Lao People’s Democratic Republic

As part of the technical advisory support it provides to countries worldwide on accessing space-based information for disaster management and emergency response, UN-SPIDER carried out an Institutional Strengthening Mission to Lao People’s Democratic Republic from 18 to 22 March 2019 upon the request of the Ministry of Science and Technology. This activity was jointly organized by the United Nations platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). Experts from two UN-SPIDER Regional Support Officer – the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) – contributed to the mission.

The mission was a follow-up activity to the UN-SPIDER Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) conducted in July 2015 that assessed use of space-derived information in all aspects of disaster…

The National University of Laos (NUOL) and Deqing Academy of Satellite Applications (DASA) conducted a joint Asia-Oceania GEOSS (AOGEOSS) training workshop on Earth observation data for urban, agriculture and disaster monitoring in the Mekong Basin from 15 to 19 October 2018 at the Faculty of Engineering (FE) of the National University of Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The workshop was carried out in cooperation with the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI) of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) and Beijing PIESAT Information Technology Co., Ltd. 

The Chinese delegation was led by Professor Qingyan Meng and Professor Xiang Zhou. The representative from the Faculty of Engineering was Professor Dr. Boualinh Soysouvanh, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Lao PDR. Twenty participants participated in activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of Lao young researchers, teachers, students and officials from different…

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) have jointly activated the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” for the recent floods in Lao People’s Democratic Republic on 24 July 2018. UNOOSA activated the Charter on behalf of the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of Disaster Management and Climate, while UNITAR-UNOSAT activated the emergency mechanism on behalf of the World Food Program (WFP). At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds of people remain missing after floods struck the country's Attapeu province. The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric dam released 5 billion cubic meters of water downstream, flooding at least 7 villages and washing away homes. Emergency responders are now working to rescue people from the area, evacuate them to emergency shelters and search for the missing.…

UN-SPIDER carried out a Technical Advisory Mission to Lao PDR from 6-10 July 2015. The mission was conducted upon invitation from the Ministry of Science and Technology. The mission staff also worked closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), in particularly with the Department of Disaster Management and Climate Change (DDMCC), which is a secretariat of the National Disaster Prevention and Control Committee (NDPCC). The mission team was comprised of 9 experts from UN-SPIDER and other organisations, namely the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), University of Georgia, Delta State University, UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, National Disaster Reduction Centre of China and International Water Management Institute.

The mission team conducted in-depth discussions with 4 Ministers and 3 Vice Ministers (Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, Public Work…