As part of the SPEAR project, UN-SPIDER and ZFL engage in a number of activities related to raising awareness about the benefits of space-based information for disaster management, developing Earth-observation-based knowledge products to be used by civil protection agencies and other relevant stakeholders, providing technical advisory support to African partners, fostering knowledge management and strengthening partnerships. This page provides an overview of these activities.
Two decades ago, several space agencies joined forces to establish the International Charter Space and Major Disasters to support disaster response efforts worldwide, facilitating access to space-based information derived from satellite imagery. While members of the Charter facilitate access to satellite imagery, project managers and value-added providers process the imagery to generate relevant information on a timely basis, which is then provided to end-users including national disaster management agencies, United Nations organizations and Red Cross societies carrying out disaster response efforts.
In the year 2022, the International Charter incorporated the Charter Mapper, an on-line processing environment, to expedite the visualization of imagery provided during activations of the International Charter, and to facilitate its processing. Recognizing the need to enhance the skills of project managers and value-added providers engaged in activations, UN-SPIDER, the… Read more
As part of its efforts to provide advisory support to national disaster management agencies and other stakeholders in Africa, UN-SPIDER is carrying out an Institutional Strengthening Mission to South Africa from 8 to 12 May 2023.
The mission, implemented in coordination with the National Disaster Management Centre of South Africa (NDMC), includes meetings with staff of the NDMC, the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the South African Weather Service (SAWS), the Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and other institutions, and a three-day workshop on the use of space technologies in early warning and disaster management efforts with a focus on floods and droughts.
The three-day workshop will include presentations on UN-SPIDER Recommended Practices for flood mapping and drought monitoring, the Global Flood Awareness System (GLOFAS), and the Global Drought Observatory (… Read more
UN-SPIDER, the National Disaster Management Centre of South Africa (NDMC), and the Centre for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL) of the University of Bonn organized a three-day interinstitutional workshop in Pretoria, from 9 to 11 May 2023. The “Space-based Solutions for floods and droughts in Southern Africa" workshop was part of UN-SPIDER's mission to South Africa and contributes to the efforts conducted by the NDMC and UN-SPIDER in the topics of disaster risk reduction, preparedness, and early warning systems.
The United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) in collaboration with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), the Global Flood Awareness System (GLOFAS) of the Copernicus Programme of the European Commission, and the University of Bonn’s Centre for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL), conducted an international training workshop on space-based technologies for flood management. The workshop was held at the UN Bonn Campus on 20-22 February 2023.
The workshop had an impressive turnout of nearly 30 attendees, including representatives from national disaster management agencies, space agencies, government agencies, and students enrolled in universities from various countries including Algeria, Barbados, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda, and the United Kingdom.
The event aimed to increase the awareness of and developing skills… Read more
As the year 2021 comes to an end, the team at UN-SPIDER wants to take this chance to look back at some of our highlight activities during the year. Dominated by challenges provoked by the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis and its consequences, the world faced many challenges and will continue to do so in the next year and more years to come.
But not only the COVID-19 crisis challenges the world. In recent years, communities around the world began to experience foreseen and unforeseen impacts of the combination of climate change, improperly planned development processes, uncontrolled urban expansion, population growth, political crises, rising inequalities within and among countries, and improper management of the environment. Many countries and regions in the world faced disasters of various kinds and it is more crucial than ever to use available technologies and explore new possibilities in tackling disasters and their consequences.
It is our mission to “… Read more
