News
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UN-SPIDER present in the 19th General Assembly of the International Civil Defence Organization Wed Dec 1 2010The International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) conducted its 19th General Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on 1 – 2 November 2010. Congregating 50 Member States mainly from Africa and Asia, and 16 countries as Observers, the General Assembly offers an opportunity for Member States to exchange impressions regarding advances in activities related to civil protection and to explore...
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UN-SPIDER particpates in VI Space Conference of the Americas Tue Nov 30 2010The Sixth Space Conference of the Americas took place from 15 to 19 November in Pachuca City, in the State of Hidalgo in Mexico. Organized by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs with the support of the Office of the Governor of the State of Hidalgo, the Conference congregated official delegations from countries in North America, the Caribbean, Central and South America, as well as representatives...
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Technical Advisory Mission in Guatemala finds well advanced use of GIS Tue Nov 30 2010UN-SPIDER carried out a Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) to Guatemala from 22 to 26 November 2010. Conducted at the request of the Presidential Secretariat for Planning and Programming (SEGEPLAN), UN-SPIDER assembled a team of experts from CATHALAC-SERVIR which is a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office, CONAE, CRECTEALC, and the Organization of American States. As in previous missions in...
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ESA attending UN Climate Conference Mon Nov 29 2010Representatives from 194 countries have gathered at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, to continue working towards tackling climate change. ESA is attending 'COP16' to update negotiators on satellite observations of climate, and to explain how the ESA Climate Change Initiative will provide consistent data to help scientists better understand climate change. Climate research...
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Iran names OIC satellite 'volunteers' Mon Nov 29 2010In October, the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) ratified a bill allowing the government to enhance its efforts to design and launch satellites and satellite carriers. Three years after Russia launched Iran's first satellite in 2005, another satellite --jointly designed by Iran, China, and Thailand -- was launched into orbit by China. Iranian officials say Islamic countries could use satellite imagery...
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Survey on spatial data sharing in Rwanda Fri Nov 26 2010The Centre for Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing of the National University of Rwanda conducted a spatial data sharing survey in June 2010. The objectives were to assess the preparedness of organizations to share spatial data in Rwanda. Organizations dealing with spatial data production, management and use were targeted. It assessed the sharing culture and identified the needs and...
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CATHALAC presenta avances del Mapa Centroamericano de Cobertura y Uso de la Tierra Fri Nov 26 2010El Atlas integra información desarrollada en el contexto ambiental, socio cultural, económico y físico, compilado en seis capítulos: 1. Medio Físico, 2. Aspectos Económicos y Socio – Culturales, 3. Recursos Naturales, 4. Amenazas Desastres, 5. Cambio Climático y 6. Gestión Territorial. Las categorías del Mapa se definen como: 1...
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FLEX and CarbonSat, vying to be 8th Earth Explorer addressing key climate and environmental change issues Fri Nov 26 2010As part of the procedure to realise ESA's series of Earth Explorers, two new mission proposals have been selected for further development. The missions, called FLEX and CarbonSat, now vying to be the eighth Earth Explorer both address key climate and environmental change issues. The selection follows ESA's Call for Earth Explorer Proposals that was released in October last year and ended in the...
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UN-SPIDER Opens Office in Beijing after Vienna and Bonn Wed Nov 10 2010UNIS/OS/400 10 November 2010 UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) Opens Office in Beijing VIENNA, 10 November (UN Information Service) - The United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) opened an office in Beijing today. UN-SPIDER, which was created in 2006...
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Use satellites to know your snow Fri Nov 5 2010Satellite information on snow cover is now available through ESA’s GlobSnow project soon after it snows. Understanding snow conditions helps us to predict floods and advance climate studies. Seasonal changes in snow cover mostly occur in the northern hemisphere. The one-year, near-real time demonstration service makes information about snow cover and snow amount publicly available online on...
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UN-SPIDER at the 8th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (AARSE) and the GARNET-E workshop Mon Nov 15 2010The above conference was organized by AARSE together with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Ethiopian Mapping Agency and took place from 25 to 29 October. It brought together more than 400 participants from all over the African continent as well as other international experts. Participation ranged from senior scientists and PhD students to government officials and private...
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UN-SPIDER and ADRC organize side event at the 4th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction Fri Nov 5 2010This high profile ministerial conference was organized by the Government of Korea and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and took place from 25 to 29 October 2010 in Incheon, Korea. The participants were ministers from Asia and Pacific countries and delegations from governments that included decision makers from the ministries responsible for disaster risk reduction in the...
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UN-SPIDER moderates thematic session at GMES User Forum Fri Nov 5 2010The GMES User Forum was organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) together with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and in close cooperation with the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It brought together about 120 participants from a large number of German institutions, national agencies,...
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Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2010 by UNESCAP and UNISDR out now Wed Nov 3 2010The Asia Pacific Disaster Report 2010 - Protecting Development Gains has been published by UNESCAP and UNISDR. Contents: CHAPTER I - Disaster risk in Asia and the Pacific CHAPTER II - Socio-economic impacts of disasters CHAPTER III - Reducing vulnerability, socio-economic perspectives CHAPTER IV - Making the recovery resilient CHAPTER V - Capitalizing on new technology CHAPTER VI - Cooperating...
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GSDI12 WORLD CONFERENCE- Realising Spatially Enabled Societies Tue Nov 2 2010The theme for GSDI 12 was "Realizing Spatially Enabled Societies." The conference organizers set out to encourage collaboration to help create an enabling environment that enhances outcomes in societies, economies and the global environment. A peer-reviewed book on this topic was launched during the conference. It focuses on research, emerging trends and critical assessment and it...
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Geospatial databases and the evolving role of the surveyor Thu Oct 28 2010Within the last thirty years, GIS technology has evolved from single purpose, project based applications to enterprise systems. Enterprise systems are currently being used by businesses, institutions, industry, local governments and the private sector to provide services to clients, manage resources, and to address multiple issues pertaining to health and human resources, transportation, public...
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Erasmus Mundus-UNESCO-IHE Scholarships: New Erasmus Mundus Masters Course on Flood Risk Management Thu Oct 28 2010Erasmus Mundus-UNESCO-IHE Scholarships: New Erasmus Mundus Masters Course on Flood Risk Management: The programme is offered by a collaboration of 4 leading European Institutes namely UNESCO-IHE (lead), Technical University of Dresden (Germany), Technical University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain) and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia). The first semester will be provided at Dresden, 2nd semester...
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Sentinel-3 : A new pair of glasses to view Earth Thu Oct 28 2010Our view of Earth is set to become even sharper with new instruments to be carried on ESA's Sentinel-3 satellites. In many ways, it will be like looking at Earth through a new pair of glasses. Sentinel-3 is one of the five missions that ESA is developing for Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) initiative. Primarily, Sentinel-3 will deliver data for GMES services related...
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New UN-SPIDER RSO established at the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre of the University of the West Indies Tue Oct 19 2010On 8 October 2010 the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs signed the cooperation agreement that established the tenth UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office (RSO). UWI is the first university to host an RSO and to contribute its experience and capabilities to the UN-SPIDER programme by doing so. The Disaster Risk Reduction Centre at the University of the West...
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Call for Proposals: Global Spatial Data Infrasructure (GSDI) Small Grants Program Tue Oct 19 2010The Global Spatial Data Infrasructure (GSDI) Association announced its 2010-11 Small Grants Program. The GSDI focuses on international cooperation and collaboration in spatial data infrastructure developments on different levels support. Resources from the U.S. Federal Geographic Data Committee and the GISCorps of The Urban and Regional Infrastructure Systems Association (URISA) are allocated to...
