UN-SPIDER Beijing Conference, September 2016

The Office for Outer Space Affairs is pleased to announce the “United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction – ‘Understanding Disaster Risk’”.  The Conference will be conducted in Beijing  from 19 to 21 September 2016.   The conference is organised by the UN-SPIDER Beijing Office and follows five conferences held since 2011. Previous conferences covered the themes of “Best practices for risk reduction and rapid response mapping” in 2011, “Risk assessment in the context of global climate change” in 2012, “Disaster risk identification, assessment and monitoring” in 2013, “Multi-hazard disaster risk assessment” in 2014 and “A consolidating role in the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” in 2015. These conferences offered a forum for disaster management communities and experts to strengthen their capabilities in using space-based information to identify, assess, monitor and respond to disaster risks and integrate space technology into long-term disaster risk management efforts.

The conference will build upon the outcomes of 5th UN-SPIDER Conference which was conducted in Beijing in 2015 that was used to discuss the role of Earth observation in the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (http://www.unoosa.org/res/oosadoc/data/documents/2016/aac_105/aac_1051102_0_html/AC105_1102E.pdf).

The current conference should provide recommendations related to Priority 1 of the Sendai Framework “Understanding disaster risk”. The conference will address the role of Earth observation in monitoring indicators against the global targets of the Sendai Framework. In addition, it is expected to continue providing guidelines, technical knowledge and recommendations to Member States to implement the Sendai Framework. Furthermore, the conference will also be used to discuss a strategic work plan and its implementation, building on 10 years of achievements of UN-SPIDER. The outcome document of the conference will be presented in subcommittees of COPUOS and will feed into the UNISPACE+50 process. It will also provide valuable inputs to the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) planned from 2-5 November 2016 in New Delhi, India.

The deadline for registration is 10 July 2016.

For additional information on the conference regarding its sessions, expected outcomes,  and other logistical issues; please review the Information Note.