Description: The United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management had recognized that to sustainably manage that significant portion of the Earth's surface that is covered by water - lakes, rivers and tributaries, deltas, seas, and oceans and all that it has to offer, governments will need to ensure that marine geospatial information management is fully integrated within the wider national digital information ecosystem for evidence-based policy development and decision making. Well managed and integrated marine geospatial information program nationally will be a necessity to meet the challenges of governance, planning, managing and coordinating resources, transportation, coastal resilience, recreation, and other aspects of the blue economy. The Operational Framework for Integrated Marine Geospatial Information Management (UN-IGIF-Hydro), a two-part document to leverage the guidance offered in the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF), provide practical guidance for countries to ultimately working towards the vision of the integrating marine geospatial information into the global geospatial information ecosystem and to enhance the ability to make informed decisions to support the preservation and management of the marine resources. At its thirteenth session in August 2023, the Committee of Experts, in decision 13/111, adopted the Operational Framework for Integrated Marine Geospatial Information Management comprising Part One - The Strategic Overview, and Part Two - The Strategic Pathways, and encouraged the Working Group to provide practical support for countries to extend the nine strategic pathways of the UN-IGIF into the hydro domain and the integration of marine geospatial information into the broader national geospatial information ecosystem. The Committee emphasized that it was strategically crucial for any national hydro or marine programmes to increase their value and recognition within the broader national geospatial information management programmes to support national development priorities, including the ability to address climate-related challenges and improve resilience, the land-sea interface, coastal zones and the pressing need to monitor sea level rise, recognizing their importance in mainstreaming the Blue Economy and achieving sustainable coastal resilience and development. The Working Group plays a leading role in marine geospatial information policies at the global level to support the wellbeing of billions of inhabitants reliant on sustainable inland water bodies and waterways, coastal zones, seas and oceans. The Working Group provides a forum for dialogue and coordination among Member States, and between Member States and relevant international organizations including the International Hydrographic Organization and the United Nations system to enhance global cooperation, advocate and improve the availability and accessibility of marine geospatial information. The Committee of Experts further noted that the Working Group would convene its sixth expert meeting with an international seminar in Indonesia in March 2024, jointly with the fifteenth meeting of the International Hydrographic Organization Marine Spatial Data Infrastructures Working Group and the 2024 meeting of the Open Geospatial Consortium Marine Domain Working Group.
Description: The twelfth plenary meeting, the formal annual meeting of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) was hosted by the Government of Indonesia through its Badan Informasi Geospatial in Bali, Indonesia. The week-long event also included a two-day Asia Pacific Geospatial Forum, the inter-regional committee meeting (a meeting of presidents and chairs of UN-GGIM regional committees, see below), a one-day workshop on geodetic reference frame and applications for disaster, a half-day workshop on the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) in Asia and the Pacific, and a half-day expert consultation and meeting on enhancing national geospatial information management and accelerating the achievements of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Asia Pacific Geospatial Forum was officially opened by HE Mr. Hadi Tjahjanto, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Indonesia. This regional forum, with the theme ‘Geo-Innovation for a Safe and Sustainable World’ brought together national, regional and international speakers to discuss how to unlock the potential of geospatial information through innovation, geo-enabling solutions for sustainable cities, innovation for effective land administration and developing the geospatial innovation capacities. Participants affirmed the valuable exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences and many looked forward to sound practices for implementing at the local level. The one-day workshop on geodetic reference frame and applications for disaster allowed participants to interact and discussed on geodesy and its relevance and application for science and society including efforts to better understand the dynamic Earth. The need for geodetic capacity development in the region was re-emphasized. The Regional Committee appreciated the engagement by the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence and provided valuable feedback to the Centre on its priorities including the preparation for a joint global geodesy development plan. The Regional Committee will encourage broad participation in the virtual consultation planned by the Centre together with the regional committee in January 2024. The co-Chair of the High-level Group of the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework from the United States