News in 2006

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Picture of the two FIG Councils and two Presidents Holger Magel and Stig Enemark.

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FIG established a working group to highlight the current and future need for research and action in the field of disaster risk management in the year 2003. After three years of research in the form of expert meetings as well as papers and posters presented at the FIG conferences, FIG publication presents application-oriented concepts, methods and instruments for an effective disaster risk management. The publication is result of the work of FIG Working Group 8.4 on Risk and Disaster Management. ISBN-10: 87-90907-58-2

Hard copies will be available by the FIG Congress in Munich.
Joint FIG Commissions 4 and 7 Working Group 4.3 has been active in the areas of Coastal Zone Management, Marine Cadastre and Marine Governance since 2002. Result of this work is now published in the FIG Publication series as publication no. 36 "Administering Marine Spaces: International Issues". The publication comprises a number of papers that focus on issues related to the administration of marine spaces from regional perspectives. Its purpose is to stimulate further discussion and research in this most important subject area. Whilst it is not possible to deal with all issues, it does underscore the international importance of administering marine spaces.

Hard copies will be available by the FIG Congress in Munich.
The XXII FIG Congress in Munich was a total success. The FIG Congress was attended by 1,300 delegates from about 100 countries. Together with the Intergeo Conference and other simultaneous events the congress was attended by 3,000 participants. The Intergeo exhibition attracted about 19,500 visitors to the ICM in Munich. At the opening ceremony the welcome address was given by Dr. Edmund Stoiber, Bavarian Minister President, the presidential address by Prof. Holger Magel, FIG President and the keynote address by Dr. Klaus Töpfer, long-time General Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. The opening ceremony attracted a full hall of 1,400 participants to ICM. The social highlights the welcome reception at the Holiday Inn gathered 700 people and the Surveyors Meeting 1,800 people to Löwenbräukeller and the Farewell Dinner about 600 people to the Hofbräuhaus - all these events were sold out.

The Congress programme and papers (almost 600 papers) are available on the FIG web site at: www.fig.net/pub/fig2006. The proceedings will be finalised within some days including handouts of the presentations.

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  • Main speeches
    • Shaping the Change 2002-2006 – The German Period of FIG. FIG President’s Address by Prof. Holger Magel, FIG President at the Opening Ceremony of the XXIII FIG Congress in Munich on 10 October 2006.
    • Opening Speech by the Bavarian Minister President Dr. Edmund Stoiber at
      the 23rd International FIG Congress on 10 October 2006 in Munich.
    • For a More Just World – the Surveyors’ Role for Achieving Sustainable Development. Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony by Dr. Klaus Töpfer
    • Shaping the Change - Congress Summary. Closing Address by Prof. Holger Magel, FIG President at the Closing Ceremony of the XXIII FIG Congress in Munich on 13 October 2006.
  • FIG General Assembly in Munich, Germany 8 and 13 October 2006 - Prof. Stig Enemark elected as the new FIG President, Mr. Matt Higgins, Dr. Dalal S. Alnaggar and Prof. Paul van der Molen elected as new Vice Presidents - FIG Working Week 2011 in Morocco - FIG has now more than 100 member associations - Minutes are now available
Click picture for bigger format. The FIG General Assembly was held in conjunction to the FIG Congress 2006 in Munich, Germany. Minutes of the meeting are available on the FIG web site.
The meeting was attended by 65 member associations.
Major decisions of the General Assembly include:
  • Prof. Stig Enemark from Denmark was elected as the new President of FIG 2007-2010
  • Mr. Matt Higgins (Australia) and Dr. Dalal S. Alnaggar (Egypt) were elected as Vice Presidents for 2007-2010 and Prof. Paul van der Molen as Vice President for 2007-2008.
    The new Council will start its work 1.1.2007. The fourth Vice President is Mr. Ken Allred from Canada who will continue in the new Council. Dr. Chryssy Potsiou has been appointed as the ACCO representative in the Council for 2007-2008.
  • FIG Working Week 2011 was admitted to Marrakech, Morocco after hard competition with Rome, Italy and Puerto Rico and Nigeria.
  • 6th FIG Regional Conference will be held in San Jose, Costa Rica, 11-15 November 2007
  • Nine new member associations were approved from Tanzania, Benin, Iran, Congo D.R., Mongolia, Georgia, Hong Kong SAR China, China P.R. and Brazil. In addition five new affiliate members (ANZLIC, Iceland, Mongolia, Macedonia FYROM and Romania were admitted FIG membership. The General Assembly also endorsed membership of 7 new corporate members and 13 academic members.
  • Mr. Jürg Kaufmann (Switzerland) and Prof. Kazimierz Czarnecki (posthumously) were appointed as Honorary Members of FIG.
  • Four new FIG publications were launched.
  • Reports from the President and the final reports from ACCO and commissions for 2002-2006 were approved as well as the draft commission work plans for 2007-2010 were introduced.

Minutes are available on the FIG web site.

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  • FIG Annual Review 2006
The FIG Annual Review 2006 has now been published. Hard copies of the annual review have been mailed to all members. If you have not received a copy, you can contact the FIG office, email: FIG@fig.net. You can also download the FIG Annual Review from here: The FIG Annual Review 2006 - in pdf-format (999 KB)
Click picture for bigger format. Proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on Secure Land Tenure: "New Legal Frameworks and Tools in Asia and the Pacific" held at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand are now published as a hard copy. Proceedings are also available on the web.

The meeting aimed to discuss new legal frameworks for the improvement of land tenure security and access to land related benefits, discuss new ideas regarding tools needed to support the implementation of these new legal frameworks, identify pro poor land administration approaches for both urban and rural areas, discuss evolutionary approaches for recording and mapping of land tenure forms, discuss possibilities to improve existing land administration systems, learn from countries that face these situations in the region, and to encourage decision makers to pay adequate attention to the implementation aspects of land policy.

Inquiries for hard copies, please contact Ms. Pauline van Elsland, email: pauline.vanelsland@kadaster.nl
Click picture for bigger format. The 3rd Session of the World Urban Forum attracted some 10,000 participants from over 100 countries to Vancouver, Canada 18-23 June 2006. FIG played an active role in the networking events on Global Land Tool Network and in the Habitat Professionals Forum. Joint activities with UN-Habitat in Stockholm in 2008 were confirmed.

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 On the weekend of 16–18th June ten countries in Europe marked the occasion of 34 triangulation points of surveying importance being accepted by UNESCO for inscription on the World Heritage List. In Norway the official gathering took place at the meridian monument at Fuglenes in the city of Hammerfest in the county of Finnmark. Professor Jan De Graeve from Belgium and Honorary Secretary of the International Institution for the History of Surveying and Measurement, Jim Smith from England, were guests of honour.

Head of Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority Mr Knut Flåthen (left), Professor Jan De Graeve, Mr Bjørn Geirr Harsson, the Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Costal Affairs Helga Pedersen, Honorary Secretary Mr Jim Smith, and the Mayor of Hammerfest Mr Alf E. Jakobsen.