14 July 2017: Simonetta di Pippo, Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), briefed Member States and stakeholders on the potential of space-based technologies to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The briefing took place during a side event for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).

The event, titled ‘Eradicating Poverty and Promoting Prosperity in a Changing World: the Use of Space-Based Technologies and Applications for Sustainable Development,’ took place on 14 July 2017, in New York, US.

Di Pippo said space is a major societal and economic activity, valued at around US$320 billion, with over 70 space agencies, more than 1,400 satellites operated by over 60 countries, and an increasing number of private players. However, she underscored that space is a “global commons” and thus the advancement of space technology should benefit all Member States. To that end, she said UNOOSA seeks to build capacity, to bring the benefits of space to humankind by building space capacity for non-space-faring countries and facilitate global, peaceful use of outer space. She noted that UNOOSA is the main UN agency on space matters and coordinates UN activities using space-related technology to improve human conditions globally.

Noting that cutting-edge technologies such as satellite technology and space applications are indispensable as the international community strives towards 2030, the UNOOSA Director said UNOOSA is currently developing new approaches to address the targets enshrined in the SDGs. She then identified ways in which space-based technologies contribute to the achievement of several of the SDGs:

• SDG 2 (zero hunger): space-based data derived from remote sensing and other applications are used to advance sustainable agriculture through technological development, planning, and monitoring of agricultural production.
• SDG 3 (good health and well-being): spatial analysis can be used to identify the ecological, environmental, climatic, and other factors that can have a negative effect on public health or can contribute to the spread of diseases.
• SDG 4 (quality education): UNOOSA programmes and initiatives provide capacity building, education, research and development support, and technical advisory services, which have helped to reduce the gap between the industrialized and developing countries.
• SDG 5 (gender equality): UNOOSA is working on a dedicated ‘Space for Women’ project, with the goals to strengthen and deliver targeted capacity-building and technical advisory activities; and to encourage women and girls’ involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
• SDG 15: (life on land): space technologies allow the evaluation of the natural environment to protect biodiversity, study ecosystems and evaluate the extent of illegal logging and mining, as well as wildlife crime.
• SDG 17 (partnerships for goals): UNOOSA intends to capitalize on the technological and innovative skills of the private sector to benefit developing countries and to deliver the Access to Space Initiative to deliver the SDGs. For this initiative, experiments are to be designed and constructed by institutions in developing countries, which specifically address the SDGs.

Di Pippo also introduced the global partnership ‘Space for SDGs,’ which aims to: establish a direct link between space and SDGs implementation through one authoritative organization; identify countries’ needs (“space assets users’ needs”) and foster the availability of Space Systems capacity to meet them, as this is a critical gap not being currently addressed globally and interdisciplinary; and coordinate and complement the ongoing actions at different levels, and thus improving the cost effectiveness of the global process.

In the ensuing discussion, Zambia stressed the need for a global observatory to inform countries that do not have satellites about instances when illegal crossing of borders to illegally exploit resources takes place. He noted that when developing countries are negotiating projects with industrialized states and multinational enterprises, the latter groups may have more information about the resources that developing countries have than the developing country negotiators have, due to space-based technologies. He stressed the need for the UN to take a proactive role in ensuring the equitable use of space and in supporting developing countries to develop their own space-based technologies.

Di Pippo replied that the global governance of space will be one of the main issues to be discussed at UNISPACE +50, which will take place from 20-21 June 2018 in Vienna, Austria. She added that UNOOSA aims to develop tools to enable easier user-access to space information to countries. [UNOOSA Website][‘Space for SDGs’ Global Project][UNISPACE+50][HLPF Website][IISD Sources]