President urges surveyors to uphold professional standards
Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has urged the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) to continue promoting professional standards and ethics to ensure a more resilient and sustainable management of land and other natural resources.
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He commended efforts of FIG in advocating good practices, including enhancing education and supporting research to address challenges in the sector over the years. The President said the country was working to ensure that "our policies and initiatives around lands and resource management include the voices of all stakeholders. It is only by working together that we can achieve the sustainable and resilient world we aspire to create".
"We need to ensure that the next generation of surveyors are equipped with the knowledge and skills to manage the complexities of land administration and environmental management," he added.
The President was addressing an international conference of surveyors in Accra last Sunday. Surveyors from 90 countries across the globe are participating in the conference. The five-day FIG Working Week 2024 conference is on the theme: "Your world, our world: Resilient environment and sustainable resource management for all".
Also in attendance were the President of FIG, Dr Diane Dumashie; the President of Ghana Institute of Surveyors (GhIS), Dr Anthony Ako Adjei; the President of Licensed Surveyors Association of Ghana (LiSAG), Samuel Larbi Darko, and the Deputy Minister of Transport, Frederick Adom.
Solutions
President Akufo-Addo underscored the need for surveyors to find innovative ways of solving the rising environmental and resources management challenges many countries, including Ghana were facing in the "realms of land administration and spatial planning, rapid urbanisation and environmental degradation".
He said there was the need for collaboration between governments and FIG in harnessing and adopting modern digital technology such as geographic information and remote sensing systems to transform how land and natural resources were being managed, while maintaining balance in the ecosystems.
These tools, the President said, would not only increase the accuracy of data, but also the efficiency of processes in decision-making.
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President Akufo-Addo said that the government had taken steps to improve land administration through a land administration project which he said were aimed at streamlining land registration and resolving disputes to enhance investor confidence in the sector.
Determination
Dr Dumashie said members were determined to support the call to protect the planet from land degradation which was the bane of many countries. "We are needed to tackle the challenges now and in the future.
Many of these challenges are land related and we are the worldwide organisation of land and built environment professionals," she said. Dr president of FIG said the conference was a timely call to action for surveyors and also an opportunity for members to use their expertise to devise new methodologies to address challenges in the sector.
For his part, the President of GhIS, Dr Anthony Ako Adjei, also said the event would enable members to "exchange ideas, experiences and innovations; learn from each other and grow together as a strong professional surveying body".