National atlases: concepts, content, and experience in development

Summary

This article summarizes the experience gained from collaboration between the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences and geographers and cartographers of Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam in the creation of national atlases for these countries. The scientific concepts embodied in the atlases are analyzed, as well as the interrelationships and scope of topics, the combination of scientific and practical directions, and characteristics of their organization. Translated from: Izvestlya Akademli Nauk SSSR, serlya geograficheskaya, 1988, No. 3, pp. 31-38 by Jay K. Mitchell, PlanEcon, Inc., Washington, DC 20005. At the current stage of world development and intensification of the global problems of mankind, the role of the system of geographical sciences increases in their recognition and solution. The study of natural resources, population, the economy, settlement, and social and ethnocultural factors requires improvement in traditional geographic and cartographic methods of research and geographic information and the development of new ones. Among the latter, the importance of complex mapping is increasing. Indeed, thematic maps and atlases represent an effective tool in the accumulation, analysis, and multipurpose use of diverse information of different scales. They are necessary in the organization and performance of complex regional research, sectoral and territorial planning, and the management of socioeconomic development. National atlases occupy a special place among complex cartographic works. They comprise an important class of basic scientific works devoted to the systematic characterization of a state (country) and of interaction of internal and external factors of its development. At the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the development of national atlases in conjunction with scientists of the socialist countries has a nearly fortyyear history. In 1965-1970, the first National Atlas of Cuba was prepared by Soviet and Cuban scientists, and received the critical acclaim of the international scientific community (more than 50 reviews) and in 1973 was awarded the State Prize of the USSR. In 1976, jointly with Mongolian scientists and scientists of the Institute of Geography of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the scientific concept and schedule of work were determined for The National Atlas of Mongolia, which will appear in print in 1989. In the late 1980s a new National Atlas of Cuba and National Atlas of Vietnam will be published. Scientists of the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences are also participating in their creation. Analysis of experience accumulated during creation of the four national atlases, including international collaboration in the design, compilation, and scientific editing of these works is of undoubted scientific and practical interest.