March 2009

                                                      UN-SPIDER March 2009 Updates

In this issue:

UN-SPIDER News

• UN-SPIDER participates in disaster risk reduction regional platform in the Americas
• Asian Disaster Reduction Center Offers to Host UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office
• UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office Meets with Focal Points during ECOWAS Meeting
• UN-SPIDER announces its Third United Nations International Bonn Workshop
• UN-SPIDER bridges gap between providers and end users in tackling Namibia floods
• CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: “JBGIS Best Practices Booklet on Geo-information for Risk and Disaster Management”
• 29th Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities (IAM)

News from the Space & Disaster Management Community

• Satellite flow forecasting system implemented in the Yellow River
• New free guide to humanitarian mapping from MapAction
• New earth explorer satellite to enhance knowledge in addressing climate change
• NASA satellite sees flooding in Queensland, Australia
• Early Warning System saves lives in Central America
• Canadian Red Cross launches website to enhance disaster response capacity
• Satellite to spy on tree-eating bugs and monitor their environmental impact
• ESA satellite reveals recovery of earthquake stricken areas
• Bhuvan: A local Indian variant to Google Earth

Conferences and Workshops

• “3rd Regional Training Course GIS for Disaster Risk Management – An Introductory Course” organized by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), in Bangkok, Thailand, 11-22 May 2009
• CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS: “2nd International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS) Benelux International Workshop on Oil, Gas and Chemicals Safety & Disaster Management” in Antwerp, Belgium, 25-26 September 2009
• “5th European Conference on Severe Storms” jointly organized by the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), in Landshut, Germany, 12-16 October 2009
• “Second Regional Workshop of the GEOSS Support for Decision-Making in the Coastal Zone” in Accra, Ghana, 2-7 August 2009
• CALL FOR PAPERS: 3rd Central Asia GIS Conference - GISCA’09, “GIScience for Environmental and Emergency Management in Central Asia”, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 27-28 August 2009

Upcoming UN-SPIDER Outreach Activities

• United Nations International UN-SPIDER Workshop: "Promoting the Use of Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response", in Vienna, Austria, 2 to 4 June 2009
• Third United Nations International UN-SPIDER Bonn Workshop: "From Concepts to Application", in Bonn, Germany, 21 to 23 October 2009
• "6th UN-wide Meeting on the Use of Space Technologies for Emergency Response and Humanitarian Assistance", in New York, USA (second half of 2009)
• UN-SPIDER Regional Workshop "Promoting the Use of Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response in Latin America", Ecuador (second half of 2009)
• UN-SPIDER Regional Workshop "Building Upon Regional Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response for Africa", Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (December 2009)

Upcoming Events Supported by UN-SPIDER

3rd Central Asia GIS Conference - GISCA'09, "GIScience for Environmental and Emergency Management in Central Asia" in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 27-28 August 2009
II Escuela de Primavera sobre Soluciones Espaciales para el Manejo de Desastres Naturales y Respuestas de Emergencias (UN-SPIDER/GEOSS Spring School), Argentina (Organized by UN-SPIDER/GEOSS/CONAE/CRECTEALC (October 2009)