Responding to the Millennium Development Goals

The eight Millennium Development Goals form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. The United Nations Millennium Summit, September 2000, established a time bound (2015) and measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination of women. These goals are now placed at the heart of the global agenda. The Summit’s Millennium Declaration also outlined a wide range of commitments in human rights, good governance, and democracy. This paper presents the Millennium Goals and targets with a specific emphasis on the areas being particular relevant to the surveying profession. The paper then suggests that FIG – as an international NGO recognised by the UN – should carefully consider how we can best contribute to reaching the Millennium Goals. FIG should identify their role in this process and spell out the areas where the global surveying profession can make a significant contribution. Issues such as tenure security, pro-poor land management, and good governance in land administration are all key issues to be advocated in the process of reaching the goals. Measures such as capacity assessment, institutional development and human resource development are all key tools in this regard. It is proposed to establish a FIG Task Force that bring together expertise to analyse, explain, and present a FIG response to the Millennium Development Goals. The task force shall cooperate with the UN-agencies and especially the World Bank to develop a FIG strategy and advise the FIG council on necessary actions.