On 9 and 10 July 2015, UN-SPIDER carried out an institutional strengthening mission to El Salvador at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aims of the mission were:
To continue the provision of advisory support to El Salvador.
The provide information to government agencies regarding COPUOS, UNOOSA and UN-SPIDER as El Salvador will be joining COPUOS as a Member State.
To present a series of maps of the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) that were elaborated by UN-SPIDER to contribute to monitor the effects of drought in the country, and to provide information on the UN-SPIDER Recommended Practice that can be used for this purpose.
The Expert Mission included several meetings with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Public Works, Public Health, and Interior. The mission was used to discuss the recommendations proposed by UN-SPIDER during its TAM in 2014; including the establishment of a national geospatial information system and an inter-institutional team of professionals which would focus its efforts the generation of space-based information in disaster risk reduction and emergency response.
During the mission, the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) agreed that the Environmental Observatory of the Ministry of Environment and Human Resources (MARN) should be the Authorised User on behalf of El Salvador to the International Charter Space and Major Disasters and other emergency mechanisms established by the space community. In addition, there was an agreement to continue efforts to implement the technical, interinstitutional remote sensing team to contribute to efforts in disaster risk reduction, preparedness and emergency response. The Department of Civil Protection was going to assess whether this team should be coordinated by the Scientific and Technical Commission of Civil Protection. Finally, the Environmental Observatory agreed to review the maps presented by UN-SPIDER to assess their accuracy in presenting up-to-date and historical information on droughts in the country.
On 9 and 10 July 2015, UN-SPIDER conducted an Expert Mission to El Salvador under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador as a follow-up to the Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) which was conducted in April 2014. The Expert Mission included several meetings with representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Public Works, Public Health, and Interior. The mission was used to discuss the recommendations proposed by UN-SPIDER during its TAM in 2014; including the establishment of a national geospatial information system and an inter-institutional team of professionals which would focus its efforts the generation of space-based information in disaster risk reduction and emergency response.
The mission was used by UN-SPIDER to present the recently developed Recommended Practice on droughts developed by the Iranian Space Agency in its role as a Regional Support Office and a series of maps elaborated by the UN-SPIDER Bonn Office regarding the Vegetation Condition Index as a way to contribute to drought early warning and drought management efforts in this country. Specific meetings were organised as part of this mission with the Directorate of Civil Protection, with the Environmental Observatory of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and with UNDP and other UN agencies in El Salvador which are conducting efforts to support the government to cope with the recent droughts that are affecting this country.
The opportunity was used to discuss ongoing efforts carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador related to the incorporation of El Salvador as a member of the Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and to provide information on the activities conducted by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and its Space Applications Programme.
