The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its Programme on Space Applications and the UN-SPIDER platform, together with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), jointly organised the United Nations/India workshop on the Use of Earth Observation Data in Disaster Management and Risk Reduction: Sharing the Asian Experience. The workshop was conducted with the aim to share experiences from Asia and other regions of the World regarding the use of Earth observation in disaster management. More than 110 participants from 31 countries (from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and North America) attended the workshop which was held in Hyderabad, India, from 8 to 10 March 2016. The following technical sessions covered wide range of applications of Earth observation technology in disaster management:
1. Earth observation in disaster management
2. Challenges in disaster management – Field experiences
3. Disaster risk assessment – Role of space technology
4. Space technology in disasters- Scenarios and trends
5. Early warning systems and emergency response
6. Challenges in capacity building – disaster management
7. Foster international cooperation for promoting space technology
The workshop agenda included two special addresses, two invited talks and 45 technical presentations offered through three plenary sessions and four parallel sessions. Participants from several countries working closely with UN-SPIDER programm or willing to work with UN-SPIDER programme attended the workshop. Experts from two UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices (the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Deveopment (ICIMOD) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)), two UN affiliated Reginal Centres for Space Sciene Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (based in India and China) and other partner organisations provided technical presentations. The experts from organistations involved in running operational programmes related to disaster management and space technology were invited to share their experience. The participants visited satellite data reception and processing facilities of NRSC in Shadnagar Campus and the Tsunami Warning System established at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
