Geoinformation for Disaster and Risk Management - ISPRS

Satellite communication serves to warn people at
risk in remote areas, and to connect a disaster area
to the outside world, providing medical information
(telemedicine) or geographic information and data
to support mapping activities. Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS) provide positional
information on disaster related events and objects
and support relief forces in the field.
Nevertheless, potential users worldwide are still
facing questions about the existence, availability,
accessibility, quality, costs, and timeliness of spacebased
information. There is clearly still a widespread
need for an information gateway to space-based
information for disaster management support.
104
Where mechanisms for providing earth observation
data for disaster management are already available,
their applications are restricted to supporting only
response measures in the immediate aftermath of a
disastrous event, not for covering pre-disaster
activities such as mitigation and early warning, or
monitoring of slow-onset disasters. An outstanding
example of these restrictions is given by the Terms of
Reference of the International Charter Space and
Major Disasters.
http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/charter
What is UN-SPIDER ? Mandate and Mission
The world of disaster management and space-based
technologies is complex. Knowledge and expertise
are widely dispersed. Institutions and practitioners
need support, orientation and advice to access and
use available data, information, knowledge and
services. In recognition of these needs the United
Nations General Assembly, in its resolution
A/RES/61/110 of 14 December 2006, established
UN-SPIDER as a programme implemented by the
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
(UNOOSA), with the following mission statement:
“Ensure that all countries and international and
regional organizations have access to and develop
the capacity to use all types of space-based
information to support the full disaster
management cycle.”
UN-SPIDER is a platform which advances the use of
space-based technologies for disaster management
and emergency response, by
� being a gateway to space information for
disaster management support;
�serving as a bridge to connect the disaster
management and space communities;
�being a facilitator of capacity-building and
institutional strengthening.
To fulfil these tasks, the UN-SPIDER core team relies
on a global network of Regional Support Offices and
National Focal Points.
Figure 2: In the field: mobile satellite-based system
for monitoring disaster areas, developed by the
Institute for Communication and Navigation of the
German Aerospace Center (DLR).