[huridocs-tech] Use of modern technology for disaster management in Asia-Pacific focus of UN meeting

USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC FOCUS OF 
UN MEETING
New York, Nov 11 2002 10:00AM

Harnessing modern technology and increasing regional cooperation in 
disaster preparedness could save lives and help prevent some of the 
billions of dollars in property damage each year across Asian and the 
Pacific, United Nations officials stressed today at a meeting in Bangkok.

"Many lives could be saved and tragedy mitigated, if effective disaster 
management measures are undertaken," Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of the 
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), said in 
an opening address to the UN Regional Workshop on the Use of Space 
Technology for Disaster Management.

The five-day Workshop, co-organized by ESCAP and the Vienna-based UN Office 
for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA), has attracted 130 participants from 32 
countries. A number of representatives from other UN agencies, 
intergovernmental organizations and various national and regional 
institutions are also attending.

These experts are sharing their knowledge and experience in using space and 
satellite technology to prepare for and respond to natural and man made 
disasters.

According to UN officials, from January to September, natural catastrophes 
in the world have cost countries and communities an estimated $56 billion. 
The Asia-Pacific region has been one of the worst hit, accounting for half 
of the world's major emergencies.

During the last five months, more than 20 countries have endured serious 
flooding, resulting in the deaths of 2,300 people, and forcing 16 million 
people from their homes. In Thailand alone, the floods affected 7 million 
acres of farmland and 80,000 people needed treatment for water-borne, flood 
related, illnesses, according to Pinij Jarusombat, Minister of Science and 
Technology of the Royal Thai Government.

ESCAP recently established a new Information, Communication and Space 
Technology Division, and the secretariat has also been active, in 
cooperation with the World Meteorology Organization (WMO), in successfully 
promoting the establishment of the Typhoon Committee and the ESCAP/WMO 
Panel on Tropical Cyclones.



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