UN-SPIDER stakeholder meeting highlights InAWARE project

On September 3, the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and Lembaga Penerbangan dan Antariksa Nasional (LAPAN, the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space), which serves as a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office (RSO), co-hosted a Stakeholder Meeting on the Utilization of Space-based Information for Disaster Risk Management. Held in Jakarta, Indonesia, the event focused on advancing the Indonesian Government’s “One Map/One Gate” policy to strengthen disaster management activities. The One Map/One Gate policy was established in 2012 to develop a unified GIS map base for the country and to provide access to it through a single geoportal. Discussion focused on Indonesia’s Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB, the national disaster management agency) as the primary beneficiary of improvements based on the policy, and identified Pacific Disaster Center’s (PDC) InAWARE (Indonesia All-hazard Warning and Risk Evaluation) project as an effort that would both benefit from and help to promote One Map/One Gate.

By invitation, PDC’s Deputy Executive Director Chris Chiesa participated in the discussion and gave a presentation on the effective utilization of InAWARE as a planning and response tool by organizations that have disaster management, response, or mitigation responsibilities. Stakeholders agreed to promote and use InAWARE to improve hazard information systems and early warning, while also seeking to increase the cooperation and participation of information providers by encouraging them to include their data within InAWARE. Stakeholder agencies were also encouraged to participate in InAWARE training sessions planned for early 2014.

Approximately 25 stakeholders from various agencies attended the meeting. Representation included BNPB, Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah (BPBD, the Indonesian provincial disaster mitigation agencies), Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG, the national meteorological and geophysical office), Badan Informasi Geospasial (BIG, the national survey and mapping agency of Indonesia), the UN World Food Program (WFP), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UN OCHA), the National Disaster Reduction Center of China, the German Aerospace Center, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Center). Opening remarks were delivered by Dr. Dedi Irawadi, the Director of the LAPAN Remote Sensing Application Center, and Shirish Ravan of UN-SPIDER.

For more information on this event:
• View the UN article about the stakeholder meeting, and
• Read more about PDC’s InAWARE project.