UN-SPIDER conducted a Institutional Strengthening Mission in Sri Lanka from 24 to 28 April 2017. Th ISM was a follow-up to the technical advisory mission to Sri Lanka in 2011. Both the original mission and the follow-up activity were hosted by the Ministry of Disaster Management of Sri Lanka and its associated Disaster Management Centre.
As part of the ISM, UN-SPIDER and the Disaster Management Centre conducted a three-day training course at the recommendation of UN-SPIDER for the members of the rapid mapping inter-institutional team established by the Centre. The mission also provided an opportunity to participate in the first meeting of the Advisory Board for the National Risk Assessment Project that the Disaster Management Centre was conducting. In addition, the mission enabled to further its efforts to provide technical advisory support to Sri Lanka; to make government agencies, universities and non-governmental organizations aware of the UN-SPIDER knowledge portal and its contents, including specific recommended practices relevant to Sri Lanka; to raise awareness of the usefulness of the Standard Vegetation Index and the Vegetation Condition Index in drought early warning efforts. Following the successful model of the Dominican Republic and countries in Central America, UN-SPIDER recommended the establishment of a technical inter-institutional team that could focus its efforts in the processing of satellite imagery to generate relevant and timely geospatial information.
