July
2008: The UN Office for Outer
Space Affairs is organizing a workshop on the theme ‘Building Upon Regional Space-based
Solutions for Disaster Management and Emergency Response for the Pacific
Region’ to be held in Suva, Fiji, from 16-19 September 2008.

The event is
jointly organized by the UN-SPIDER
Programme (the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) through its information and communication technologies and disaster
risk reduction programme and the Regional Space Applications Programme; and the
Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). The specific objectives
of the workshop are: to present the current status of space technology for
disaster management and emergency response within the Pacific region; discuss
the impacts of climate change on the increase of disasters in the region and
how space-based technologies can contribute to their mitigation; showcase
regional space-based initiatives relevant to disaster management support and
emergency response; identify approaches to harmonize existing initiatives aimed
at helping developing countries in the region access and use space-based
technologies for disaster management and risk reduction; complement ESCAP’s
efforts in developing regional cooperative mechanisms on use of space
technology for disaster risk reduction; promote current disaster management and
disaster risk reduction initiatives implemented by ESCAP and SOPAC as well as
other relevant organizations; and reflect on the best concepts for delivering
support to national activities and policies that consider the use of
space-based technologies. The event will bring together 40 decision makers and
senior experts mainly from the Pacific region disaster management community. [Workshop
announcement and registration]