and Administration, Gainesville, Florida, USA, 13-15 November 1996 (attended by Sue Nichols, Canada).
• 2nd and 3rd Meetings of the Permanent Committee on GIS and Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific, 29 September-4 October 1996, 1-2 February 1997 (attended by Ian Williamson).
• 14th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, 3-7 February 1997 (attended by Ian Williamson)
• Ad Hoc Meeting on Financing Land Administration Projects in Countries in Transition, UN Economic and Social Council, 3-4 March 1997 (attended by Ernst Hoeflinger, Austria).
• Meeting of Officials in Land Administration (MOLA), March 1997 (attended by Jürg Kaufmann, Switzerland).
Future Activities Involving Commission 7
1997
• FIG 64th Permanent Committee Meeting and Commission 7 Symposium, Singapore, 11-16 May 1997.
• FIG Workshop on Sustainable Land Management, Swindon, UK, 19 June 1997.
• iKUSASA conference, Durban, South Africa, 24-28 August 1997 (including a special session on informal settlements).
• Workshop on Rural Cadastre, XVIII Brazilian Cartographic Conference, 3-9 September 1997 (subject to appropriate support).
• "Modern Technologies of Cadastre" Conference, Sofia, Bulgaria, 19-20 November 1997.
1998
• FIG XXI Congress and 65th PC Meeting, Brighton, UK, 19-25 July 1998.
- Draft changes were noted to the Commission 7 technical program
- "Guidelines for Authors" to be sent out after Singapore PC meeting
- Papers to be edited by Professor Williamson and returned to authors if changes required.
• Cadastral Conference, Poland, possibly before or after FIG Congress. Commission 7 to support the event in principle.
1999
• FIG 66th PC Meeting, South Africa, plus Commission 7 symposium.
• FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting, Bay of Islands, New Zealand, 1-15 October 1999. To be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the New Zealand Institution of Surveyors.
• UN/FIG Workshop on Rights, Responsibilities and Restrictions on Land, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 18-21 October 1999.
2000
• FIG 67th PC Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, plus Commission 7 symposium.
• FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be hosted by Germany.
2001
• FIG 68th PC Meeting, Republic of Korea, plus Commission 7 symposium.
2002
• FIG XXII Congress and 69th PC Meeting, USA.
Future Commission 7 Working Groups (1998-2002)
For the commission's next term of office (1998-2002), three working groups have been proposed:
• Working Group 7.1: Quantifying and Classifying the Cadastre
- Proposed Chairperson, Jürg Kaufmann (Switzerland), supported by Tommy Osterberg (Sweden), secretary - Daniel Steudler (Switzerland).
- Incorporates a Taskforce on Cadastral-Related Standards, led by Winfried Hawerk (Germany).
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 2001.
• Working Group 7.2: Land Ownership for the 21st Century - Access to Land
- Proposed Chairperson, Ian Williamson (Australia), secretary to be decided.
- Incorporates a Taskforce on Women's Access to Land, led by Agneta Ericsson (Sweden), supported by Sue Nichols (Canada).
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 1999 (New Zealand), tied into the Bathurst meeting.
• Working Group 7.3: Land Markets
- Proposed Chairperson, András Ossko (Hungary), secretary to be decided.
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 2000 (Germany).
1997 FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting
Monday 5th May
In the opening session, the Commission Chairperson, Professor Ian Williamson (Australia), welcomed over 60 delegates, correspondents and invited observers from 32 countries, and outlined the functions and operation of the Commission. Participants were then welcomed by the Chairman of the organising committee, Dato' Abdul Majid Mohamed, Director-General of the Department of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia, who also took the opportunity to discuss the formation of the new ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics (FLAG). Finally, the Honourable Datuk Osu Haji Sukam, Minister of Land and Cooperative Development, Malaysia, formally opened the annual meeting and launched the ASEAN FLAG body. Other special guests at the opening ceremony were Mr Haji Hamzah Salleh, President of the Institution of Surveyors, Malaysia, and Mr Earl James, Honorary President of FIG.
