United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Event Name: 

United Nations conference on space technologies for water management  

Event Dates: 

In preparation 

Event Location (City, Country): 

Costa Rica, as well as online 

Relevant SDGs: 

SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation 

Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)  

The Space4Water project raises awareness of possible uses of space-based technology and applications for water management, hydrology and aquatic ecosystem preservation. It fosters knowledge exchange among stakeholders in an inclusive, transdisciplinary way, based on three pillars: an international conference series, a web portal and community building. 

The sixth conference in the series is in preparation to take place mid-2024, possibly in Costa Rica. It aims to expand the use of space technologies and space-based data for better water resource management, with a thematic focus on the Water-Food Nexus. Active exchanges between international experts and professionals from the region will improve knowledge and inform decision making for food security and a more sustainable future. 

Previous editions took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March 2011; in Rabat, Morocco, in April 2014; in Islamabad, Pakistan, in February-March 2018 and in Accra, Ghana, in May 2022. 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/topics/space-for-water.html#Conf…;

Event Name: 

United Nations/World Health Organization International Conference on Space and Global Health in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland and Space and Global Health Network. 

Event Dates: 

1-3 November 2023 

Event Location (City, Country): 

Geneva, Switzerland 

Relevant SDGs: 

SDG3 "Good Health and Well-Being". 

Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)  

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development co-organised, in collaboration with the Government of Switzerland and the Space and Global Health Network hosted by the Geneva Digital Hub, the International Conference on Space and Global Health. The event aimed to raise awareness, build capacity and increase collaboration between the space domain and the global health domain, by inviting decision-makers and practitioners from both domains to share their experiences. 

The Conference provided a forum for discussion around the different aspects of how space can contribute to global health, in a holistic manner, seeking to contribute to the implementation of the United Nations General Assembly resolution on Space and Global Health A/RES/70/120. 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/copuos/stsc/g h/international-conference-on-space-and-global-health.html 

Event Name: 

The 2023 UN/Austria Symposium on "Space for climate action: space applications and technologies for sustainability on Earth"  

Event Dates: 

12 to 14 September 2023 

Event Location (City, Country): 

Graz, Austria, as well as online 

Relevant SDGs: 

SDG13 Climate action 

Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)  

The symposia series has provided a forum for discussion between the stakeholders of the space community, including the diplomatic community, the private sector and academia, as well as UN entities, since 1994. The main purpose is to enable discussions and learning on the use of space tools and applications, with an interdisciplinary viewpoint, addressing technology development and policymaking. 

Since 2020, the symposium focuses on using space technologies, data and applications to address the unprecedented challenges posed by climate change. 

The symposium included presentations and discussions to show how space applications provide tools to address the climate crisis across many sectors of the global economy and how the space industry itself is starting to consider how to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions created by its steady growth. 

Both the Space for Climate Observatory and the Space4ClimateAction website will continue to share information about projects, make data available and encourage collaboration. 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/schedule 

/2023/un-austria-symposium-2023.html 

Event Name: 

United Nations/Austria World Space Forum 2022 

'Sustainability in Space for sustainability on Earth' 

Event Dates: 

13 - 15 December 2022 

Event Location (City, Country): 

Online 

Relevant SDGs: 

All 

Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)  

Building on the landmark "Space2030" Agenda: space as a driver of sustainable development and its implementation plan, the World Space Forum meeting was held in preparation of the second "SDG Summit" - the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of the General Assembly convened in September 2023.  

In the "Space2030" Agenda, Member States are invited to actively undertake bilateral, multilateral, regional and broader international space cooperation in various forms, including capacity-building, the sharing of information and infrastructure and the development of joint projects, and, as appropriate, to integrate space cooperation with economic and development. 

