The 15th Geographic Information International Academic Seminar of Central Asia (GISCA2021), jointly organized by CAS Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (hereinafter referred to as RCEECA), Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography CAS, University of Salzburg, Austria, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Kyrgyz National Engineering and Transportation University, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Institute of Water Issues, Hydroenergy and Ecology, Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Soil Improvement, Uzbekistan, and National University of Uzbekistan, was held successfully from May 30 to June 2, 2021, and more than 80 people from Belgium, Germany, Austria, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, China and other countries and regions attended the Seminar.

With the combination of online and offline forms, the Seminar set up sub-regional seminars in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Urumqi, China, Almaty, Kazakhstan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The theme of the Seminar is “From spatial data to spatial infrastructure”. The Seminar members exchanged and discussed such topics as geographic information and sustainable development, spatial infrastructure and ecosystem protection, disaster prevention and mitigation and public health, agricultural and water resources management, geodetic mapping and land management, and cultural and natural heritage. A total of nine experts in the Urumqi Sub-regional Seminar delivered reports.

At the opening ceremony, Researcher Chen Xi, Secretary of Xinjiang Branch of CAS and Director of RCEECA, delivered a speech, focusing on the work of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in smart cities, smart agriculture, big data and artificial intelligence, and such scientific and technological cooperation platforms as the Big Data Analysis and Application Center jointly set up by RCEECA with Kazakhstan, the Aral Sea International Research Center with Uzbekistan and the Central Asia UAV Technology Application Center with Tajikistan; meanwhile, he hoped that, with the help of more professional academic conferences, academic exchanges with neighboring countries and the counterparts focusing on ecological and environmental studies of Central Asia will be carried out in the future so as to cope with ecological and environmental issues caused by global change together.  

Geographic Information International Academic Seminar of Central Asia (GISCA2021) was initiated by Central Asian Center for Geographic Information Science of Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2005, with the aim of enhancing exchanges and learning the new knowledge and discoveries in geographic information science and related fields and building a regional expert network in order to provide services for the construction of environment-friendly society and regional ecological security in Central Asia. RCEECA has cooperated with Austrian Academy of Sciences since 2013 and organized the GISCA Conference held in Central Asia.  

Urumqi Sub-regional Seminar

Director Chen Xi delivers a speech