The Sultanate of Brunei became a fully independent nation in 1984. Its national mapping agency was first formed in 1952 and is now known as Juru Ukor Agong Negen (JUAN) (Survey Department Brunei), under the Ministry of Development. It is responsible for cadastral and topographic mapping and for the provision and maintenance of a national survey and land information system.

A comprehensive and modern mapping infrastructure has been established, building on foundations started by the British Directorate of Overseas Surveys, whose 1:50,000 scale (T735 Series) offered complete coverage in 18 sheets with relief shown by 50 ft and 100 ft contours. A 14-sheet national map using the Brunei national grid (Series BR50) replaced this earlier mapping in the 1980s, and a new four-color 1:10,000 scale with metric relief was also started in 1987, with sheets covering 5 km areas bounded by rectified skew orthomorphic grid squares, replacing a 1:12,500 scale imperial series compiled in the 1970s. These series are updated and revised using SPOT multi-spectral and panchromatic imagery. In the early 1990s 1:100,000 scale district mapping was redesigned and published in five sheets under the designation (BR 100).

Developed areas of Brunei are mapped at 1:1,000 and 1:2,500 scales, with photomaps produced for some areas of Bandar Seri Begawan. Cadastral data on the Torrens system are being captured along with topographic data to establish an integrated and automated land information system using ARC/INFO.

Soviet military topographic mapping of Brunei exists at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (2 sheets, partial coverage, published 1953-1960) and 1:500,000 (2 sheets, partial coverage, published in 1964). These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.

Earth science mapping was compiled in the 1960s by the Government Geologist and by the Survey Department of the Federation of Malaysia.

With the exception of a town map and tourist map of Brunei, no larger-scale mapping is available outside of government organizations. Brunei is covered on smaller scale Malaysian mapping and commercially published coverage of Borneo.

Copyright © 2014 De Gruyter for e-version of World Mapping Today, 2nd Edition | Copyright © 2019 East View Geospatial, Inc.

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