The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) invite partners and stakeholder to share good practices on lessons learned on Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS).

Fires continue to destroy thousands to hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests and wildlands around the world every year.  As a first step to address the challenges of wildfires, it is important to assess their geographical location and their severity. This information can be useful to implement restrictions on land use and to identify measures to ensure the recovery of such wild areas.  

To facilitate the activation of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters in Central America, Mexico and Dominican Republic, UN-SPIDER, the Central American Coordination Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention (CEPREDENAC) and the International Charter Space and Major Disasters organized a regional training course in Guatemala City, Guatemala, from 30 November to 02 December 2021.   Experts from the National Commission on Space Activities of Argentina (CONAE), National Space Research Institute of Brazil (INPE), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) made participa

UN-SPIDER and the Central American Coordination Centre for Natural Disaster Prevention successfully concluded the UN-SPIDER / CEPREDENAC Regional Expert Meeting for Latin America:  Space-based solutions for disaster risk reduction and response.  The virtual expert meeting was carried out between 23 and 25 November 2021 and was attended by nearly 150 participants from many countries in Latin America, the United States and Europe.

The UN-SPIDER programme of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Center for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL) of the University of Bonn successfully concluded the UN-SPIDER Bonn International Conference: “Space-based Solutions for Disaster Management in Africa: Networks and Information Technologies in times of crisis”.

The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) held its 72^nd International Astronautical Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  The congress, hosted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), took place from 25 to 29 October 2021 and was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Our planet is in peril. Communities around the world are feeling the impacts of climate change manifested in a variety of ways; our atmosphere, polar caps, and oceans are warming; and our frameworks of development are unfortunately having a severe impact on species and on the environment around the world.