The Fourth Asian Conference on Remote Sensing
Colombo, Sri Lanka. 10-15 November, 1983

Introduction

H. E. late J.R. Jayardane, the President of Sri Lanka opening the fourth ACRS

The Fourth Asian Conference on Remote Sensing was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 10 to 15 November 1983. Its Opening Ceremony was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (B.M. I.C.H.) Colombo and subsequent technical sessions at the Pegasus Reef Hotel, Wattala, which is situated in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. ACRS was organized by the Asian Association on Remote Sensing and sponsored by the Centre for Remote Sensing in the Survey Department, Ministry of Lands & Land Development, Sri Lanka, Japan Association of Remote Sensing (JARS), International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) and Japan Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (JSPRS).

Objectives

The prime objective of this conference was to discuss broadly Asian problems on Remote Sensing and to exchange academic and technical information in order to promote its operational application.

Late Cristopher Nanayakkra assisting H.E. the President in lighting the ceremonial lamp at the opening ceremony.

Opening Session

The 4th ACRS was inaugurated by His Excellency the late J.R.Jayawardane, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Hon. the late Gamini Dissanayake, Minister of Lands, Land Development and Mahaweli Development was one of the principal speakers at the inaugural session. The opening session was attended by a large gathering of over 400 elites including university lecturers, senior administrators, planners, policy makers and scientists in the country, as well as all the participants of the ACRS. Among other speakers at the session were Professor Shunji Murai, General Secretary of AARS and late Mr. S.D.F.C. Nanayakkara, Surveyor General, Survey Department of Sri Lanka.

Full page newspaper supplements were brought out by two leading newspapers of Sri Lanka namely "The Daily News" and "Dinamina" to commemorate this occasion. The following is a message from the Hon. Minister of Land Development and Mahaweli Development

Full page newspaper supplements were brought out by two leading newspapers of Sri Lanka namely "The Daily News" and "Dinamina" to commemorate this occasion. The following is a message from the Hon. Minister of Land Development and Mahaweli Development

I have been entrusted with the task of the development of a large sector of the national economy. This development has to be planned for and implemented systematically in order to create a favorable impact on the standard of living of all our people.
This task requires the location and study of the available resources and the planning of the implementation stage so that the optimum benefits would accrue to the national economy . Such a process requires the adoption of techniques that would produce quicker and more efficient results.

In this regard, remote sensing is one of the technologies that my ministry has advocated to be used in the identification of monitoring of our national resources. We have started this effort with modest beginnings and the assistance that we have received in this regard from our friendly nations is most encouraging.

In this respect, I wish to mention the collaborative projects launched with the assistance of the United States of America and Switzerland. I wish to place on record the appreciation of my ministry in this regard.

Remote sensing is a technology that has applications in several other field of activity such as mineral resources, marine resources, agriculture and urban development. The ministries with responsibilities over these fields are already adopting some aspects of these techniques. I would commend to these ministries the continuation of their applications in remote sensing techniques to even a greater degree in the relevant fields. I wish to state that all agencies could in this respect, use the facilities available in the Centre for Remote Sensing of the Survey Department.

The co-sponsoring of the Fourth Asian Conference on Remote Sensing in Sri Lanka during the period from November 10th to 15th by the Center for Remote Sensing of the Survey Department along with the Japan Association for Remote Sensing is a step taken by the government to encourage our scientists and resources managers to be alive to the advantages and advances of the technology of Remote Sensing in planning for the exploration of resources within their fields of activity.

While wishing the conference all success in their deliberations I wish to see more and more scientists and resource managers utilizing remote sensing techniques for the speedy and more efficient utilization of our resources.

Hon. Gamini Dissanayake
Minister, Lands, Land Development and Mahaweli Development.

Profesor Arthur C Clarke discussing with late Mr. Nanayakkara, Surveyor General & Mr. Herut, Deputy Surveyor General during the fourth ACRS.

Delegates:

A total number of 187 delegates (112 local participants and 75 overseas participants) from 20 Asian and non-Asian countries & organizations participated in the 4th ACRS. The Asian countries present were Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Non-Asian countries such as Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Holland, U.K, U.S.A., West Germany and United Nations representatives participated as observers.

Scientific Deliberations

A total number of 83 papers were presented in this conference including 9 National reports from different Asian countries which described the overall activities in each country in the field of Remote Sensing Technology and its applications. There were 40 technical presentations and 29 poster sessions and also 5 papers on special topics. The technical papers dealt with research and development works in remote sensing, with particular reference to the application of remote sensing technology in Agriculture & Forestry, Land use Resources Study, Water Resources and Marine Resources. There were also papers on data processing and training in the field of remote sensing.

A group of participants at the 4th ACRS received by the Organizing Committee upon arrival at Bandernaike Air Port in Colombo.

The proceedings of the conference highlighted the application of the remote sensing technology in resource identification, management and monitoring as it is a powerful tool for above tasks. Compared to the conventional techniques, most of the Remote sensing data users in various countries have applied these techniques to their development activities in various fields. Remote sensing data is being applied by Sri Lankan scientists for their on-going activities.

ASIAN ASSOCIATION ON REMOTE SENSING (AARS)

General Conference on the AARS was held during the 4th ACRS. Representatives from different Asian countries were present. Mr. Nanda Abeywickrema, Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Land Development, Sri Lanka was elected Chairman of the AARS for the year 1984 and he presided over both sessions. Late Mr. S.D.F.C. Nanayakkara then Surveyor General who was Chairman of the Organizing Committee and Professor Shunji Murai, General Secretary of AARS supported the proceedings.

Other Activities

Commercial Exhibits from Optronics International Sales Corp. (U.S.A.), SEP (France), NAC Incorparated (Japan), Klimsch & Co. were the added attractions. A cultural show was organized in honour of the delegates. A technical visit to Survey Department as well as a site seeing tour to Botanical Gardens in Kandy in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, was also organized for the occasion.

Contributors
Mr. K.L.A.R.Silva Surveyor General of Sri Lanka