Today's September 5, 2026, brought a serious response in geopolitical and scientific circles. The UN General Assembly has adopted a controversial resolution to "redraw" the world map. The project aims to replace the traditional 500-year-old cylindrical Mercator projection with a new one showing the real dimensions of Africa. The case caused a scandal, as the US voted against, defining the debate as "cartographic colonialism" and an attempt at political reparations.
For a comment on the hot topic, we sought out the Bulgarian geodesist Eng. Valentin Yovev — former director of the Agency for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (AGKK) and former deputy minister of regional development and public works (MRDPW).
"The UN clearly has something to entertain itself with"
In front of our media, the expert brought clarity and reassured the Bulgarian public regarding the practical application of the new maps.
"This map is sponsored by the state of Togo and no one is obliging anyone to anything, but the UN clearly has something to entertain themselves with. What was adopted at the UN probably only applies to Africa and does not oblige any country. Don't worry, this does not change the navigation of the aircraft in any way", Yovev was categorical.
What is happening with the Bulgarian Geodetic System?
Regarding whether the new resolution affects Bulgarian mapping, Eng. Yovev emphasized the autonomy and security of domestic standards.
"The Bulgarian Geodetic System BGS2005 uses the same cylindrical projection as standard GPS devices and web maps, but there are specific differences in scale and parameters compared to world standards. We have not submitted it to a vote at the UN at all. We have a transformation program and that is quite enough", the former Deputy Minister of MRDPW specified.
Backstory of the cartographic scandal at the UN
The resolution, entitled "Let's fix the map", was pushed by Togo on behalf of the African Group and gathered the support of 164 countries. The new model relies on the projection "Equal Earth" (Equal Earth), where territories near the Equator appear to be in real scale. The previous Mercator standard from 1569 visually enlarged the northern countries and reduced Africa. However, the new standard is mainly of a recommendatory and educational nature for individual countries.