BOGOTA DECLARATION FIRST MEETING OF EQUATORIAL COUNTRIES* The undersigned representatives of the States traversed by the Equator met in Bogota, Republic of Colombia, from November 29 through December 3rd, 1976 with the purpose of studying the geostationary orbit that corresponds to their national terrestrial, sea, and insular territory and considered as a natural resource. After an exchange of information and having studied in detail the different technical, legal, and political aspects implied in the exercise of national sovereignty of States adjacent to said orbit, have reached the following conclusions: 1. The Geostationary Orbit as a Natural Resource The geostationary orbit is a circular orbit on the Equatorial plane in which the period of sideral revolution of the satellite is equal to the period of sideral rotation of the Earth and the satellite moves in the same direction of the Earth's rotation. When a satellite describes this particular orbit, it is said to be geostationary; such a satellite appears to be stationary in the sky, when viewed from the earth, and is fixed on the zenith of a given point of the Equator, whose longitude is by definition that of the satellite. This orbit is located at an approximate distance of 35,871 Kmts. over the Earth's Equator. Equatorial countries declare that the geostationary synchronous orbit is a physical fact linked to the reality of our planet because *The expression "Equatorial Countries" throughout the text means those states of the world traversed by the Equator.
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