From 19 to 21 September UN-SPIDER conducted the “United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction – ‘Understanding Disaster Risk’”, in Beijing, China. Co-organised with the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and in collaboration with the Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO); the conference brought together more than 90 participants from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East.
The conference provided a platform to discuss strategies to be used by the Member States and supporting international/regional organisations to enhance the understanding disaster risk, especially based on the use of space-based technologies. Topics included tools, technologies as well as peripheral issues such as data sharing, spatial data infrastructure, institutional coordination, etc. The conference was followed by a trianing course where 25 participants from developing countries were trained on the use of space-based applications in floods and droughts.
This conference is one more step in the long-term efforts of the Office for Outer Space Affairs and UN-SPIDER as a way to build on the commitments to the Sendai Framework and the global development agenda. The conference also supported the efforts of the Office for Outer Space Affairs as the Office is now engaged in the UNISPACE+50 process. In 2018, UNISPACE+50 event will mark the 50th anniversary of the First United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE).
