Environment and Ecology

Introduction

Asia Geospatial Forum has matured as a conference and is now widely recognised as one of the largest and most important geospatial industry event in Asia Pacific. Being a media company born out of the sheer need for reliable information, resource material and latest developments in the realm of geospatial technology, Geospatial Media & Communications endeavours to create awareness about geospatial technology; connect various stakeholders of geospatial community; advocate in creating the right policy environment; and provide an ideal platform for business development activities. For these exact reasons, developing countries with emerging geospatial drive are chosen to host Asia Geospatial Forum, with main objective of fostering the industry’s growth within the country and region.

Vietnam has been putting itself on the path of economic growth and development post the War. The country is adopting modern technologies to be on par with other South East Asian countries and is capitalising on the second mover advantage to evolve its geospatial footprint. With its first remote sensing satellite on the way, and Spatial Data Infrastructure Program initiated, Vietnam is on the right track towards full utilisation of geospatial information. Although the major usage is still in the natural resource management such as land and forestry, geospatial elements has also tapped into the fast-rising sectors such as transportation, utilities, public safety and urban planning.

 Considering the encouraging developmental setting, adequate infrastructure and growing investments by the government and international investors, Asia Geospatial Forum will travel for the first time to Vietnam, with hope to further facilitate its geospatial growth. The 11th Asia Geospatial Forum will be held on 17-19 September 2012 in Hotel Melia, Hanoi.

Theme

“Enabling Geo-Governance”
Economic growth and the rapidgrowth of cities have brought enormous change to most Asia Pacific countries, raising living standards and reducing poverty, but at considerable social and environmental costs. It was predicted by 2025, the urban population in the region will touch 2.3 billion people. The projected continuation of the urbanization process will further strain the sustainability of the cities unless major improvements in city governance and management, investment are implemented.In a positive light, the need for improved governance has witnessed growing demand for the collection, integration, management and sharing of reliable spatial information. Governance issues such as land administration; sustainability of forest, natural resources and environment; modernizedutilities and transportation provision; mining and exploration; increasing disaster management and public safetycan be; has beenaddressed in holistic manner through geospatial implementation. The theme “Enabling Geo-Governance” will discuss the issues and challenges in mainstreaming geospatial information into national development practice and bring forward the technologies that could meet those challenges. Two sub-themes have been derived that will serve as the main topics of discussion:

• Mainstreaming Geospatial Information for Nation Building
• Strengthening Technology Capacity towards Geo-Governance

Objectives of the Conference

• To provide comprehensive overview onn the use of geospatial technology as a tool for decision making, planning, implementation and execution at each and every level ofGovernment, Private Users, Industry and Academia;
• To create a dialogue platform and facilitate exchanges between policy-makers, user communities and industry;
• To highlight integration of geospatial with different user segmentsspecificallyLand Administration, Forestry, Utilities, Transportation, Disaster Management,Public Safety, River Management, Mining and Exploration;
• To showcase thetechnology and emerging trends in geospatial fields such as Global Navigation Satellite System, Cloud Computing, Web-GIS, Laser Scanning &LiDAR, Open Source and 3D Modeling;
• To facilitate networking opportunities and interaction with various stakeholders of geospatial industry; and
• To host a business development platform for geospatial industry to showcase their latest geospatial offerings and create new business prospects.

Exchange Forums

Exchange Forumserves as an endeavour to address the need for a dialogue platform between various stakeholders in the geospatial ecosystems and facilitate exchange of knowledge and experience in the region. Asia Geospatial Forum 2012 will host two Exchange Forums on following topics:

• Land Administration for Economic Development
• Engaging SMEs in Nation Building

Land Administration for Economic Development
The Asia Pacific region has distinguished itself in the past decade as the world’s most rapidly developing region. Cities are expanding and new ones being developed in order to facilitateaccommodatepopulation growth and to generate new source of income.Over the years, the role of land administration has been observed to evolve into addressing more global issues involving environmental management, sustainable development and community growth. An efficient land administration and management practices has become crucial to facilitate better planning, licensing and valuation of land that subsequently lead to economic development of a country. The Exchange Forum on Land Administration for Economic Development will serve as an exclusive platform facilitating dialogues between LandAuthorities in Asia and the industry to achieve the following:

• Sharing of experience and knowledge in land administration practices through different country representatives in the region;
• Identifying the challenges commonly faced in the region and discussion on ways to meet them;
• Formulating the best land administration system that fits the region specifically towards economic development interest.

Engaging SMEs in Nation Building
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a vital component in geospatial industry. They are the bridge between the technology manufacturer and end user. Through their local knowledge and expertise, SMEs providecustomized solutions to customers by integrating different technologies and adding value that fits different customers’ needs. Being a source of employment, competition, economic dynamism, and innovation; SMEs have become a key pillar in a country’s economy. However, in this economic trying time, some SMEs are strained and under pressure to keep up with the changing dynamics of the industry. It goes to show that SMEs with cohesive business models and strong value propositions still need both governmental and financial support in order for them to start venturing into new niche and continue their survival. The Exchange Forum will bring representatives from SMEs and top level government officials in the region to have a dialogue session on prospects and challenges of geospatial industry in Asia, and deliberate on the following:

• Government’s role in creating more opportunities for SMEs to be involved in big projects;
• Ways to increase SMEs capacity and competitiveness to meet government’s expectation;
• Public-Private Partnership on developing new projects that could lead to growth of a sector, state, a country and its respective economy.