The Eighteenth Asian Conference on Remote Sensing
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 20-25 October 1997

Introduction

The 18th ACRS was held at the Hotel Nikko, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 25 October 1997. It was organized jointly by the Asian Association on Remote Sensing and the Malaysia Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES) with the following four objectives:

Objectives

The prime objectives of this conference were:

1. to discuss Asian problems in remote sensing and GIS;

2. to exchange academic, application and technical information;

3. to promote regional co-operation amongst member countries; and

4. to promote operational applications of remote sensing and space technology.

The Honourable Datuk Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment at the Opening Session of the 18th ACRS in Kuala Lumpur.

Opening Session

The opening of the 6-day conference was officiated by the Honourable Datuk Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment, Malaysia. The session was attended by over 400 guests of honour comprising heads of foreign embassies/high commissions, heads of governmental agencies, other senior officials, and participants of the ACRS. The session was also addressed by Prof. Shunji Murai, General Secretary of AARS, and Mr. Nik Nasruddin Mahmood, Director of MACRES who was also the Chairman of ACRS Organizing Committee.

Mr. Nik Nasruddin Mahmood, Director of Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing giving his welcome address.

Participation

The conference was attended by 330 participants comprising 165 from 31 Asian and non-Asian countries/ organ-izations, and 165 local professionals and scientists from Malaysia. The countries and regions present were Australia, Austria, USA, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, China Taipei, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

The conference also attracted 20 international and 2 local exhibitors who were taking the opportunity to introduce and promote their products and services with regards to remote sensing and related technologies.

Business Arrangement

The conference was conducted in four main sessions including: technical presentation of both oral and poster sessions, plenary, technical presentation by the exhibitors, and commercial exhibitions.

Technical Presentations and Deliberations

A total of 153 technical papers including 53 from local, were presented in 13 different sessions of the conference. The papers covered research and development works pertaining to applications of remote sensing and related technologies in agriculture/soil, water resources, dis-aster management, forestry, mapping, oceanography and marine science, landuse, geology, environment and digital image processing.

The Honorable Minister flanked by Prof. Murai and Mr. Mahmood, passing by the Commercial Exhibition

Other Activities

Annual General Conference of AARS Following its tradition, two sessions of General Conference of the AARS were held during the 18th ACRS. The conference, chaired by Mr. Nik Nasruddin Mahmood, Director of MACRES, was attended by 21 members and organizations. Among others, the conference endorsed the proposal for the setting-up of AIT-AARS ACRoRS (Asian Centre for Research on Remote Sensing), and agreed on the new ordinary membership of China Taipei in the name of Chinese Taipei Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and Brunei Darussalam, as well as the memberships of the Malaysian Remote Sensing Society (MRSS) and the ITRES Research Limited of Canada. It was also agreed that both Australia and New Zealand remain as individual country members, but that the representative organisation for both be the Australasian Association on Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry. The membership of the Republic of Uzbekistan would await the provision of further information to be requested by the General Secretary, and consultation with member countries.

Parallel Meetings

Four parallel workshops were held during 18th ACRS. These are: (i) Global Databases and Mapping; (ii) Development of Asian Database; (iii) High Spatial Resolution Image Data, organised by ISPRS, and (iv) Natural Resources and Environmental Management by MACRES.

Technical and Social Visits

Three technical visits to MACRES, the Depart-ment of Surveying and Mapping, and the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia were organised to highlight the current development and major remote sensing and related technological activities being under-taken for sustainable development in Malay-sia. A social visit to the newly completed KL Tower or Royal Selangor Pewter/Batik Malaysia was also conducted.

Welcoming Dinner

A welcoming dinner with cultural show was organised in honour of the 18th ACRS delegates.

Contributors

Mr. Darus Ahmed