Geodesy in the Netherlands*)
by prof. dr. ir. M. J. M. Bogaerts, professor at the Department of Geodesy of the
University of Technology in Delft.
I am pleased to introduce to you geodesy, as it is
practised in the Netherlands. Although, internationally
seen, the methods and techniques applied in ourfield of
profession do in principle not differ very much, the
problems to be solved in our flat, densely populated
country are quite different from those in, for instance, a
mountainous country as Switzerland.
When thinking over the factors that are greatly influenc
ing the way in which we practice the profession in our
country, I come to the following specific characteristics:
1. the level of education and research. Without exag
geration we may say that this level is high, internatio
nally seen. Geodesy (also surveying and mapping) in
our country is being taught since a long time at uni
versity level. Geodesy has its own faculty at the Uni
versity of Technology in Delft. Already in the early
days the education was connected with the activities
of the „Rijkscommissie voor Geodesie" (Netherlands
Geodetic Commission) which celebrated its cente
nary last year. This faculty has always been the
centre of research in the field of geodesy.
It is characteristic for Dutch education and research
that we, living in a country with a rather small linguis
tic span, can acquaint ourselves with publications
issued in the English-, German- and French-speaking
countries, whereas there is rather little transfer of
knowledge from our country.
2. The Dutch Cadastre (Office of Land Registry) which
celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, has deter
mined to a great extent the image of geodesy in this
country. Many actions could be initiated by, or in
cooperation with this Institution.
An important aspect in connection herewith is that
the Cadastre is a large public organisation, where -
until recently - most tasks were carried out under
direct management. Therefore, the profession of
surveyor was in most cases a public function in our
country.
3. The agricultural activities have always played an
important part in our country. Since the beginning of
the century, large land reconstruction projects have
been carried out. Today projects with an area of
200 km2 are being carried out. In these projects the
geodesists have an important task. On one hand they
are responsible for a great part of the supply of in
formation, and on the other hand for making new
classifications of the property situation. In these ac
tivities automation is very much in progress.
Inleiding gehouden op 23 juni 1982 tijdens de door de NVG
georganiseerde studiedag in het kader van de bijeenkomst
van het Comité Permanent van de FIG te 's-Gravenhage.
208
4. The continuous struggle of the Dutch against the sea
has resulted in large civil engineering works, some of
which are still being carried out. A great part of our
country is situated below sea-level, so that many
dikes are required. Important projects are the recla
mation of the IJsselmeer and the closing of the arms
of the sea in Zeeland.
It stands to reason that much geodetic work is
necessary for the realization of these projects.
Although the geodetic education in our country is
independent, it has always had close relation with
civil engineeringprogrammes.
5. Particularly in the field of education the Netherlands
contribute in a large measure to the aid to the
developing countries. In professional circles the
International Training Centre (ITC) for photogram-
metric education is well known. Many foreigners
have taken a complete training or a post-graduate
course at this Centre.
In this afternoon's programme attention will be paid to
all these aspects. A paper will be presented on the
Netherlands' Cadastre and an explanation will be given
of the role this Office plays in land arrangement
projects.
The work of the ITC is explained. Thereafter the activities
of the Meetkundige Dienst van de Rijkswaterstaat
(Survey Department of the Ministry of Transport and
Public Works) will be discussed.
Finally a number of activities of the industry in the
Netherlands will be presented.
Since education and research are hardly discussed here,
I myself should like to make some remarks on these
subjects.
Education
Although the geodetic/survey education is taught at all
levels in our country, I shall limit myself to the education
at the Department of Geodesy of the University of Tech
nology in Delft, because the developments there greatly
influence the way our profession is practised.
For many years this education is a kind of twin-edu
cation, on the one hand mathematical/technical and on
the other hand aimed at planning and administration.
As far as the mathematical/technical side is concerned,
it is a matter of determining the shape of rather small
parts of the land, and the surface and the bottom of the
sea.
In this case the main points are the measurements, the
registration of measurements, the calculation and the
mapping. Besides at surveying, the „mathematical/
technical" side of the education is aimed at the measu
rement technique and the model-theoretical aspects of
the surface of the earth in its entirety or of large parts of it.
As regards the planning and administration side, the
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