RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON MARINE CARTOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION

IHB File No. S3/4506 CIRCULAR LETTER 77/2015 04 November 2015 RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON MARINE CARTOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION References: A. IHO CL 57/2001 dated 4 December - New Terms of Reference for FIG/IHO/ICA International Advisory Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers. B. IHO CL 69/2003 dated 12 November - ICC 2003 - International Cartographic Conference, Durban RSA, 10-16 August 2003. Nautical Chart Display by IHO Member States - IHO ICA MoU - Joint Board of Geospatial Information Societies Dear Hydrographer, 1. The International Cartographic Association (ICA) was established in 1959 to promote the disciplines and professions of cartography and Geographic Information (GI) science in an international context. Membership is open to any nation which pursues a cartographic or GI science activity and agrees to participate financially in supporting the Association. Member nations can only be represented by one single organization, which is normally the national society or committee for cartography or GI science. The ICA has currently 70 member nations. 2. The IHO has cooperated with the ICA for a long time, notably through the ICA Commission on Oceanic Cartography which was replaced in 1980 with a Commission on Marine Cartography. IHO Member States have also contributed regularly to cartographic exhibitions associated with the biennial plenary meeting of the ICA. Following the decision of the IHO Second Extraordinary I.H. Conference in 2000 to task the FIG/IHO International Advisory Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors to lead the development of a set of Standards of Competence for Nautical Cartographers, the ICA became the third parent organization of the Board (see Reference A). 3. As reported to Member States in Reference B, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the IHO and the ICA was established in 2003 to provide a framework for continuing cooperation between the two organizations. However, the lack of interest from the ICA side led to the termination of the Commission on Marine Cartography at the 25th International Cartographic Conference (ICC) in 2011. The termination of the Commission required updating the MoU between the IHO and the ICA. A new MoU was signed during the XVIIIth International Hydrographic Conference in 2012. 4. The 27th ICC, hosted by the Brazilian Society of Cartography, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 23 to 28 August 2015. The IHO was represented by Captain Edson Carlos Furtado Magno from the Brazilian Hydrographic Office. The Brazilian Hydrographic Office was also prominent during the associated exhibition and displayed products emphasising the nautical cartography theme. 5. Of direct interest to the IHO Member States is that the ICA decided to re-establish a Working Group on Marine Cartography (WG MC) with the interim Terms of Reference provided in Annex A. The interim Chair and Vice-Chair are respectively Mr Ron Furness (Australia) and Professor Dr Lysandros Tsoulos (Greece), the two ICA representatives on the International Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers (IBSC). 6. The initial task of the Chair and Vice-Chair is to establish membership of the WG MC by the end of 2015. The ICA is also seeking comments on the interim Terms of Reference and suggestions for topics that merit cartographic research in the general area of marine cartography and that could guide the activities of the Working Group. It is anticipated that the WG MC should also underpin the ICA contribution to the IBSC. 7. In that context, the Directing Committee invites IHO Member States to liaise with their national ICA representation and to consider the appropriate level of national involvement that they wish to have in the new Working Group and to provide any input to the development of the Terms of Reference of the WG MC. 8. The Directing Committee will inform the Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee (HSSC) of these developments and invite the Committee to consider establishing an appropriate liaison with the WG MC. On behalf of the Directing Committee Yours sincerely, Gilles BESSERO Director Copy: - Chair, FIG-IHO-ICA International Board on Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors and Nautical Cartographers - Chair, Hydrographic Services and Standards Committee - Chair, Nautical Cartography Working Group Annex A: Interim Terms of Reference of the Working Group on Marine Cartography of the International Cartographic Association (in English only)  Annex A to IHO CL 77/2015 WORKING GROUP ON MARINE CARTOGRAPHY (WG MC) OF THE INTERNATIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC ASSOCIATION (ICA) INTERIM TERMS OF REFERENCE Establish a cohort of interested members on the WG on Marine Cartography, working to consolidate the WG with the longer term aim of re-establishing an ICA Marine Cartography Commission by the time of ICA General Assembly 2019. (by end 2015) Maintain a positive ICA “voice” as the expert voice of cartography within the maritime industry. (on going). Provide a focus group within ICA for harnessing authoritative cartographic advice pertaining to the maritime world, such as, but not exclusively, in the areas of navigation, ocean management and the depiction of ocean systems. (on going) Foster quality mapping and cartographic modelling, including state-of-the-art visualization technologies, geospatial processing and publishing tools, for nautical charts and ECDIS systems. (on going) Cooperate at the scientific level with the IHO for the development of Marine Spatial Data Infrastructures, standards and bathymetric data quality. (on going) Articulate cartographic issues arising in the marine cartography industry sector and the ICA Commissions, suggesting areas where ICA cartographic expertise and research can be brought to bear on a specific issue or topic. (on going) Study the development of cartographic influence with special reference as a primary aid to the management of coastal regions of the world, including critical maritime incidents. (depends on interests of future WG members) Provide appropriate qualified and/or experienced members representing ICA membership (two persons) on the FIG/IHO/ICA IBSC. (on going) Liaise with the CoastGIS Scientific Committee (NB: the previous ICA Commission on Marine Cartography was a founding partner in the CoastGIS series of symposia). (on going) Liaise with the IGU Commission on Coastal Systems. (on going) Chair: Ron Furness Vice Chair: Lysandros Tsoulos Version dated: 31 August 2015