Space Tech and Geo-spatial in Nepal

Around two hundred participants from government organisations, the private sector, international organisations and academia attended a one-day seminar in Kathmandu, Nepal on space-technology applications and recent developments in geo-spatial products.

The main objective of the seminar held on 17th August 2005 and organised by the Survey Department of the Ministry of Land Reform and Management (MLRM), was to create awareness among decision makers about the application of space technology and it’s importance in decision making procedures. The seminar consisted of an inauguration session, a technical and a poster session.

Inauguration
The event was inaugurated by the lighting of an auspicious lamp by chief guest, Dr R.P. Chaudhary, hon. member of the National Planning Commission (NPC). Mr T.N. Baral, director-general of the Survey Department then welcomed participants and specially thanked Prof. Dr Michael Hahn, vice-president of Stuttgart University, Germany for his willingness to deliver the keynote speech. Starting out from the history of RS technology, Prof. Hahn elaborated upon recent developments in both airborne and space-borne imaging. He demonstrated a prototype of 3D visualisation of the Mt. Everest region. Dr Chaudhary assured the meeting that the NPC was ready to formulate policies for the promotion of space technology. Society would benefit more if all stakeholders would share and advocate a common vision on promoting the technology.

Technical Sessions
Six papers were presented during two technical sessions: three from the Survey Department, two from ERDAS India and one from ICIMOD. Sudarshan Karki and Rabin K. Sharma highlighted present application areas and future prospects for space technology in Nepal. They emphasised that the Survey Department should be the hub for geo-spatial data sharing. Raj Subedi and Dev Raj Paudyal elucidated to policy makers a new and innovative approach for informal settlement identification. Maheshwar Bhattarai described the man-land relationship and outlined the human resource requirement for geo-information and space technology application in Nepal. He concluded that the private sector should initiate the promotion of academic education in Geomatic Engineering. Vinay Babu of ERDAS India demonstrated the power of Leica products in 3D modelling and large-scale data processing. Pradeep Mool from ICIMOD demonstrated various studies carried out by ICIMOD, such as change-detection, geological map updating, disaster management, and urban planning. Survey Department should take the lead, he said, in resolving the need for an image catalogue.

Posters Session
Sudarshan Karki, Dev Raj Paudyal, Nab Raj Subedi and Sushil Narshingh Rajbhandari presented posters on activities in geo-information management and RS application.