Press
Release No.2002-77
FOR UNESCO, SPACE
TECHNOLOGIES SHOULD BE HARNESSED
FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Paris, October 10, 2002 - For a
better understanding of life on Earth we must look to space, through
an expanding constellation of satellites, to monitor such critical
factors as pollution levels, urban sprawl and the risks of natural
disasters. UNESCO will highlight the ways in which space technologies
can be used for sustainable development at the World Space Congress
(October 10 to 19), Houston, Texas, (USA) at a major workshop
on the subject and chairing several related sessions.
More than 35 leading scientists
and technical experts from national space agencies, UN agencies
and the private sector will meet during the workshop, (October
10 to 12), organized by UNESCO, the United Nations and the International
Astronautical Foundation (IAF). While most of the working sessions
of the Congress will focus on technical and financial issues,
the workshop will highlight concrete ways in which space technologies
can contribute to sustainable development - from the monitoring
of river water to the prediction of landslides. For example, a
new initiative between UNESCO and the European Space Agency (ESA)
aims to provide satellite monitoring of World Heritage Sites.
Work is already underway to track the changes in vegetation cover
for gorilla habitats in Central Africa, notably Virunga National
Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"Only having stepped out in
space and looked at Earth from outside, could humanity, for the
first time, see its own planet as an intricate holistic system,
with its unique beauty, but also with all the problems created
by humans themselves. UNESCO as a key UN agency and a major world
forum for intellectual cooperation is very much aware of these
problems," says Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of
UNESCO, himself a space engineer and currently president of IAF,
one of the organizers of the World Space Congress.
The Houston workshop will focus
specifically on ways of improving remote sensing of the environment
via satellite. Countries of diverse financial means - from the
United States, Japan and France to India, China, Brazil and Argentina
- have invested in an expanding constellation of satellites equipped
with optical, infrared and radar sensors to monitor the Earth's
features: topography, soil type, near-surface geology, vegetation,
surface water, shoreline resources, oceans, atmospheric temperature
and cloud cover, pollutants and so on. These satellites are often
the only way to obtain suitable data to understand and predict
both man-made and natural changes to the atmosphere, land and
oceans. However, the challenge lies not only in developing and
launching the satellites but building an integrated network to
generate and analyze this data over long periods of time and compare
it with land-based observations.
"No country alone can build
or even design a truly global observation system," says Mr
Barbosa. "It is not just a question of financial constraints
or technical expertise. An international and interdisciplinary
perspective is essential." This is the rationale behind the
Integrated Global Observing System (IGOS), created in 1998 to
serve as an umbrella organization for hundreds of research
organizations, with a main decision-making body consisting of
14 partners, including UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization
as well as the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites, which
represents 23 space agencies.
IGOS has set up scientific committees to develop strategies for
improving the monitoring of such critical issues as the ocean
currents and climate change, the state of the world's water resources,
the global carbon cycle, atmospheric chemistry and geo-hazards
such as volcanic eruptions and landslides. The committee reports
begin by identifying the type and duration of satellite data that
might fill the gaps in current knowledge before developing strategies
to integrate land and space based data.
Oceanography was the subject of the first IGOS report released
in January 2001. Although it is too soon to evaluate the report's
impact, there is one concrete result: the U.S. and European agreement
to jointly launch Jason-2 in 2005. This satellite will follow
in the footsteps of the Jason-1 and Topex/Poseidon, Franco-American
satellites that revolutionized our understanding of oceanography.
Circling the Earth every 112 minutes, Topex/Poseidon was the first
satellite (launched in 1992) capable of measuring the height and
temperature of sea waves as well as related wind speed. This kind
of data is the only way scientists can observe the major ocean
currents that regulate our climate by shifting heat around the
world. For the first time, scientists could watch major events
unfold, like El Nino in which unusual wind conditions bring warm
waters to the equatorial Pacific and disrupt normal weather patterns
around the world.
At the World Space Congress, IGOS will be presenting the composition
of a new committee to develop a strategy to improve monitoring
of geohazards, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In
the decade from 1991-2000, natural disasters killed a reported
665,598 people (World Disaster Report 2001), probably an underestimate.
And every year over 211,000 people are affected by natural disasters
- two-thirds of them from floods. While floods cause the most
damage, earthquakes run a close second, causing nearly US$270
billion of damage in the decade from 1991-2000 (World Disaster
Report 2001).
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Contact at UNESCO:
Amy Otchet
Office of Public Information, Editorial Section
Telephone: (+33) (0)1 45 68 17 04
Email: a.otchet@unesco.org
****
Contact:
Asbel López
Bureau of Public Information, Editorial Section
Tel: (+33) (0) 1 45 68 17 07,
Email: a.lopez@unesco.org
