A/RES/69/266
A global geodetic reference frame for sustainable development
multi-stakeholder discussions on global geospatial information, including through
the convening of global forums, with a view to promoting a comprehensive dialogue
with all relevant actors and bodies, and emphasized the importance of promoting
national, regional and global efforts to foster the exchange of knowledge and
expertise, to assist developing countries in building and strengthening national
capacities in that field,
Noting also resolution 1, adopted on 1 November 2012 by the Nineteenth
United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific, held in
Bangkok from 29 October to 1 November 2012, 3 in which the Conference, realizing
the need to improve the sustainability and capability of the Global Geodetic
Observing System and the need to encourage and support the adoption of the
International Terrestrial Reference Frame as the foundation reference frame, urged
the Committee of Experts to consult with Member States to adopt and sustain the
global geodetic reference frame and provide a road map for its implementation, and
to participate in and make commitments to the Global Geodetic Observing System
to ensure its long-term sustainability,
Noting further decision 3/102, adopted by the Committee of Experts on
26 July 2013, 4 in which the Committee agreed that actions should be taken to
facilitate the submission of a resolution to be tabled at the sixty-eighth session of
the General Assembly in order to seek support and commitment at the highest level,
and requested the Secretariat to establish a working group, with equitable regional
representation, to develop the conceptual note and draft text of the resolution
through an open and inclusive process,
Recognizing the importance of international cooperation, as no one country
can do this alone, to realize the global geodetic reference frame and services to
underpin Global Navigation Satellite Systems technology and provide the framework
for all geospatial activity, as a key enabler of spatial data interoperability, disaster
mitigation and sustainable development,
Recognizing also the economic and scientific importance of and the growing
demand for an accurate and stable global geodetic reference frame for the Earth that
allows the interrelationship of measurements taken anywhere on the Earth and in
space, combining geometric positioning and gravity field-related observations, as
the basis and reference in location and height for geospatial information, which is
used in many Earth science and societal applications, including sea-level and
climate change monitoring, natural hazard and disaster management and a whole
series of industrial applications (including mining, agriculture, transport, navigation
and construction) in which precise positioning introduces efficiencies,
Recognizing further the extraordinary achievements made by national mapping
and space agencies, geodetic commissions, research organizations and universities
and other international organizations such as the International Federation of
Surveyors, building upon initiatives of the International Association of Geodesy,
representing the global geodetic community, in measuring and monitoring changes
in the Earth’s system on a best-effort basis, including the development of the now
adopted International Terrestrial Reference Frame,
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3
See E/CONF.102/8, chap. IV, sect. B.
See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2013, Supplement No. 26 (E/2013/46), chap. I,
sect. B.
4
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