In the next session, Professor Williamson conducted the Roll Call of delegates and correspondents to the meeting, and accepted apologies (see Annex A). The agenda for the meeting was reviewed and adopted. Reports were received for the following events in which Commission 7 participated during the past year:
• the International Meeting on the Hellenic Cadastre, Athens, Greece, 23-27 June 1996 (attended by several invited Commission 7 delegates).
• the International Conference on Land Tenure and Administration, Gainesville, Florida, USA, 13-15 November 1996 (attended by Sue Nichols, Canada).
• 2nd and 3rd Meetings of the Permanent Committee on GIS and Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific, 29 September-4 October 1996, 1-2 February 1997 (attended by Ian Williamson).
• 14th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, 3-7 February 1997 (attended by Ian Williamson).
• Ad Hoc Meeting on Financing Land Administration Projects in Countries in Transition, UN Economic and Social Council, 3-4 March 1997 (attended by Ernst Hoeflinger, Austria).
• Meeting of Officials in Land Administration (MOLA), March 1997 (attended by Jürg Kaufmann, Switzerland).
Participants attended a dinner in the evening hosted by the Honourable Minister of Land and Cooperative Development, Malaysia.
Tuesday 6th May
In the morning, participants to the annual meeting visited the Penang offices of the Department of Survey and Mapping, Malaysia, the Department of Land and Mines, Malaysia, and the Penang GIS (PEGIS). In the afternoon, a tour of Penang Island was conducted and cultural and tourist sites were visited. In the evening a dinner was hosted by the Land Surveyors Board of Peninsula Malaysia.
Wednesday 7th May
On Wednesday, over 100 participants attended an international symposium titled "Cadastral Systems in Developing Countries", at which the opening addresses were made by FIG President, Professor Peter Dale (UK), and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Land and Cooperative Development Malaysia, Dato' Dr. Nik Mohamad Zain Hj. Nik Yusof. Papers were presented on topics such as cadastral reform and a national infrastructure for land information systems in Malaysia, women's access to land and security of tenure, and legal, institutional, land policy and technical options for cadastral systems in developing countries.
Thursday 8th May
Discussion of the proposed 1998-2000 workplan for Commission 7 was led by Dr Paul Munro-Faure (Vice-Chairperson, UK) and preliminary comments were received on its structure and likely topics. The discussion continued on Friday 9 May.
Future Activities of Commission 7
1997
• FIG 64th Permanent Committee Meeting and Commission 7 Symposium, Singapore, 11-16 May 1997.
• FIG Workshop on Sustainable Land Management, Swindon, UK, 19 June 1997.
• iKUSASA conference, Durban, South Africa, 24-28 August 1997 (including a special session on informal settlements).
• Workshop on Rural Cadastre, XVIII Brazilian Cartographic Conference, 3-9 September 1997 (subject to financial support being received for instructors or else instructors being able to support their own attendance).
• "Modern Technologies of Cadastre" Conference, Sofia, Bulgaria, 19-20 November 1997.
1998
• FIG XXI Congress and 65th PC Meeting, Brighton, UK, 19-25 July 1998.
- Draft changes were noted to the Commission 7 technical program
- "Guidelines for Authors" to be sent out after Singapore PC meeting
- Papers to be edited by Professor Williamson and returned to authors if changes required.
• Cadastral Conference, Poland, possibly before or after FIG Congress. Commission 7 to support the event in principle.
1999
• FIG 66th PC Meeting, South Africa, plus Commission 7 symposium.
• UN/FIG Workshop on Rights, Responsibilities and Restrictions on Land, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 18-21 October 1999.
2000
• FIG 67th PC Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic, plus Commission 7 symposium.
2001
• FIG 68th PC Meeting, Republic of Korea, plus Commission 7 symposium.
2002
• FIG XXII Congress and 69th PC Meeting, USA.
Future Annual Meetings of Commission 7
1999
Bay of Islands, New Zealand, 1-15 October 1999. To be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the New Zealand Institution of Surveyors. A letter has been received by Professor Ian Williamson confirming New Zealand's intention to host the annual meeting. Participants could then travel onto the Bathurst, Australia, workshop being held the following week.