provided a recorded ‘set-the-scene’ presentation for the half-day workshop on the UNIGIF. Every Member State from Asia and the Pacific shared how they are leveraging the UN-IGIF to strengthen and improve their national coordination and resources for their geospatial information management. The other four regional committees contributed with presentations related to their region. At the subsequent expert consultation on Friday 10 November 2023, Fiji, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal and Tonga shared their journeys towards their UN-IGIF country-level Action Plan. Many countries shared the need for leadership and robust governance arrangements with mandates and legislations. The need to engage stakeholders early in the journey was emphasized. Participants in the consultation appreciated the open exchange of experiences and perspectives and welcomed future opportunities to consult and discuss with one another in a collegial setting. Many countries appreciated the continuous ‘reminders’ to align their efforts to national development priorities and to operationalize the UN-IGIF according to their respective national circumstances. The twelfth plenary meeting was officially opened by HE Mr. Suharso Monoarfa, Minister of National Development and Planning. Twenty-one Member States were represented. In addition, Chile and the United States represented UN-GGIM: Americas and Saudi Arabia represented UN-GGIM: Arab States at the twelfth plenary meeting. At the meeting of the UN-GGIM-AP Executive Board and subsequently affirmed at the plenary meeting, China, Fiji and Nepal were welcomed as members of the Executive Board together with Indonesia (President), India, Japan and Singapore (Vice-Presidents) and Australia, Iran, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia and Russia. Also decided at the Executive Board Meeting and then confirmed at the plenary meeting, the establishment of the UNGGIM-AP Academic Network and UN-GGIM-AP Private Sector Network. These networks are expected to contribute and support the regional committee’s efforts towards the strengthening and improvement of geospatial information management in countries in Asia and the Pacific. All four working groups of the regional committee met, reviewed their progress, revisited their work-plans and agreed to a set of activities for the upcoming inter-plenary meeting period, including around awareness raising and capacity development. The thirteenth plenary meeting of UN-GGIM-AP will be hosted by India through the Survey of India in November 2024. The venue will be decided at a later date, in consultation with the UN-GGIM-AP Executive Board. Additionally, the plenary meeting agreed that the next meeting of its Executive Board will be hosted by Australia at Locate2024, which takes place in Sydney in May next year.
Organizer(s): UNSD Indonesian Geospatial Information Agency
Description: DESA, UNSD, the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) in collaboration with the Indonesian Geospatial Information Agency (Badan Informasi Geospasial - BIG) designed, coordinated and conducted the international training on toponymy, featuring 'Geographical Names as Cultural Heritage' from 19-23 June 2023, at the Padma Resort in Bali, Indonesia. The course was attended by 78 participants (34 females and 44 males), seven trainers, and 15 teaching assistants. Course participants were from the following seven countries: - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam and represented a cross section of disciplines including education, surveying, cartography, information management, linguistics, land administration and geospatial information management. This 5-day training consisted of 32 hours of lectures, exercises and group discussions and 12 hours of field work (including travel time) and covered topics such as the principles and concepts of geographical naming and the standardization of a country's toponyms, national names agencies models and procedures, geographical names data collection using modern methods, geographical names as cultural heritage, and geographical names data processing and management. This training was done in fulfillment of one of the goals set out in the UNGEGN Asia South-East (ASE) Division Work Plan 2019-2022 to be achieved during Indonesia's chairmanship. Initially, the training should have been held in conjunction with the 8th Divisional Meeting of the UNGEGN ASE Division in 2020. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the training had to be postponed for safety reasons. Indonesia's chairmanship of the Asia South East Division ended in April 2022, however, they remained committed to convening the International Training on Toponymy in 2023. The training was opened by Prof. Muh. Aris Marfai, head of BIG, who leads Indonesia in actively participating in both UNGEGN and UN-GGIM. A major highlight of the course was the names collection field exercise at cultural heritage sites within Bali, they were: Pura Tirta Empul, Pura Goa Gajah, and Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. The training ended with an assessment and evaluation exercise, followed by a closing ceremony with speeches from Mr. Peder Gammeltoft, convenor of the UNGEGN Working Group on training and Mr. Arif Syafii the deputy of Basic Geospatial Information-BIG.
Description: The Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics (APCAS) is a statutory body of FAO. APCAS brings together senior statistics officials from FAO member countries of the Asia and Pacific region, who are responsible for the development of agricultural statistics in their respective countries. They review the developments in their [...]
