Fourth International Conference and Exhibition: Advanced Geospatial Science and Technology Tunis 22-24 October 2024

The Regional Center for Remote Sensing of North Africa States (CRTEAN), based in Tunis, convened its Fourth International Conference in the Tunisian capital between 22 and 24 October. The Conference hosted several prominent participants from North Africa and other regions, including a number of Libyan ministers and high-level Egyptian officials, in particular Mr. Sherif Sedky, head of the Egyptian Space Agency, and Prof. Islam Abu Al-Magd, Chairman of the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences. The Conference was organized under the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Government of Tunisia. 

Presentations from regional and European delegates highlighted the development of technical skills in the region, as well as the use of remote sensing to serve several SDGs, especially in the fields of agriculture, protection of green areas, climate, monitoring of coastal areas, pollution, utilities networks and urban planning, among others. Particular attention was also given to space debris, the pollution originating from the numerous satellites orbiting the earth.    

A special session was dedicated to fit-for-purpose land administration. It featured presentations by Dr. Timo Todorovsky from ITC Netherlands, Dr. Jamal Gledan from the Surveying Department of Libya and Rafic Khouri and Salah Abukashawa on behalf of the Global Land Tool Network (GLTN). The session focused on the use of flexible and affordable methods to develop land administration for vulnerable sectors of the population, with the aim of leaving no one behind, and registering all forms of tenure, as defined in the continuum of land rights. A vibrant debate took place after the presentations. This session was also an opportunity to provide information on the Third Arab Land Conference, to be held in February 2025.

One of the recommendations adopted at the conference focused on fit-for-purpose land administration. It calls for “[i]ncreasing the use of open source applications in the field of fit-for-purpose land management, especially in the contexts of customary and community land management to achieve secure and stable land tenure, especially in cases of displacement and forced migration.”