2000
FIG Commission 7 Annual Meeting will be hosted by Germany
Following discussion of the commission's future events and annual meetings, participants again separated into their three working groups for further discussions. In the afternoon, the final country presentations on privatisation and cost recovery activities were given.
FIG and ISO
A presentation was received from Mr Henry Tom (U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency, NIMA) on how FIG could be involved in the development of ISO standards and reports. The potential for adoption of the FIG Statement on the Cadastre as an official ISO Report was discussed and it was decided that Professor Williamson should raise the matter at the ACCO meeting in Singapore during the PC meeting, and propose that the FIG Bureau submit the statement to the ISO for adoption. Mr Winfried Hawerk (Germany) will lead a task force to facilitate adoption of the Statement of Cadastre and other matters in Commission 7 by the ISO. The meeting thanked Henry for his attendence and input.
OICRF
Mr Paul van der Molen addressed the meeting on the OICRF Marketing Plan that has recently been developed. Future initiatives include the digital supply of full text documents, improved query tools, logging user enquiry details, improved public relations and promotion, and modification of the internet site. Professor Williamson also spoke of the excellent work of the OICRF, of the former President Jo Henssen and the current President Paul Van der Molen, and its great potential and urged delegates to send copies to the OICRF library of relevant reports on the cadastral systems and land management processes in their own countries. He recommended that they put links on their own home pages to the OICRF web page and on-line enquiry service.
Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO)
Professor Williamson discussed the proposal to amend the name of the commission to "Cadastre and Land Tenure" at the Advisory Committee of Commission Officers (ACCO) at the 64th PC Meeting in Singapore. Discussion on the matter showed that delegates are not in favour of changing the present name, since the current title accurately reflects the work of the commission and the proposed name is too narrow in meaning. In addition, it is considered that the land management portion of the commission would not blend easily with the work of Commission 8, which is not seen to have a land management focus. It was recommended that a 1-page report be prepared for the Singapore ACCO meeting describing the framework within which the commission operates (attached).
Women in FIG
Due to the relatively large number of active women delegates attending the meeting the opportunity was taken to organise a "Women in FIG" meeting. The Vice Chairperson of Commission 1, John Parker, undertook to prepare a proposal for presentation to the Singapore PC. This was a very significant meeting since it certainly galvanised some key FIG women to play a more active role together with Kirsy Artimo (Vice-Chairperson, Commission 2). An important outcome of the Commission 7 Annual Meeting was to set up a Task Force under the Working Group Ian Williamson will chair in the 1998-2001 period, led by Agneta Ericsson on "Women’s acces to land".
In the evening, the commission held its annual dinner and gifts were presented to Dato' Majid Abdul Mohamad and his Malaysian organising committee, FIG President Peter Dale, and Honorary FIG President Earl James. The President of the FIG, Peter Dale, the Honorary President, Earl James and Ian Williamson expressed their gratitude on behalf of all delegates to Dato’ Majid and his colleagues for organising such an excellent meeting.
Friday 9th May
The proposed outline of the Report of FIG Commission 7 (1994-98) to be presented at the FIG Congress in Brighton, UK, was discussed and approved. The report will be about 20 pages in length. It was noted that the format has been adopted by the FIG Bureau for submission by all Commissions.
Reports were then received by the three Commission 7 Working Groups of their discussions during the annual meeting.
It was reported that the publisher, John Wiley & Sons, had decided not to proceed with either the International Journal of Land Management or the proposed book on land management to be authored by Commission 7 contributors. One option for publishing the book is to approach a UN agency such as the FAO. Regarding the journal, it was agreed that in the next term of the commission (1998-2002), an approach be again made to John Wiley to try and get the journal established with the assistance of Commission 7 in editorial and sub-editorial roles.
Daniel Steudler (Switzerland) summarised the progress made on reviewing the "Questionnaire on Privatisation and Cost Recovery" and the process to be followed now to finalise the results, which will be published in "The Australian Surveyor" in September 1997.
Dr Paul Munro-Faure (Vice-Chairman, UK) then discussed the proposed working groups for the commission's next term (1998-2002). Three working groups were proposed:
• Working Group 7.1: Quantifying and Classifying the Cadastre.
