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Inaugurated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of NepalGIS Forum South Asia '99In April 1999, His Royal Highness Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, the Crown Prince of Nepal, inaugurated the GIS Forum South Asia '99 in Kathmandu, Nepal. This conference attracted more than 500 professionals in the fields of remote sensing, GIS, and GPS technology from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Experts from the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East also participated. The primary objective of this forum was to develop a consensus for cooperation toward the development of a regional geographic information infrastructure (RGII) in that part of the world. It was also expected to increase awareness about the existing status of GIS technology in the South Asian countries. The overall goal of an RGII is to develop and standardize National Spatial Data Infrastructures (NSDIs) in the countries of the region and to integrate them into a regional-level information infrastructure. Egbert Pelinck, the director general of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), welcomed the participants and urged them to take the initiative to help develop a consensus on the concept of a South Asian RGII. M.P. Narayanan, president, Centre for Spatial Database Management and Solutions (CSDMS), congratulated Nepal in liberalizing its map policy, paving the way for rapid development of GIS applications for improving the quality of life for the masses. For more information, contact Basanta Shrestha, ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal (tel.: 977-1-525313 or 977-1-525316, fax: 977-1-524509 or 977-1-536747, E-mail: basanta@icimod.org.np). |
