UNOSAT: Responding to climate change through partnership and local capacity building

UNOSAT - www.unosat.org

Over the course of the last thirty years, scientists have used satellite imagery to study consequences of global climate change. The rapid diminution of Mt. Kilimanjaro's glaciers, projected to vanish within just the next twenty years represents a widely sighted case in point. Loss of water run-off will no doubt impact all biological species surrounding Mt. Kilimanjaro for hundreds of kilometers. The gradual rise in ocean sea-level is likewise attributed to global climate change, as is the greater incidence and severity of storms. Combined together these menace low-lying areas.

Sophisticated Earth Observation (EO) instruments launched into space are playing a leading role in measuring global climate, revealing complex inter-relationships at work, and also providing important risk assessment. Many phenomena either difficult or until recently impossible to perceive from the earth can now be spotted from space and effectively mapped. In the same way Mt. Kilimanjaro's shrinking glacier's have been studied, satellite instruments can be used to survey entire mountain ranges, covering thousands of kilometers, whole networks of glaciers, the vast Amazon jungle, the invisible ozonelayer, and dust clouds circling the earth, to name a few.

Furthermore, new  sensors are being launched into space, keeping pace with technological advancement and scientific imperative to better understand our fragile environment. The satellite imaging sector is growing and new data processing software, ingenious algorithms, and know-how are being developed. Largely out of the public eye, rapid advancement is evolving an important new field of application, one driven by  UNOSAT efforts to put the benefits of EO at the disposal of humanitarian actors, disaster management, and post-crises recovery.

Landsat MSS color-composite image, showing Vegetation belts and the distribution of glaciers on Mt. Kilimanjaro

The area of climate change is one in which EO applications hold great potential, and one that can greatly benefit from specific satellite applications.

Returning to the case of Kilimanjaro, for example, reductions in precipitation and deforestation have already begun to severely impact the entire area. Satellite imagery can monitor aridification around Mt. Kilimanjaro, reveal environmentally sensitive areas, and hot spots. Through spatial, spectral and temporal analysis of data sets planners can conduct vulnerability studies, and implement effective mitigation schemes. The same applies to glacial diminution threats posed to coastal areas by sea-level rise, and other consequences of climate change.

Yet the challenge of today and tomorrow is placing the growing capacity of EO resources into the hands of those whose lives and welfare are jeopardized by the adverse effects of climate change. This necessitates bridging the gap between society and the scientific community, while building capacity at the local level - where vulnerability itself is best dealt with.

UNOSAT is a programme of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). Through a model partnership formed between private sector companies, national space organizations, scientific institutions, and others, it provides UN agencies, NGOs, and the broader humanitarian community satellite based products, services, training, and expertise in support of a wide range of activities. UNOSAT is leading the way in seeing state-of-the-art EO resources reach local communities in developing countries to help local actors analyze the risks facing their communities, design and implement risk mitigation plans. UNOSAT's goal is to see EO resources made available to all, as effectively as these resources are materializing.

For further information: info@unosat.org or www.unosat.org