UN-SPIDER - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

UN-SPIDER aims at providing universal access to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management by: being a gateway to space information for disaster management support; serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities; and being a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening.

In its resolution 61/110 of 14 December 2006 the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...

agreed to establish UN-SPIDER as a new United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

programme, with the following mission statement: "Ensure that all countries and international and regional organizations have access to and develop the capacity to use all types of space-based information to support the full disaster management cycle".

Offices

Besides Vienna (where UNOOSA is located), the programme also has an office in Bonn

Bonn

Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

and in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

Vienna

Bonn

The UN-SPIDER Bonn Office was established in October 2007 with support from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) and the German Aerospace Center

German Aerospace Center

The German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...

(DLR), and currently has 9 staff members.
The mission of the UN-SPIDER Bonn Office is to make sure that all relevant information is easily accessible and disseminated to all stakeholders in the areas of disaster management and emergency and humanitarian response, to establish communities of practice, to manage and transfer knowledge and to foster and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on a regional and global scale.

Beijing

The Beijing office opened on November 9, 2010.

Activities

SpaceAid
Outreach and Capacity building
Horizontal Cooperation
Technical Advisory Support

Space technology and disaster management

Global vulnerability to natural disasters is likely to increase as the impact of climate change and land degradation processes continues to rise along with rapidly growing populations. Earthquakes, floods, storms, and other natural hazards cause massive disruption to societies and overburden national economic systems. Considerable losses of life and property, however, could be avoided through better information about the risk and onset of disasters, improved risk assessment, early warning, and disaster monitoring. In recognition of these needs the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations General Assembly

, in its resolution 61/110 of 14 December 2006, acknowledged that use of existing space technology, such as earth observation

Earth observation

Earth observation is the gathering of information about planet Earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. It is used to monitor and assess the status of, and changes in, the natural environment and the built environment. In recent years, Earth observation has become technologically more and...

and meteorological satellites, communication and navigation satellites can play a major role in supporting disaster management by providing accurate and timely information for decision making.

UN-SPIDER outreach and capacity-building

Capacity building refers to the process of facilitating the strengthening of the competency of individuals, teams, and agencies to use space-based information to prevent, mitigate, and respond effectively to the challenges posed by natural hazards and related humanitarian crises.

Awareness - raising

Awareness-raising is a process by which the level of understanding among the persons targeted is raised, fostering change in attitudes and behaviour. In the framework of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), awareness-raising is designed as an ongoing process accompanying, facilitating and preparing activities,as new audiences are addressed, new partnerships are formed and new technological solutions are developed, offering new opportunities for existing and new target groups.

Outreach

Outreach activities contribute to involving practitioners and experts from the disaster management and space communities in UN-SPIDER activities and in similar activities organized by partners that promote the use of space-based information to support the full disaster management cycle.

Capacity-building

The objective of the capacity-building efforts of UN-SPIDER is to ensure that countries recognize the value of all types of space-based information, impacts of disasters and to respond more efficiently in case of such disasters through improved use of this type of information.

How does UN-SPIDER support capacity building?

To increase capacities regarding the use of space-based information for disaster-risk management and emergency response at the national level, UN-SPIDER pursues three lines of action:

1. Institutions: UN-SPIDER will promote the adoption of policies which ensures that operating procedures within institutions incorporate the use of space-based information, and that they support activities targeting all phases of disaster management cycle.

2. Individuals: UN-SPIDER facilitates access to training programs conducted by Centers of Excellence and specialized training centers to enhance the knowledge and skills of staff working in institutions which conduct activities targeting all phases of the disaster management cycle.

3. Infrastructure: UN-SPIDER facilitates access to infrastructure to ensure the capacity to access and make use of space-based information.

SpaceAid

SpaceAid is UN-SPIDER's framework to facilitate fast and efficient access to space-based information for countries, international and regional organizations. This includes all types of information provided by earth observation satellites, communication satellites and global navigation satellite systems.

How does the SpaceAid mechanism work?

1. UN-SPIDER receives a request for support from a National Focal Point, Regional Support Office, or an UN Agency. Users indicate their needs in consultation with UN-SPIDER experts.

2. UN-SPIDER forwards the request to all partners of the framework. The providers select products they will give on voluntary basis. All partners have the opportunity to contribute to any request. All opportunities to obtain imagery and other data free of charge will be exploited. Once the required technology becomes functional SpaceAid will also be in a position to automatically task multiple satellites according to the needs of requesting users.

3. Partners inform on the Knowledge Portal about their intended contribution to avoid duplication of efforts, and to allow end users to have quick access to what is being prepared.

