The next November 7he Military Cartographic Institute (ICM) will celebrate its 40th anniversary with two strategic axes: greater dissemination of its cartographic information production services and outreach to institutions such as universities, in order to offer training in this area to students of careers such as surveying, architecture and engineering.
Created by decree November 7 of 1985, the Military Cartographic Institute It is an organization attached to the Ministry of Defense and focuses “on the preparation of the entire cartographic documentation“, topographical, hydrographic and aeronautical that the Armed Forces need for the training of their members and to ensure military defense throughout the national territory.”
However, the work of this entity is not only aimed at military organizations, as explained by the head of the ICM, Colonel César Medina Calderónwho, during an interview granted to Free Diaryhighlighted the opening of the institution to the entire population interested in obtaining maps or geographic data.
What uses do they have? maps?
He director of the ICM pointed out that the institution has carried out aerial photogrammetric surveysa mapping technique applied in various spaces to provide geospatial information.
In that sense, he cited works in the San Isidro Air Basehe National Palacehe Ministry of Defense and the Olympic Centerthe latter carried out within the framework of the organization of the XXV Central American and Caribbean Sports Games Santo Domingo 2026.
“That job (Olympic Center) has a transversal effect. Allows you to elaborate security plansestablish emergency routes and alternative routes, as well as organizing the arrivals and departures of the delegations. He Ministry of Sports He is using it for the topic of urban planning and the organization of the Olympic Center“Medina explained.
He added that the institution offers geographical mapstopographical and thematic, and highlighted the importance of the latter in logistical terms for the entities that request them.
Uprisings in the border area
The ICM also participates in the uprisings associated with the border perimeter fence and is currently developing updating work on 268 border pyramids twins, alternates and bordering ones located on the Dominican side, out of a total of 311, reported its director.
Colonel Medina explained that the work seeks to review and reposition the pyramids in accordance with the treaties of 1929 and 1936, in addition to geopositioning them with current technology.
“We are carrying out the survey of those that correspond to us,” he said. He added: “The last survey was carried out in 2018 with manual GPS equipment, which is good, but which, depending on the weather conditions and vegetation, can present a margin of error of between five and fifty meters. Now we work with equipment with a precision of millimeters,” he explained.
He added that, although the ideal would be to lift all the pyramids, it is currently not possible due to the political instability in Haiti, in addition to not having a counterpart in that country to extend the technical work to its territory.
He explained that said survey is 60% complete and they anticipate that by first trimester next year the work will be completed, which is carried out together with the National Geographic Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Agreements
Medina explained that the ICM has strengthened its links with national and international academic centers. “We have signed agreements with universities that teach related careers. The students come, work with our technicians and state-of-the-art equipment, and, in return, we receive a fresh human resource. It is a win-win alliance“he stated.
As for the international cooperationthe Institute maintains agreements with the National Cartography Agency of India and the Military Geographic Institute of Chile, where two Dominican technicians are currently studying specialized diplomas. It also collaborates with the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in advanced training programs.
Initiatives before natural disasters
He director of the ICM reported that they work together with the Mayor’s Office of the National District and the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (Indri) in a project for urban flood management.
“That’s part of the urban growth; how has it been disruptedmany areas where there was runoff no longer exist,” Medina said.
During a tour of the Institute’s facilities, young people benefiting from training programs in areas such as military geomantics expressed their interest in applying their knowledge in decision-making in the event of natural disasters.
Other services
“We offer services to the population, even exclusively. The coordinate certification It is a service provided by Military Cartographic Institute“said Colonel César Medina, while highlighting that said certification is required by entities such as the Institutes of Telecommunications (Indotel) and Civil Aviation (IDAC), as well as by the Airport Department, to regulate air navigation and the installation of antennas in risk areas.
He explained that other services offered include photogrammetry, geographical delimitationtopography, coordinate certification and mapping thematic, in addition to GPS, geodesy and mapping.
The scientific component is also reflected in the Institute’s new projects. One of the most ambitious is the creation of a geographic atlaswhose completion is scheduled for next year. “We are going to show many aspects about the effects of climate change in the Dominican Republic, maps unprecedented and advances in the development of mapping“said Medina.
Looking to the future, Medina Calderón identified several challenges: strengthening national hydrography and expanding information storage capacity.
