Statement to be delivered by Mrs. Mazlan Othman, Director, UNOOSA
Thank-you Mr. Chairman for providing the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs the opportunity to present to the distinguished delegates the work we have been carrying out together with ISDR and its regional partners, contributing to ensure that space-based information is available to support disaster risk reduction.
The Hyogo Framework of Action recognises the importance of space-based technologies in supporting the achievement of the goals set out in the framework and we are committed to helping Member States and regional and international organisations access and use such space-based solutions and information to support risk reduction activities.
UNOOSA is the lead UN agency for space-related activities and actions. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, to support the achievement of development goals for the benefit of humankind. The Office implements the decisions of the United Nations General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. Our priority areas include relevant areas to disaster risk reduction such as climate change, tele-epidemiology and tele-health, mountainous area development, disaster risk management, search and rescue, and global navigation and positioning.
Recognizing the contribution of space-based technologies to support activities that minimise the impacts of natural and technological disasters around the world the United Nations General Assembly established the United Nations Platform for Space-Based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) in December 2006 with the mandate to provide universal access to all countries and all relevant international and regional organizations to all types of space-based information to support the full disaster management cycle by being a gateway to space information for disaster management support, serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities and being a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening, in particular for developing countries.
UN-SPIDER has been active since its establishment conducting a variety of activities including the setup of a Knowledge Portal; the conduction of Technical Advisory Missions, the organization of a variety of outreach activities; and supporting efforts conducted by its partners focusing on the mobilization of experts and practitioners. In the context of ISDR, UN-SPIDER is conducting activities within three of the five key Priorities for Action established in the Hyogo Framework for Action, and has participated this year in five Regional Platform Meetings in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
It is my pleasure to inform you that on the occasion of the Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Reduction, UN-SPIDER and several partners are launching a “SPIDER Global Thematic Partnership”. This partnership is foreseen as a forum to facilitate the networking of the global community of practitioners targeting the use of space-based information and services to support disaster risk management, including mainstreaming Disaster-Risk Reduction into development.
Let me reaffirm the commitment of UNOOSA to work together with the Secretariat of ISDR in supporting efforts to contribute to building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters and to support the ISDR system.