1 February 2010 - The workshop on "Space Technology for Disaster Risk Reduction" at the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) of India took place from 11 to 13 January 2010. It was organized with support from UN-SPIDER. Although India is well-known for its space technology and applications, the need to assess its use in disaster management was articulated specifically by the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA). While the central Government provides policy guidelines, SDMA are responsible for their implementation.
Experts from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), NIDM, UN-SPIDER, and disaster management authorities shared their experiences of using Remote Sensing/GIS for disaster management. Participants provided recommendations on the following topics:
- Policies interventions at the state level to develop capacities and get access to space-based and geo information
- Effective data sharing for the use of geo-information for disaster management.
Recommendations of the workshop should be circulated to authorities in the central and state Governments to insure that the right information reaches the appropriate people. Furthermore, a virtual community (e-group) is created by NIDM as a result of the workshop. This group is connected to the ISRO Disaster Management System and UN-SPIDER to provide updates on recent advances in the use of space technology for disaster management.
Contact: Mr. Shirish Ravan (shirish.ravan (at) unoosa.org)
