«159 - 
INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND REMOTE SENSING 
Commission VI 
Symposium held in Mainz, FR Germany, 22 - 25 September 1982 
  
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTATION CENTER 
ON. oSURVEYILNG! AND MAPPING 
INCLUDING REMOTE SENSING 
(Statistical data serving ISPRS, ICA, FIG and others) 
Prof. Dr. Arthur J. Brandenberger 
Chairman ISPRS Working Group VI-1 
Department of Photogrammetry, Laval University, Quebec, Canada 
ABSTRACT 
Past and present surveys by the United Nations and FAO led to the establish- 
ment of a world-wide surveying and mapping (S&M) data bank in the Depart- 
ment of Photogrammetry, Laval University. This data bank, started around 
1966, includes information on the world's S&M organizations, the status of 
world geodesy and cartography and on educational and research facilities. The 
data bank includes a large amount of addresses and numerous statistics on 
S&M manpower, expenditures, equipment, production, etc. Such data are of 
essential importance for global planning purposes and promotion and defending 
professional S&M interests by various national and international organi- 
zations such as ISPRS, FIG, IAG, ICA, etc. Dissemination of such vital infor- 
mation could be best achieved by creating an international documentation 
center on S&M, jointly supported by all these international bodies. The 
paper deals in more details with such a project. 
idt 
  
—— 
  
Introduction 
Surveying & Mapping (S&M) is one of the oldest profession in the history of 
mankind. From simple land surveying and mapping it developed into a sophisti- 
cated activity embracing geodesy, photogrammetry, remote sensing; topographic 
and thematic cartography plus various kinds of surveying such as land sur- 
veying (cadastral surveying), engineering surveying, construction surveying, 
mining surveying and hydrographic surveying. The profession today embraces a 
manpower of more than one million on a global basis and the world presently 
spends about US § 8 billion per year for its S&M operation or about 0.71% 
of the world's Gross Product. 
Surveying and Mapping is an essential and the first phase of any development 
project and as such has an impact upon the economy and rentability of such 
projects and consequently on the national or world's economy, directly or 
indirectly. The increasing shortage of natural resources in recent years 
has put more emphasis on the establishment of complete and accurate inven- 
tories of these resources, an activity which can only be successfully com- 
pleted on the basis of a comprehensive S&M operation. An incomplete S&M 
base hampers the world's resources! exploitation operation and it is esti- 
mated that due to a too slow S&M progress annual losses in the world's eco- 
Bibliographic quotation : 
Brandenberger, À. : International documentation Center on surveying and mapping including 
remote sensing. In: Int.Archive of Photogrammetry, 24 - VI, pp 159 - 164, Mainz 1932