PGRSC History
The Pacific GIS and Remote Sensing Council (PGRSC) is a newly established council launched in March of 2018, however it's role has been ongoing within the Pacific region under a group of volunteers who are working in the geospatial industry.
The 2017 Pacific Islands GIS & RS User Conference prompted the establishment of the council. The popularity of the conference to pacific, and even world wide attendees, is owed to its visibility through GIS Pac-Net, monthly user group meetings in Fiji and through well established links from the volunteers to regional agencies.
The Fiji GIS & RS User Group
The first monthly GIS & RS User Group meetings were established in 1991 with Fiji Lands and Fiji Forestry Department, where the first meeting was held in Colo-i-Suva by Forestry Department. Overtime the attraction of these meetings grew, as more organisations attended with an interest to establish GIS capability within their sectors.
These meetings are held monthly and are run and managed primarily by the Fiji Lands Geospatial division. From these monthly meetings since 1991, GIS capacity has grown significantly within Fiji and the government sectors, prompting the creation of a Fiji Lands Information Council.
The Fiji Annual GIS & RS User Conference
In 1998, a two day national conference was held jointly by USP and Fiji Lands Department. The inception was guided by James Britton. The conference was extended to 3 days in 1999 with participants from outside of Fiji being included. A regional project was then funded by the EU at SOPAC in 2003 to assist GIS & RS application in Pacific Island countries, which then resulted in the renaming of the conference.
