from mapscript import mapObj,layerObj wkt = '''GEOGCS["GCS_Fischer_1968",DATUM["Fischer_1968",SPHEROID["Fischer_1968",6378150,298.3]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0],UNIT["Degree",0.017453292519943295],AUTHORITY["EPSG","37003"]]''' m = mapObj('') m.setWKTProjection(wkt) lyr = layerObj(m) lyr.setWKTProjection(wkt)