- Proposed Chairperson, Jürg Kaufmann (Switzerland), supported by Tommy Osterberg (Sweden), secretary - Daniel Steudler (Switzerland).
- Incorporating a Taskforce on Cadastral-Related Standards, led by Winfried Hawerk (Germany).
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 2001.
• Working Group 7.2: Land Ownership for the 21st Century—Access to Land
- Proposed Chairperson, Ian Williamson (Australia), secretary - to be decided.
- Incorporating a Taskforce on Women's Access to Land, led by Agneta Ericsson (Sweden), supported by Sue Nichols (Canada).
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 1999 (New Zealand), tied into the Bathurst meeting.
• Working Group 7.3: Land Markets
- Proposed Chairperson, Andras Ossko (Hungary), secretary - to be decided.
- 1-day symposium to be held at Commission 7 annual meeting in 2000 (Germany).
At the closing ceremony of the meeting, addresses were given by Dato' Abdul Majid Mohamad on behalf of the Malaysian organising committee, Vice-Chairperson Dr Paul Munro-Faure (UK), and Chairperson Professor Ian Williamson.
Ian Williamson
Chairperson
9 May, 1997
Annex A – List of Participants
Australia Mr Earl James
Prof. Ian Williamson
Prof. Don Grant
Mr John Parker
Dr Gary Hunter
Austria Dipl. Ing. Gerda Schennach
Dipl. Ing. Ernst Hoeflinger
Brunei Darussalam Hj. Alibakar bin Hj. Kasim
Pg. Hj. Matusin Pg. Hj. Matasam
Canada Dr Sue Nichols
Denmark Mrs Bodil Ekner
Prof. Stig Enemark
Egypt Mr Christoph Steinacher
Mr Rofail Shokry
Mr Shehata Ismael
Fiji Ms Mele Rakai
Finland Mr Mikko Uimonen
Germany Dr Winfried Hawerk
Greece Prof. John Badekas
Dr Chryssy Potsiou
Hong Kong Mr Wong Chung Hang
Hungary Mr András Ossko
Indonesia Mr Djoko Walijatun
Mr Ronny Kusuma Yudistird
Mr Robert Lumenpouw
Japan Prof. Taichi Oshima
South Korea Prof. Jung-Ho Kim
Mr Jong-Seo Kim
Mr Yong Mun Lee
Kyrgyzstan Assoc. Prof. Klara Ismaillova
Mrs Karima Haiullova (interpreter)
Laos Mr Oun Visounnalath
Malaysia Dato' Abdul Majid Mohamed
Encik Abdul Rahman Don
Encik Ali bin Ahmad
Encik Hamid bin Ali
Mr John Elvis Koh
Netherlands Ir. Jan Sonnenberg
Ir. Paul van der Molen
New Zealand Mr Andrei Link
Norway Prof. Hans Sevatdal
Mr Gotfred Rygh
Papua New Guinea Ms Mary Iatau
Philippines Mr Manuel Gerochi
Mr Jose Solis
Poland Prof. Andrzej Hopfer
Seychelles Ms Regina Sinon
Singapore Mr Anthony Lim Tow Keong
Mr Kang Ghee Keong
Mr Quah Kee Soo
Mr Tan Sek Leng
Mr Wee Soon Kiang
Mr Zhang Yi Guang
Sri Lanka Mr Ranasinglie Silva
Sweden Mr Tommy Osterberg
Mrs Agneta Ericsson
Switzerland Dipl. Ing. Jürg Kaufman
Dipl. Ing. Daniel Steudler
Tanzania Mr Muhammad Salim Sulaiman
Thailand Mr Visith Atthakorn
Uganda Mr Aggrey Agumya
UK Prof. Peter Dale
Dr Paul Munro-Faure
USA Mr Henry Tom
Vietnam Prof. Dr. Dang Hung Vo
Apologies Received
Czech Republic Mr Ivan Pesl
Germany Mr Richard Meyer
Lithuania Mr Romauldas Lasperavicius
Netherlands Prof. Jo Henssen
New Zealand Mr Bill Robertson
Assoc. Prof. Chris Hoogsteden
UK Mr Mark Griffiths
Dr Richard Bullard
Last Modified: November 1997.