2009/2010

Google KML: SpaceAid activations in 2009-2010

2011

Communities of Practice

Communities of practice are part of a recent approach to support knowledge management and transfer that is based on the theory of social learning.Communities of practice are dynamic groups, linked through communication and learning processes, that are dedicated to the consideration of issues of interest to all community members. The sharing of knowledge is an essential process characterizing a community of practice. Some communities of practice deal with a broad range of issues relevant to UN-SPIDER.

Cooperation

Harmonization of the various initiatives and cooperation among the various partners are central elements for ensuring that States and international and regional organizations are able to access and use space-based information to support disaster management activities.

Knowledge Management and Transfer

The acquisition, processing and transfer of knowledge should be seen as central to the success of UN-SPIDER. That means knowing how to manage the kind of knowledge held in an individual’s brain in the form of know-how and experience and the kind of knowledge recorded in a variety of media. A knowledge base on how space-based information and solutions could support risk and disaster
management and emergency response could then be made available through the knowledge portal to support capacity-building among other purposes.

Knowledge Portal

The knowledge portal will remain central to all other activities carried out within the framework of UN-SPIDER, as it will provide the hosting environment and be the dissemination tool for all those activities and for the resulting outputs and products. In developing the knowledge portal, an effort will be made to integrate all useful information, knowledge and resources identified and available to support the mandate of UN-SPIDER, including those contributed by relevant user communities, and serve as a platform for sharing space-based information on the whole disaster management cycle, as a contribution to strengthening horizontal cooperation.

What is Technical Advisory Support?

Technical Advisory Support is one of the various activities carried out by UN-SPIDER. It could range from a simple consultative phone call to full-fledged in site technical support. It often materializes in any of the following three forms:

1. Technical Advisory Missions involving experts from various space and disaster management agencies and countries under the umbrella of one mission.
2. Technical Advice to national institutions by means of meetings, teleconferences, video conferences etc.
3. Facilitating direct cooperation between national institutions and satellite imagery providers.

What does Technical Advisory Support cover?

Technical Advisory Support usually provides know-how on the latest disaster management practices involving space technology. It also deals with international cooperation and regional opportunities, networking with regional institutions, and setting up disaster management plans. It also covers region-specific aspects such as trans-boundary issues, emergency response, risk assessment, GIS based disaster management systems, and disaster risk reduction.

What are the outcomes of Technical Advisory Mission?

Technical Advisory Missions typically generate:

1. Reports with recommendations
2. Follow up action
3. Guidelines/ policies on disaster management issues
4. Material required for awareness raising and establishing Communities of Practice
5. Access to Space-based information and capacity building support
6. Institutional cooperation

Country Profiles

The development of country profiles ensures the systematic compilation of information on the current and planned status of access to and use of space-based solutions and information to support risk and disaster management in each country. Each profile is developed with the support of national experts identified through outreach activities and in collaboration with the secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. The country profiles provide information for use within the framework of UN-SPIDER, including UN-SPIDER regional support offices, to develop thematic and regional strategies for technical advisory support.

Support at the National Level

Through UN-SPIDER, the objective is to promote greater understanding, acceptance and commitment by States and relevant international and regional organizations with regard to how they could develop the capacity to access and use all types of space-based information to support the full disaster management cycle. UN-SPIDER staff will continue to work with all Member States to ensure the designation of national focal points and, in cases in which they are not designated, the identification of other relevant Government authorities to ensure access to and the use of space-based solutions for disaster risk management and emergency response.

Regional Support Offices

A Regional Support Office is a regional or national center of expertise that is set up within an existing entity by a Member States that has put forward an offer to set up and fund the proposed support office.

How did the Regional Support Offices come into existence?

The establishment of a Network of Regional Support Offices was agreed upon by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 61/110. During the 52nd Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (CUPUOS), the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed cooperation agreements to establish UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nigeria, Romania, and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center. The most up-to-date list of all UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices can be found in the UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices

How do Regional Support Offices contribute?

Regional Support Offices communicate and coordinate with UN-SPIDER staff on regular basis, covering the three following realms:

Outreach and Capacity Building activities
Horizontal Cooperation (Communities of Practice, Knowledge Management, contributions to the Knowledge Portal etc.
Technical Advisory Support

National Focal Points

As defined by the United Nations General Assembly, a National Focal Point is a national institution, nominated by the government of the respective country, representing the disaster management and space applications communities. Among them are for example members of the space - or civil protection agencies. UN-SPIDER networks with all countries through the National Focal Points.

National Focal Point Role

A national Focal Point works with UN-SPIDER staff to achieve the following goals:

promoting access to and the use of space-based solutions for disaster management in the respective country
strengthening national disaster management planning and policies
implementing specific national activities that incorporate space-based technology solutions in support of disaster management

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.