Asian Conferences on Remote Sensing: Memoirs

Dr. M.U.Chaudhury, Editor, ACRS Memorial Book. Dhaka, Bangladesh

Although I was indirectly involved with ACRS since its birth, my direct involvement with it was since 1982, when we hosted the Third ACRS at Dhaka. Professor Murai came to Dhaka in early 1982 on a preparatory mission and as the Director of Bangladesh Space Research and Remote Sensing Organization (SPARRSO), I was his host and took him round to various preparatory meetings and finalized the local programmes and venues for both the ACRS and the AARS General Conference.

During the ACRS at Dhaka, we fully supported Dr. Murai in successfully organizing the Conference, as well as in organizing the General Conference of the AARS. The 3rd ACRS was the first such conference held under the aegis of AARS which was formed in Beijing in 1981 during the Second ACRS. So this was a pioneering effort and we successfully organized both the meetings (AARS General Conference and the Conference proper) for the first time in the annals of AARS.

I moved to Bangkok in March 1983, joining there as the Expert on Remote Sensing at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) under the UNDP funded Regional Remote Sensing Programme (RRSP). RRSP was mandated to work with regional associations and organisations in promoting remote sensing in regional development. So, I became directly involved in initiating co-operative efforts with AARS.

The first such co-operative effort was organized by me in Colombo during the 4th ACRS there. We organized a parallel workshop during the ACRS which enhanced the ACRS participation and RRSP participants at the workshop also received the benefit of getting exposure to a larger gathering of Asian and global scientists at the ACRS. The symbiotic relationship that developed between RRSP and ACRS continued in a number of ACRS subsequently, thereby mutually benefiting both the entities.

I was involved in many such activities in many of the subsequent ACRSs. A notable one was the 9th ACRS in Bangkok. To me this was the most outstanding ACRS so far held. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Srindhorn opened it and made a spectacular presentation on remote sensing applications in Thailand with audio-visual projections using 17 projectors working simultaneously. This was a marvellous display of science and arts and many of the attendees considered the display as most outstanding.

During this ACRS, Her Royal Highness attended the Conference for four consecutive days. She also authored a number of technical presentations in this conference. In one of the sessions, immediately after her paper, I also presented a paper. So, I was fortunate to have the gracious presence of Her Royal Highness during my presentation. But that was not all! What surprised me was her inquisitive interest and follow up efforts.

I left the conference room immediately after my presentation to conduct a parallel Working Group Meeting of UNESCAP. When that Meeting went for a break and at the same time the session in which we made our presentations was over, the Princess stepped out of the conference hall to the big open lobby of Bangkok's Ambassador Hotel. We were standing in the far corner and waiting to see the Princess leaving the Conference venue.

But no! She moved towards us and as we nodded to show our respect to her, she stopped in front of me and to my pleasant surprise started discussing on my presentation. The presentation was some what related to flood hazard assessment. She showed very keen interest in my presentation and wanted to get some reference materials from Bangladesh on similar activities on Bangladesh's flood hazards and flood monitoring efforts. In this context it may be mentioned that only a few days ago there was a disastrous flush flood in the southern Thailand in which mudslide washed a whole village.

Her Royal Highness had her eyes on the salvation of the human sufferings on similar disasters in the future. Her seriousness and her desire to initiate a scientific effort to mitigate such human miseries touched me. I immediately contacted my associates in Bangladesh and subsequently flew to Dhaka to collect as many materials as I could from there and sent them to Her Royal Highness. I am sure Her Royal Highness received them in time and used them for the benefit of her scientific pursuits and humanitarian missions.

I take this opportunity to express my sincerest appreciation to the ACRS which offered me this unique opportunity to have an audience with Her Royal Highness and to be able to provide even a leanest support to a humanitarian cause in which her Royal Highness is famous for her dedication.

We had many other outstanding ACRSs. The 11th ACRS at Guangzhou, China was one such outstanding conference. We had a parallel session from ESCAP. Besides the technical sessions, the cultural activities during this meeting including a boat ride in the Pearl river was breath taking. Subsequent meetings in the picturesque Mongolian surroundings of Ulaanbaatar (13th ACRS), in the historic Iranian settings in Tehran (14th ACRS) and in the beautiful floral Indian city of Bangalore (15th ACRS) were all full of cheerful experiences.

Since the 15th ACRS at Bangalore, I have not missed any of the subsequent ACRSs. The Technopolis of Suranari University at Nakhorn Ratchashima offered an enchanting rural-urban surroundings to the 16th ACRS This was once again patronised by Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn. The ACRS was held at the same venue and during the prestigious Thai World Tech Exhibition, adding additional pomp and lustre to the ACRS.

The 17th ACRS at Colombo was the second ACRS held in that city. It was combined with the centenary celebrations of the Survey Department of Sri Lanka. I have by then already retired from UN ESCAP, but I continued my association with ACRS by organizing a parallel workshop on behalf of the Earth Science and Technology Organization (ESTO) of Japan, of which I was then a Senior Researcher from the Ably Consulting Ltd of Japan. This Conference, for the first time, mooted on the publication of a Memorial Book during the 20th Anniversary of the ACRS and I was considered to assist Professor Murai in the compilation and editing of this Memorial Book.

The 18th ACRS at Kuala Lumpur was also the second ACRS held there. There was a unique coincidence worth mentioning here. Mr. Nik Nasruddin Mahmood , the Director of the Malaysian Centre for Remote Sensing (MACRES) was the only person in the history of ACRS so far to become Chairman of the Conference on two different occasions. He was the Chairman during the 10th ACRS and again during the 18th ACRS. He organized both the Conferences and the accompanying sessions of the AARS General Conference with thumping success. Let this 20th anniversary compilation record appreciation for this unique feat by Mr. Mahmood.

It was during the 18th ACRS at Kuala Lumpur that the General Conference of AARS decided on an Editorial Board for the Memorial book to be published to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the ACRS. Professor Murai was selected as the Chairman of the Editorial Board with Professor Bruce Forster of Australia and Mr. Manu Omakupt of Thailand as members and myself as the Editor. During the 19th ACRS in Manila the General Conference of the AARS confirmed this arrangement.

The 19th ACRS in Manila was a resounding success. With Mr. Virgillio Santos at the helm, the Manila Organizing Committee for the ACRS excelled all others in the past in their organisational abilities. The ACRS and the AARS Meetings were full of festivities and the technical exhibition was one of the most successful and crowded so far. The technical presentations were of high quality and exceeded in numbers than in earlier ACRSs.

I am now looking forward to the 20th ACRS in Hong Kong, with confidence that the Host city and the host nation China, will make formidable efforts for the technical, organizational and cultural success of the ACRS to make it the most memorable ACRS so far held. I wish the 20th ACRS all success.