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By cadastral surveying I mean the mathematical definition
of parcels of land in a uniform, country-wide system that uses
a coordinate system and large-scale multipurpose maps together
with permanent registers containing number of pertinent
informations, among them alphabetic register of land owners and
numerical register of parcels.
By legal surveying I mean the measuring of parcels of land
to provide their size, shape and the relative location. This
information is usually in a form of a diagram of property
boundries frequently accompanied by their verbal description.
Often such diagrams show no connection to adjacent surveys.
Skipping entirely a discussion of the relative merits of
these quite different systems, one must notice that despite the
impressive advancement in the technology of surveying and mapping
both types operate using concepts formulated centuries ago. When
accepting new techniques, (often with hesitation and resistance)
such as, for instance, the use of computers for the processing,
storage and display of data, no effort is made to formulate new
operational concepts. The result is that the cadastral or legal
survey specifications do not allow and advise the use of
powerful, simple, fast and economical photogrammetric techniques.
Certainly, appropriate adaptions could permit the entry of
photogrammetry as an essential part of a dynamic multipurpose
cadastre, constituting a general land information system. From
such a system a multitude of other surveying and mapping products
could be derived. Without such a system no meaningful progress
can be made in one provision of land information systems that are
desperately needed everywhere but particularly in many developing
countries. At present, if anything, the situation is getting
worse in view of the rapidly growing world population and the new
demands resulting from socio-economic changes. The loser is
society at large, again particularly in developing countries.
But there are other losers. These are the members of our
profession (photogrammetrists and surveyors alike) who through
their own indolence and, yes, ignorance, are being forced from
some areas of their traditional responsibility.
In order to assess properly this embarrassing state of
affairs, one must first take a detached and rather global view
of scientific and technical advances in general, then look at our
apparent incapability of solving technically trivial but
economically important problems. Indeed we must remind ourselves
that we are living in the era of the conquest of the moon, during
which ama singly detailed maps of the celestial bodv were
produced. I will pass over the often incredible possibilities
provided by advancements in physics, chemistry, biosciences,
medicine and engineering. I must, however, mention some of the
eifects of these advancements on our own field. We have now a
whole new array of instruments to record the surface of the earth
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