Geomatics and territorial governance: tools, knowledge and expertise

Technological and social progress stems from a combination of organised knowledge and interaction amongst a set of actors, fields of expertise and institutions. However, the contexts in which our knowledge of areas, their resources and their actors are produced and used have not been delved into in any great depth. The main aim is to present geomatics as it is generally understood, which goes beyond the set of tools generally used for territorial management. Thus, it involves a field of expertise, that is it features a set of instruments and tools to help in the knowledge production necessary to support territorial governance. In doing this, it contributes in part to the production and the reproduction of societies through their modes of territorial representation and delimitation, that is through their abilities to possess the tools and methods and to master their use with a view to deciding upon the future of their territory.