The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and its Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) to take part in the IAA Climate Change and Disaster Management Conference, being held today (September 17, 2015) and tomorrow, in Mexico City. The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) hosts the event with the participation of Heads of Space Agencies all over the world. The Summit addresses all aspects of the contributions of the space community to the understanding and solving of the challenges of climate change and disaster management.
Today at 10.30 local time in Mexico, the UNOOSA director will hold a keynote on "The United Nations on Climate Change and Disaster Management: UNOOSA bringing space-based tools and applications at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda". This afternoon, at 3pm local time, UN-SPIDER and UNOOSA will present in session 7 "Space in Support of People" on “Space-based applications, end-users requirements and global development agendas: connecting the dots”. In their aim to contribute to the development of partnerships and the institutional strengthening at the national and regional levels and how it positively impacts on the ability of governments and other stakeholders in taking advantage of space-based technology and applications, UN-SPIDER and UNOOSA will focus on their three main goals:
- Promoting space-based technology and applications for sustainable development: the case of disaster risk reduction.
- The UN-SPIDER approach to assessing end-user requirements in using space-based data and information towards implementing the global agendas.
- Impacting planning and decision-making in the national and regional implementation of the global agendas.
UN-SPIDER by UNOOSA invites actors in Earth observation to work together in supporting nations with their challenging commitments to reduce the impacts of hazards and climate change, and strive towards the sustainable future they look for. All contributions are directed to support the efforts towards sustainable development. Especially, the three frameworks that seek to address the challenges posed by climate change and natural hazards for the next 15 years: the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030; the Post-2015 Development Agenda, now labeled “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and the 2st UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change, to be held in Paris, France, by the end of this year.
