A team from the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission (GL&SC), including its Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Benn, is currently in Hanoi, Vietnam for the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) Working week, a conference that brings the international community of surveying and spatial professionals together to discuss key challenges within the surveying profession.
Accompanying the Commissioner are Mr. Veit Mendonca, Senior Land Administration Officer, and Mr. Joel Trotman, Land Use Planner, the body said in a press release issued today.
During a presentation to the delegates of the conference, Benn used the opportunity to highlight efforts Guyana is making to modernise its National Spatial Data Infrastructure, (NSDI) – a digital and open-data geospatial information system – in support of national growth, G&SC further said. The NSDI facilitates communications among different sectors and enhances decision-making processes. The commission further revealed that it worked in tandem with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to bring an NSDI action plan into fruition.
Furthermore, Benn told the conference that he was extremely pleased with the development of the action plan. This action plan, he reminded sets out the priorities for improving the cooperation in data and information management.
Explaining why NSDI is critical and much needed in Guyana, Mr. Benn told the delegates, “The NSDI helps different sectors to combine their information and database to create one map, so that all sectors can make decisions together.” He added that, “It will enable the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission to interact better with other agencies and have better information to support farmers, the agriculture sector, the Guyana Police Force and all other critical agencies.”
Only last week the Commission informed a number of local stakeholders on progress made on the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Action Plan for Guyana.
While in Vietnam the Commissioner also met with the Chairman of the Vietnam Natural Resources and Environment Corporation, Mr. Le Xuan Dung, at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in Vietnam to discuss areas of cooperation for Guyana’s successful implementation of NSDI.
The conference which was officially declared open on April 22 will conclude on April 26.
