Asian Association on Remote Sensing (AARS)

The General Conference was held on 5 & 6 November 1996 during the 17th ACRS at Colombo. The sessions were presided over by Mr. M. P. Salgado, Surveyor General of Sri Lanka. This was attended by participants from Australia, Bangladesh, China, China Taipei, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Kazakstan, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, UNESCAP, ISPRS and ESTO of Japan.

The General Secretary invited non-member countries to considers becoming ordinary or associate membership. He also spoke about the GIS Work Book, the first volume of which has been published recently. He invited countries to translate the book into their own languages and indicated that the book would also be published in CD ROM.

Azerbaijan, represented by Prof. Arif Mekhtiev, Director General of Azerbaijan National Aerospace Agency (ANASA), applied for ordinary membership of AARS. The General Conference considered his application and admitted Azerbaijan as ordinary member of AARS.

Publication of Memorial Book on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of ACRS was mooted for the first time in this General Conference. An Editorial Committee was constituted with Prof. Shaunji Murai as Chairman and Prof Bruce Forster, Mr. Manu Omakupt and Dr. M.U.Chaudhury as members.

The General Conference came up with the following recommendations on the development of remote sensing in the region:

Greater availability of satellite data with respect to cost, time and ordering procedure should be fostered
Greater opportunities for education and training including on-the-job training and computer-assisted teaching should be developed.
More efficient network for data exchange, data sharing and technical communication should be developed.
Greater regional cooperation on multi-lateral projects should be promoted.
Greater involvement of private sectors in development and use of remote sensing and GIS with view to the establishment of indigenous enterprises should be promote.