Conference Introduction

Ramón M. Lorenzo Martínez,

Vice President of the International Cartographic Association
Madrid (ES)

It is a great privilege for me to address all of you in the Opening session of the Conference CoastGIS´03. I am very honnoured acting as Vice President of the International Cartographic Association and I have to thank the conveners: GISIG-Geographical Information Systems International Group- and ICCOPS- International Centre for Coastal and Ocean Policy Studies- the facilities and invitation to attend this meeting.

I would like to introduce my presentation with a first consideration about the motto chosen for the Conference: " Integrating Information in Coastal Zone Management".

This motto suggests the themes to be discussed in the meeting. First of all, and it should be strengthened, the Conference will discuss about the way to get the best representation and understanding of coastal reality and how Geographival Information Systems may help to achive these goals.

It is well known that during the last decade there has been a fast-growing process of world tranformation and technological change. It is also widely asserted that information technologies play a relevant role in this process. Significant improvements have been achieved regarding the development of geographic information science.

These technological changes have a deep and positive effect within the geotechnology field. The remote sensing technologies, the new high-resolution satellite constelations for the Earth observation, and the global navigation and positioning satellite systems will enhance the current perfomance regarding accuracy, availability and data quality. In this sense Egnos and Galileo will be a key European contibution in this field.

In a sense three main facts were the cause of a deep social transformation and actually direct us into the information society. Multimedia products, mobile terminals and the Internet become the most innovative tools for knolwledge and information exchange ever known.

The new instruments facilitate a new a approache to the description and transformation of the Earth geography through digital patterns. A huge volumen of geographical data, will be very hepful as a referentiation support to databases managed by geographical information systems.

We will consider in CoastGIS´03 environmental analysis and applications to face the increasing threats of coastal natural disasters and rapid environmental changes, including climate warming and its effects, coastal population growth, land degradation and a reduction in biodiversity. Such changes have an influence on people quality of life.

Geotechnologies must help to solve these problems in order to strengthen the ecological integrity and a sustainable development. Undoubtedly geoinformation has become the touchstone to analyze all the events taking place on the surface of Earth and the changes produced on it by the effects of time.

Concerning this matter I have to say that during the last two decades more than 15 accidents involving large oil carries caused hugh civil and economic loses. In order to prevent maritime disasters it should be necessary to implement integrated coastal manegement systems and decision-making processes. They would be oriented to stablish sure maritime navigation for risk prevention and emergency manegement.

Geotechnologies will be a key reference for the representation and understanding of coastal reality. CoastGIS´03 will address these matters in order to facilitate the use of Geographical Information Systems for coastal zone management.

In this sense I would like to make know one of the aims for the next International Cartographic Conference to be held in A Coruña (Spain) in 2005. It will be to have a strong presence of marine cartography and pay a great attention to hidrography matters.

Thank you.