Supervising Scientist Division

NARGIS 93: Proceedings of the North Australian Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Forum

Riley SJ, Devonport C, Waggitt PW & Fitzpatrick B (eds)
Supervising Scientist 1993
ISBN 0 644 32536 4

The following abstract, executive summary or foreword/preface is reproduced here from the full report. A hard copy of the full report can be ordered from Publications, Supervising Scientist Division. A full list of SSD publications including prices is available on the publications page.

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Contents

Foreword

The 1993 North Australian Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems Forum (NARGIS 93) was.held at the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences in Darwin between 9‑11 August. The aim of the conference was to bring together practitioners in northern Australia and elsewhere who had an interest in and experience with the application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS) in the north Australian environment. The overall theme of the conference was the application of RS and GIS in natural resource management.

The organising committee comprised Chris Devonport, Northern. Territory University (NTU); Peter Waggitt, Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS); Bernard Fitzpatrick, Geoimage Pty Ltd, formerly of the Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory (CCNT); and Steven Riley (OSS). The Forum was supported by a number of organisations, including the Office of the Supervising Scientist, the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES), the Australian Institute of Cartographers (AIC) and the Australasian Urban and Regional Information Systems Association Inc (AURISA).

NARGIS 93 was used as an opportunity to poll the RS and GIS community of Australia on past and present applications of these technologies in northern Australia. The survey is ongoing and will not be completed until late 1993. However, an interim report was delivered to the Forum by Peter Waggitt and Chris Devonport.

The organising committee would like to thank the following organisations and individuals for their support and assistance throughout the planning and operation of NARGIS 93: OSS, NTU, CCNT, AIC, AURISA, and ACRES. We specifically would like to thank Dr Arthur Johnston, Director of the Alligator Rivers Region Research Institute (OSS); Associate Professor Charles Webb, Northem Territory University; Matti Urvet, Director of CCNT, Virginia Walsh and Ron Lister of AURISA; and Bob Walker of Geoimage Pty Ltd. Assistance with organisation during the conference was provided by Nola Smith from NTU, Jenny Selkirk and Ken Evans from OSS, Michael Clarke and Cheryl Huckerby from NTU and the staff of the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences.

NARGIS 93 was a consequence of a workshop held in Darwin in October 1992. After that event several people suggested that perhaps there was a need for a larger, more formal gathering to bring the RS and GIS communities together. The wide ranging support given to NARGIS 93 by the RS and GIS communities throughout Australia suggests that a previously empty niche has been filled. For this reason it is hoped that NARGIS will become established as a biennial event of significance on the RS/GIS calendar.