Create synergy between the science and application of geospatial databases,” exhorted PS Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences. Delivering the keynote address after inaugurating the four-day International Symposium on Geospatial Databases for Sustainable Databases in Goa, Dr Goel said when people talk about sustainable development, it is imperative they talk about issues relating to earth.

India is looking for a database for development. But the issue is not just about the creation of databases but to make them available to the right person at the right time. Goel said it is equally important to develop common standards to make different systems interoperable to facilitate the exchange of data and to have some agency that can take the responsibility of maintaining the databases, like the NSDI. Apart from these ingredients, Goel said space is the basic enabler of spatial data, in which India has made significant capacity.

“Having done this,” Goel said, “we need to address other things. The issues of development are not necessarily the issues of population alone, they also come while exercising the development.” He cited the example of global warming which was caused by the release of chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere, a bye-product of technology. It is a good news that technology has inturn provided answers and the depletion of ozone layer has come to a halt. “We cannot say we cannot take up development because it creates problems. Here’s where the relevance of sustainability comes in,” Goel said.

Detailing the activities of ISPRS TC-IV, Dr Shailesh Nayak, its president, said maps, which have been used by humans more as an art from times immemorial have now matured into a complex science of digital photogrammetry and cartography. These are the times when there is an immense interest in extraterrestrial mapping among the scientific community. A significant development in the recent times as regard to geospatial databases is the setting up of national level spatial data infrastructures, the implementation of which is at different stages in different countries though, he said.

He then listed out the areas where ISPRS TC-IV is actively working – automatic extraction of spatial data from high resolution data, visualization, location based services, capturing of 3-D objects, emergency response and homeland security.