GLSC enhancing capacity to conduct surveys

DPI, GUYANA, Thursday, January 4, 2018

The Guyana Lands and Survey Commission (GLSC) will be building its capacity to conduct surveys as part of a four-year project to mainstream sustainable land development and management.

Commissioner Trevor Benn told the Department of Public Information (DPI) in a recent interview that the capacity building exercise will include providing GPS coordinates and certifying surveys to those accessing the Commission’s services.

“We have the responsibility for certifying the survey; that it was done correctly once it is certified and a plan issued. We have to save that plan for posterity so that 20, 100 years after people could come and have access to that plan to see what was done in putting together that parcel of land. So, that is our role as the repository of surveying,” Benn explained.

The GLSC has responsibility for hydrographic surveying, geospatial management as well as surveying.  This capacity building includes the procurement of equipment to ensure the accuracy of the surveys conducted by the Commission.

There are also plans to enact a geospatial framework to guide the Commission’s work. This has been defuncted for a number of years Commissioner Benn noted.  “We’re going to be developing a policy to guide us in the work going forward as the main agency responsible for this and we are looking also at developing our strategic plan to help us as an institution to better survey the Guyanese people,” he said.

Geospatial information can be useful in identifying hotspots in various sectors, like health and security. The four-year Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Development and Management (SLDM) project is being funded by the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund (GRIF) at a cost of US$14.8M. It will be officially launched later this month.

 

By: Tiffny Rhodius

 

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