Dr. Prithvish Nag : IAGR Conference 2024
Dr. Prithvish Nag, Former Surveyor General of India, Former Director of the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization (NATMO), and Former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, is an eminent scholar in the field of digital mapping. He holds an MSc (Gold Medalist) and a PhD from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Dr. Nag began his distinguished career at NATMO in 1976 as a Research Officer and was appointed Director in 1994. His tenure at NATMO was marked by significant advancements in thematic mapping and geographic information systems. He later served as the Surveyor General of India at the Survey of India, overseeing national mapping and survey activities. In addition to his administrative roles, Dr. Nag has made substantial contributions to the academic and professional community. He has served as the President of the Indian National Cartographic Association and the Institute of Indian Geographers. After his retirement, he was appointed Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, furthering his impact on higher education.
Dr. Nag’s expertise and contributions to digital mapping and geographic sciences have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Technology Excellence Award by the Technocrats Association of India, the Uttaranchal Ratan by the Uttaranchal Nagrik Parishad, and the Commonwealth Bursary by the Geographical Society. His work continues to influence and inspire the field of geography and cartography.
Title of Talk: Geospatial Issues Related to SDGs
Abstract: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been associated with several issues related to societal and economic development. Its 17 goals are meant to transform the whole world. They are to be integrated—they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. At the heart of the 2030 Agenda are 5 critical dimensions also known as the 5Ps: (a) people, (b) prosperity, (c) planet, (d) partnership, and (e) peace. The 6 major goals of sustainability are:
- End poverty in all its forms.
- Zero Hunger.
- Health.
- Education.
- Gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- Water and Sanitation
In order to implement the above agenda and goals, geospatial technology has been considered imperative. In September 2015, the member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with an overarching principle that no one should be left behind. Further, data which is high quality, accessible, timely, reliable and disaggregated by income, sex, age, race, ethnicity, migration status, disability and geographic location and other characteristics relevant in the national contexts is called for. Implementation at all levels, the Agenda included the need to exploit the contribution to be made by a wide range of data, including Earth observations and geospatial information. The 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs are highly dependent on geospatial information and enabling technologies as the primary data and tools for relating people to their location and place, and to measure ‘where’ progress is, or is not, being made, particularly at ‘disaggregated’ sub-national and local levels. In this respect, the Agenda specifically demands the need for new data acquisition and integration approaches, including to exploit the contribution to be made by geospatial information and Earth observations to support the implementation of the SDGs, targets and global indicators.
