The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), through its Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER), is conducting a side event at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on using Earth observation to implement the Sendai Framework. The session aims to demonstrate the benefits of space-based technologies for the implementation of the Sendai Framework, provide a forum to share experiences Asian countries have had in using space technologies for disaster management, and identify opportunities for collaboration between disaster management authorities in Asia and UN-SPIDER.
Under the theme “Preventing Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Development”, AMCDRR 2018 underlines that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved without due consideration to disaster risks societies are facing. The event aims to support sustainable development efforts by strengthening disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific region through three conference outcomes:
- Ulaanbaatar Declaration
- 2018-2020 Action Plan of the Asia Regional Plan for the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (Key focus area: Target E – National and Local Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies)
- Voluntary commitments and updates by stakeholders
As foreseen by its mandate, UN-SPIDER supports UN Member states in using space-based information for reducing disaster risks. It worked with key government agencies in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean ahead of the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which took place in Sendai, Japan, in 2015, to ensure that text on the use of Earth observations and space-based technologies was introduced in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Together with a wide range of international partners, UN-SPIDER also launched the Global Partnership Using Space-based Technology Applications for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP-START) at the event.
