Global Surveyors’ Day-2023

Buddhi Narayan Shrestha

Global Surveyors’ Day

Need To Show Professional Ethics

Global Surveyors Day (GSD) will be celebrated in various countries of the world on the 21st March every year. Nepal is also observing this day organising various activities. The Day recognises the work of surveying, mapping and geospatial professionals. This is a worldwide event initiated by the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) based in Denmark, the Council of European Geodetic Surveyors (CLGE), and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) in the USA. FIG has initiated to celebrate the Day by the member countries’ associations around the world. 

Surveyors play an integral role in land development and management from the planning, designing, estimation and execution of economic development projects such as generation of hydro-electric power projects, infrastructure development including construction of roads and railways, development of urban cities, rural towns and settlements. Surveyors prepare accurate, exact and up-to-date maps and related data for the successful implementation of the project. FIG is a United Nations-accredited organisation which represents the interests of surveyors throughout the world. It has enunciated the norms and standard, specification and modality of surveying, mapping and geo-informatics system (GIS) of the world. Nepal Survey Department has adopted and maintained this modality. 

Primary measurements 

Surveyors are the first people on any construction site, measuring and mapping the land. These primary measurements are then used by engineers while designing to plan structures accurately and safely, ensuring not only fit with the landscape but also able to be constructed. In this aspect, the Global Surveyors Day has to be celebrated to encourage the surveyors of the world to produce exact and accurate maps and data for the economic development projects of the nation. A surveyor is the professional person with academic qualifications and technical expertise to determine, measure and represent land, three-dimensional objects, point-fields and trajectories, to assemble and interpret land and geographically related information, to use for the planning and efficient administration of the land, the sea and any structures thereon, and to conduct research into the above practices and to develop them.

Surveyors must have integrity, independence, care and competence. Surveyors’ duty is to maintain confidentiality about the affairs of their current and former clients and employers unless required by law to make disclosures; avoid conflicts of interest; take environmental concerns into account in their operations and activities, recognise the interests of the public when providing services to their clients or employers; and conduct their work to the best of their ability, giving due consideration to the rights of all parties. Its main purpose to observe the Day is to reflect on the work that surveyors do. Global Surveyors Day has been specially marked at the World Bank by organising Land and Poverty Conference in Washington DC, with the representation of FIG, CLGE and NSPS. The Day highlights the importance of surveyors and their job and the field work all over the world.

FIG is the main umbrella of the surveyors of the globe. It is a United Nations and World Bank recognised non-governmental organisation of national member associations and other affiliated members from over 120 countries, and Nepal is one of them. Nepal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (NICS) is its country member association. Survey Department is the affiliate member and Land Management Training Centre is the academic member of FIG from Nepal. In the bygone year, these institutions, in association with the ministry of Land Management, had organised a panel discussion on the theme ‘Five generations in surveying & geomatics: from chain survey to drone survey.’ 

Nepal has a huge potentiality of hydro-power generation. To plan and execute the hydro-power project, at first it needs accurate and exact maps and related data. So is the case for road construction project, urban/rural development programmes, tourism development planning as well in Nepal. The Nepali surveyors generate these materials and the concerned engineers use it as their essential tool. These activities of surveyors should be highlighted and communicated through observing the Global Surveyors Day also in Nepal.

Scientific maps

In connection to the activity of Nepali surveyors, government of Nepal had published Chuche Naksa as the new official map of Nepal, endorsed by the parliament. It has shown the territorial integrity of the nation. Survey Department under the ministry of Land Management has published digital maps of the seven provinces separately. All these activities have been performed under the work of surveying and mapping, undertaken by the surveyors with the spirit of global surveyors’ day.

Global Surveyors Day creates awareness for surveyors of Nepal and shed light on their services to the society.  The Day helps to promote the technical knowledge to perform the surveying and mapping activities and maintain their profession respectful and take moral accountability. The surveyors have to be professionals. Private and public sector surveyors must have good co-operation and co-ordination to prepare scientific maps and accurate data, needed to the nation for the benefit of the people. We must make the ‘global surveyors day’ meaningful by writing technical articles and books on the background of their knowledge and field experiences to provide efficient land management services to the people and society.

(The author is former survey director general and border analyst.)