LARS Tech Report Number

062583

Abstract

In the final report of the Independent Commission on International Development Issues, entitled "North-South: A Programme for Survival," it is clearly stated that the search for a solution to the problem of the widening economic disparity between the North and South, between the developed and less developed countries, should "focus not on machines but on people." Historically, the experiences of the advanced countries have demonstrated the importance of skilled human resources in the development process. It has been proven that "natural resource endowment is a necessary, but not a sufficient requirement for progress." The slow rate of development in over two-thirds of the world is, therefore, the consequence of failure to make adequate use of human resources.

When human resources are not developed, developmental planning is neglected and the rational utilization and conservation of natural resources is hampered. And yet, experience in the application of space-acquired remote sensing data for the preparation of basic, multi-discipline cartographic information has demonstrated that this advanced technology can be effective in meeting the basic cartographic information needs of developing countries. How can an advanced technology be successfully transferred from its sources in the developed countries to those who need it in the developing world?

Date of this Version

January 1983

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