Geographical Information Industry Development Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences (www.gischina.com) is an institution for organizing and coordinating the geographical information industry and an industry development base under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was founded with support from the state leaders and leaders at various levels of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1997 and affiliated with the Bureau of Resources and Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The tenet for Geographical Information Industry Development Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences is to bring into full play the technical advantages of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in geographical information field, to rely on technical innovation and to promote the transformation of relevant research achievements into market potentials, so as to push actively forward the development of geographical information industry in China. As one of the sponsors, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences helped to set up the CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch, with support from leaders at various levels and from various sponsors (Please see the diagram). The major tasks of CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch are to carry out GIS works in South China, to transform the industrialized research achievements into market potentials, and to satisfy the strategic requirements for the information campaign aiming to strengthen the economy of Guangdong Province.

 

CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch is administratively affiliated with Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the president of GIGCAS will at the same time serve as the director of CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch. In recent years, CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch and its associates are paying attention to the special conditions in South China, particularly in the Pearl River Delta region. Being focused on key issues such as the sustainable development of resources and environment as well as information construction in cities and towns, etc., CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch is actively engaged in application of geographical information technologies in a series of scientific topics proposed by either government departments or industrial enterprises.

The research orientations for CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch are characterized as follows: 1. In terms of research ideas, CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch will not only deal with the application issues involved in traditionally professional fields such as land utilization, management of urban land register, resource development and environmental protection, etc., but also explore application issues involved in other new and non-professional fields such as urban geological prospecting, urban public transportation, mobile positioning service, etc.; 2. In terms of research methods, CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch will be focused on the application of interdisciplines and integration of geographical information technologies with technologies such as remote sensing, GPS, computer network, etc. and other applied sciences; 3. In practical aspects, CAS-GIIDC Guangzhou Branch will try its best to combine research topics assigned by government departments with their market potentials, actively push forward the promotion and application of practical scientific achievements, and strive to acquire significant economic benefits in addition to social advantages.