The National Association of Surveying and Geoinformatics Lecturers (NASGL) has appealed to governments at all levels to regulate land use activities in order to mitigate possible negative impacts on natural resources for the implementations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The association made this appeal through a communique issued at the end of its second annual general meeting/ conference held at the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, under the theme“Geospatial Technologies and the Sustainable Development Goals”.
Our correspondent reports that the conference was aimed at situating the relevance and applicability of geospatial tools in the implementation of the SDGs.”.
The conference which was declared open by the Surveyor General of the Federation (SGoF), Surveyor Samuel Adeniran Taiwo, had President, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Surveyor C.D. Charles, Rector, FSS Oyo, Surveyor Dr. Dupe Nihinlola Olayinka and Chief Benjamin Adebimpe Lala among others in attendance.
The keynote paper titled, “Improving Weather and Climate Services Using GeoSpatial Techniques for Sustainable Development in Nigeria” was delivered by the DG/CEO Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Permanent Representative of Nigeria with World Meteorological Organization, Professor Sani Abubakar Mashi; who was represented by the Technical Assistant to the DG/CEO, Dr. Mansur Matazu.
A paper titled “Research Writing, Grants and Funding” was delivered by Prof. Olajide Kufoniyi, while another paper, “Contemporary Issues in Surveying Education, Professional Practice and Transition to Geomatics”, was delivered by Prof. J.B. Olaleye.
A total of 30 technical papers were presented at the Conference which focused on different applications of Surveying and Geoinformatics in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the perspective of geospatial creativity and mapping, data science and management and geospatial knowhow technology/knowledge transfer (KHTT). There was a workshop on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Data Capture and Processing, supported by a familiarization tour of the newly installed FSSO GNSS CORS infrastructure.
NASGL in the communique signed by Surveyor (Professor) Lazarus M. Ojigi, (NASGL Chairman) and Surveyor (Mrs) O.O. Opatoyinbo (NASGL Secretary), urged governments at all level to regulate land use activities in order to mitigate possible negative impacts on natural resources for the implementations of the SDGs.
The communique reads, “Government should accord due recognition to geospatial technologies and mapping for effective monitoring and management of pipeline vandalism and oil spillage in Nigeria.
“Government and the national mapping agency should adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and emerging aerial mapping techniques for hazard detection and environmental security; for making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable in Nigeria. Governments should deploy geospatial technologies and mapping in air pollution monitoring and safety of life in Nigeria.
“Thematic databases from geospatial technologies should be adopted by governments for environmental hazard (gully erosion, flooding, landslides, etc.) emanating from human and naturally-induced disasters in Nigeria.
“Government should provide sufficient funding for Surveying and Geoinformatics education and training; in order to provide qualified manpower, up to date equipment and facilities to effectively support the objectives of SDGs in Nigeria.
“There is need for the redefinition of the Nigerian Geodetic Reference System (Vertical Datum, Geocentric Datum, Geoid determination, etc) in order to support SDGs agenda and dedicated spatially referenced projects. Governments should encourage the use of geospatial data management in telecommunications towards improvement of quality of life (poverty reduction and wealth creation) in Nigeria.
“Governments should regulate land use activities in order to mitigate possible negative impacts on natural resources for the implementations of the SDGs.
“The government should invest more resources on geospatial technologies for improved weather and climate services/initiatives for environmental sustainability, navigational safety and food security in the country. Relevant agencies should be encouraged to give relevant priorities to the applications of geospatial technologies and mapping of navigable routes on national waterways in Nigeria.
“Government should expand the GNSS and electronic mapping infrastructure for effective environmental and infrastructural quality control and management in Nigeria. Relevant agencies of government should deploy state-of-the-art geospatial technologies for electric power generation/distribution infrastructure inventory and management in Nigeria.
“Geospatial technologies, surveying and mapping should be integrated for dam infrastructure monitoring for optimized volumetric analysis and structural safety in Nigeria.
“SURCON should completely remove the professional practice restriction on NASGL members and allow 100% professional practice by all interested surveyors in the academia anywhere within the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because, for the lecturers, 100% surveying and geoinformatics practice in Nigeria is a component of capacity building and curriculum delivery for ‘students-in-training’ in institutions of learning”
