A developing country´s perspective on ISO/TC 292
Several members of ISO/TC 292 comes from Developing Countries. At the last plenary meeting we took the opportunity to discuss with Dr Dwikorita Karnawati, a Professor in Engineering Geology and Disaster Risk Reduction at the University Gadjah Mada. Indonesia is very active in the committee and hosted the 2nd plenary and they also lead the work on ISO22327 on Early warning systems for landslides.
Why is it crucial for Developing Countries to participate in ISO/TC 292?
Developing countries have several constrains and limitations in adopting the International Standards. Such constrains and limitations need to be addressed in the process of developing the International standard. Therefore, the participation of developing country is crucial to allow them to contribute in developing more appropriate and applicable standard for developing countries.
What is the expectation of Developing Countries to participate in ISO/TC 292?
We do expect that the International Standard should be more compatible for the conditions in developing countries, especially the conditions which relate to the local capacity/ conditions to adapt with the International Standards. This participation and contribution are also expected to be significant to ensure the sovereignty of developing countries.
What are benefit in adopting ISO/TC 292 standards ?
By adopting ISO/TC 292 standards, the quality of technical products and/ or processes produced by developing countries can be improved and assured, then those technical products/ processes can be more accepted in the global market. This is also very beneficial to improve the resiliency of the national market
What are difficulties in adopting ISO/TC 292 standards.
Adoption of the ISO/TC 292 standards may result in some difficulties for developing countries, such as for obtaining an access to the standards (some standards need quite expensive payment), for implementing the standards due to the limitation of local knowledge and capacity , as well as the local technology
Interview made by Zoran Kekovic, Serbia