Small island nations are highly vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters, such as hurricanes, cyclones, and other storms, which can lead to severe flooding, landslides, and result in the loss of life and property. In addition, a rise in the global mean sea level places island nations at a higher risk for permanent submersion of land, coastal erosion, coastal ecosystem loss or change, salinization, and impeded drainage.
This three-part training series will focus on small island nations while introducing the data, methods, and tools useful for monitoring natural hazards. Case studies will be used to demonstrate methodologies applying satellite and model data and open access tools to analyze storm impacts, sea level rise, and landslides on small island nations.
Course Format:
Having reliable and timely population distribution data can make a life or death difference for individuals facing crises or living in conflict-ridden regions. These data are also essential for development decision-making and planning and for monitoring progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the international community. We need to know where people are located, what conditions they are facing, what infrastructure is available, and what basic services they can access. We also need to ensure that no one is left off the map in pursuit of meeting the SDGs.
Gridded population data, which often use remote sensing inputs to improve the spatial allocation of population within a country, are vital for all these purposes. Together with the growing variety of applications that require spatial population data, there is now a bewildering array of population grids, and users need to know which ones are most suitable for their applications…
read moreThe European Space Agency is organising the 11th International Workshop on “Advances in the Science and Applications of SAR Interferometry and Sentinel-1 InSAR”, Fringe 2021.
Format
Fringe 2021 is organised around:
The event will take place from 31 May - June 4 2021. No participation fees will be charged.
Objectives
Seasonal cold fronts have brought more rain to several municipalities of Chiapas, in Mexico, which are suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane's Eta and Iota. This has caused flooding and landslides in Ixhuatan, Matzam, Tacuba and Juan de Grijalva. The extent of the landslides are not yet known, as access to some rural communities by road has been cut off.
To support disaster management authorities in Mexico in responding to the floods, UNOOSA, through its UN-SPIDER programme has requested the activation of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters on behalf of the National Disaster Prevention Centre of Mexico (CENAPRED).
The project management for this activation is provided by the Autonomous University of Mexico State (UAEMEX).
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States Government (NASA) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 17 December 2020 pledging cooperation in areas of science and technology to support the peaceful uses of outer space.
The MoU brings together NASA's wealth of open-source spacecraft data, tools, and expertise and UNOOSA's unique position as the only UN entity dedicated to outer space affairs, to expand global opportunities to leverage the benefits of space. The partners will design capacity-building programmes, particularly for institutions in countries that do not yet have or that are developing space capabilities, to help them access space.
Together, UNOOSA and NASA will develop ways to leverage the Artemis programme as part of UNOOSA's Access to Space 4 All Initiative, which offers opportunities for international researchers and institutions, especially in…
read moreA new report by the world’s largest humanitarian aid network highlights global disasters, populations most vulnerable to them and the efforts of local institutions in preventing, preparing for and responding to them. The 2020 edition of the World Disasters Report, “Come Heat or High Water”, was launched virtually from the offices of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Vienna on November 16. This year’s report discusses climate- and weather-related disasters and their humanitarian impact. It argues for the usefulness of smart financing and space-based information in disaster management support.
The report warns that the global effort to address climate change is leaving behind countries…
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