Promoting Space and GIS Applications for Building Resilience in Asia and the Pacific

Dr. Shamika N. SirimanneInformation and Communications Technology and

Disaster Risk Reduction Division (IDD)

Contents

1. Why ESCAP has put in place ICT, space applications and GIS to realize its vision?

2. How ESCAP facilitates promoting space and GIS applications for building resilience? 

3. Areas of future collaboration

1. Why ESCAP has put in place space applications and GIS to realize its vision?

• Made up of 53 Member States and 9 AssociateMembers;

• Asia‐Pacific region is home to 4.1 billion people,or two thirds of the world’s population.

• Asia and the Pacific continued to be the regionmost affected by natural disasters in last decades.

• Building Resilience contributes to achieving 11 outof 17 goals of SDGs.

• Country need driven‐strong mandates given bythe member States.

68/5:  Asia‐Pacific Years of Action for Applications of Space Technology and the Geographic Information System for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development, 2012‐2017 (2012)

69/11: Implementation of the Asia‐Pacific Plan of Action for Applications of Space Technology and Geographic Information Systems for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development, 2012‐2017(2013)

Mandates given by member States‐Building resilience

70/13:  Regional cooperation for building resilience to disasters in Asia and the Pacific(2014)

2.1 Analytical research for public policy, regional and South‐South Cooperation.

2.2  Maximizing access to earth observation products and geo‐referenced information.

2.3  Strengthening institutional capacity. 

2. How ESCAP facilitates promoting space and GIS applications for building resilience?

Asia and Pacific is the world’s most disaster‐prone regiona.The loss of life is decreasing from hydro‐meteorological hazards,  while the economic losses are alarmingly on the rise.   

b.Spatial land use plans, resilient critical infrastructure help in reducing economic losses.   

Asia‐Pacific Leaders Convene to Discuss Strategies to Build Resilience to Natural Disaster and Economic 

Crises in the Region

Space technologies can be used to enhance resilience in economic, social and environment development, build critical infrastructure and strengthen supply chains.

2.3 Maximizing access to earth observation products and geo‐referenced information

• Timely provision of near real‐time imagery is critical fordisaster response, relief and impact assessments‐supportdisaster governance.

• In last 2 years, ESCAP has provided more than 200 nearreal‐time satellite images and damage maps toAfghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, thePhilippines, Solomon Islands, Viet Nam and others.

• Innovative technical tools for disaster early warning,response, relief and rapid damage assessment.

Regional Drought Mechanism‐Monitoring, early warning and preparedness

• Aims to enhance the capacity of governments to use space‐based data, products and service for effective droughtmonitoring and early warning.

• Apply science and technology to support the Asia‐Pacificregion in better addressing drought.

Enhanced access to space‐based data; Capacity building in preparednessand response;

Strengthened institutional coordination and policies at the country level; Regional cooperation and support networks. At present, two Regional Service Nodes have been put in place in Chinaand India to provide space‐based data, products as well as capacitybuilding.

Afghanistan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka haveapplied for the pilot countries of the Mechanism.

Operationalized in Mongolia and Sri Lanka.

Evidence based decision making‐Geo‐referenced information system for disaster risk management (Geo‐DRM)

2.4 Strengthening institutional capacity

• Special focus on high‐risk and low capacity developingcountries.

Since 2013, over 300 government officials/ practitioners of 38member countries trained

• Focus areasMainstreaming space applications into disaster risk management. Use of space and GIS in flood‐risk mapping, drought monitoring andearly warning.

Facilitate the establishment and use of the geo‐referencedinformation system for DRR (Geo‐DRM) in CSNs.

Technical advisory service in effective use of space and GIS for DRR.

• RESAP Training and Education Networks – China, India ,Indonesia and ESCAP – APCICT

3. Areas of future collaborationStrength of ESCAP Leads the implementation of Asia‐Pacific Plan of Action 2012‐

2017: space and GIS for disaster risk reduction and sustainable development;

Inter‐governmental platform: Policy advice and  free and very low cost space‐derived data, product and service;

Strong capacity: knowledge products and toolkits on space and GIS applications for building resilience;

Network with cross‐sectorals stakeholders: space, disaster management, sustainable development; 

Partnerships with regional and global initiatives: UNITAR/UNOSAT, UNGGIM, UNOOSA, ISDR, WMO, FAO, GEO, SAARC, ASEAN, SOPAC/SPC, RIMES, APRSAF…

Rich experience: operational programmes (regional cooperation, country need driven) and capacity building. 

From prototype to operational project: Priority areas of collaboration: 

Area 1: Building resilience in changing climate 

What: “Land cover monitoring at regional and national levels‐understand and manage your land from space”When: 2015‐2025How: ESCAP secretariat, China, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Viet Namand other courtiers, GEO, USGS, UNGGIM, UNOSAT and othersorganizations, SAFE and Climate R3 to contribute the space‐deriveddata, products , service and capacity building to pilot countries (uponrequest).Thematic: agriculture land use monitoring, forestry, water management, coastal hazard, strengthening climate risk knowledge Pacific SIDS, etc.

City buffers lost between 1999 to 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh 

Dhaka lost two bigwetlands, so the citylost the buffer to storage flood duringmonsoon seasons.

0

200

400

600

1999 2009 2014

Km2Urban Area Changes

City area

Area 2:Poverty eradication and food security

What: “Drought detection and crop monitoring‐ observing  crop from space” When: 2015‐2020How: ESCAP secretariat will work with space faring countries, FAO, WMO, GEO, USGS, GEOGLAM, Asia RiCE and SAFE to share the data, products and service as well as knowledge and experience; to expand the Regional Drought Mechanism to crop monitoring, and contribute not only the regional but also the global agricultural monitoring initiatives.Thematic: drought monitoring, early warning and preparedness, monitoring the crop health, yield prediction, etc.

Approach and Methodology

Regional Service Nodes Field observation

Meteorological data

Data processingDrought Index calculating

Drought monitoring results

Need assessment Specialized training Country Profile

Regional Service Nodes

16

Area 3: Making cities and human settlements resilient 

What: “Urban development and hazard maps‐understand the risk from space” When: 2015‐2025How: ESCAP secretariat will work with China, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Viet Nam and other courtiers, UNHABITAT, GEO, USGS, UNGGIM, UNOSAT, SAFE, Climate R3 and Sentinel Asia to continuously monitoring the development of the major hot spot cities exposure to disasters in Asia‐Pacific; Finding the emerging and hidden hazards; Giving advice on building resilient cities through use of space‐derived data and  products as well as capacity building.Thematic:  urban economy and risk, slum and urban planning, urban disasters (flood, earthquake, fires, pollution), coastal cities hazards, etc.  

In 14 years

More people coming from otherplaces live in Ulaanbaatar. They aremore exposure to risk of forest first,de‐forestry, pollution, flood andlandslide.

Area 4: Enhance the capacity of Asia‐Pacific countries in disaster management

What: “Capacity building in disaster early warning, preparedness and rapid disaster damage assessment by using geospatial information” When: 2015‐2020How: : ESCAP secretariat will work with China, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Viet Nam and other courtiers, GEO, UNGGIM, UNOSAT, SAFE and Sentinel Asia on timely provision of space derived data and products and building the capacity in using geospatial information for disaster early warning, preparedness and rapid disaster damage assessment. Thematic: water related disaster, drought, earthquake, landslide, forest fires, etc. 

Geo-portal of ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal

ESCAP facilitated Bangladesh, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia an Nepal establishing the Geo-DRM portal

Geo-portal of the Cook Islands

Thank you for your kind attention.