The forum brought together experts and policymakers from regional, national and local institutions, private organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and international organizations. Such multi-stakeholder composition allowed for a truly inclusive, diverse and multilateral dialogue around the four pillars of space economy, space society, space accessibility and space diplomacy. 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/world-space-forum/2022/world-spa…;

Event Name: 

Workshop on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction - Assessing the Unseen Risks 

Event Dates: 

7 to 9 December 2022 

Event Location (City, Country): 

Bangkok, Thailand  

Relevant SDGs: 

SDG3, SDG11 and SDG13 

Description (max 150 words): please include a short summary of the event’s mandate and contributions to the SDGs, including its main outcome(s)  

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, through its UN-SPIDER programme, and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) held a workshop in collaboration with the Ministry of Emergency Management of the People's Republic of China, the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation, the Geo-Informatics, and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand, and the Asian Institute of Technology. 

Participants to the workshop from the disaster management community gained a better understanding of what imperceptible and unknown risks space technologies can help assess. They learnt about recent advances in space-based technologies to contribute to multi-hazard early warning and for building disaster resilience when implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/un-spider/news/bangkok-worshop-2…;

Resource Name 

International efforts using space for climate action: a strategic mapping exercise on existing international efforts using space technologies and applications to support climate adaptation, mitigation, monitoring and resilience 

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) 

SDG 13 

Publishing entity/entities 

UNOOSA 

Target audience  

Policy makers, international or regional organizations, industry, academia, experts and civil society, to inform their own strategy development or research.  

Description (max 150 words)  

The development of a map depicting coordination and collaboration in the various areas where space technology for climate action is applied, aims to provide an overview of the existing policy, and technical and coordination mechanisms that currently exist. The goal is to support stakeholders in their strategic decision-making, enable identification of collaboration opportunities, and define potentially existing niche areas as well as domains for development and evolution.  

This analytical document maps the key intergovernmental coordination bodies who have been using space technology to support climate action at the global level, including those in the United Nations system as well as non-United Nations groups, partnerships, etc. It aims at reviewing their existing mandates and programmes that are using space technologies (i.e., space-based Earth observation, navigation/positioning, or satellite telecommunications) to support climate change mitigation, adaptation, resilience or monitoring. 

Language(s) 

English 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/Space4SDGs/ 

Space_for_Climate_Action_-ebook.pdf 

Resource Name 

Recommended Practice: agriculture drought monitoring and hazard assessment using Google Earth engine 

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) 

SDG13 

Publishing entity/entities 

UN SPIDER Programme 

Target audience  

Civil protection agencies, ministries of agriculture and environment, and other stakeholders, especially in developing countries 

Description (max 150 words)  

UN-SPIDER, with partners and its network of Regional Support Offices, provides step-by-step procedures, so-called Recommended Practices, to create information products based on remote sensing data from different satellites and sensors to assess hazards. 

This UN-SPIDER Recommended Practice has been developed by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission of Pakistan (SUPARCO) in its role as a UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office. The aim of the step-by-step procedure is to identify the drought extent and severity in the affected region using drought indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and the Vegetation Health Index (VHI). This information can be used by disaster management agencies, ministries of agriculture and environment and other stakeholders to mitigate the effects of droughts.  

As part of its technical advisory support activities, UN-SPIDER regularly trains civil protection agencies and other stakeholders in developing countries in using the Recommended Practices. 

Language(s) 

English 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.un-spider.org/advisory-support/recommended-practices/recomm…;

Resource Name 

UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal 

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals) 

SDG3, SDG11 and SDG13 

Publishing entity/entities 

UN-SPIDER Programme 

Target audience  

Civil protection agencies, ministries of agriculture and environment, and other stakeholders, especially in developing countries 

Description (max 150 words)  

The UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal provides a wide range of tools and training material to create information products based on remote sensing data from different satellites and sensors to assess hazards such as floods, drought and forest fires. To allow as many interested users as possible to use them, UN-SPIDER makes them available in a growing variety of format and provides support for capacity-building at local and regional level. 

As part of its technical advisory support activities, UN-SPIDER regularly trains civil protection agencies and other stakeholders in developing countries. 

Language(s) 

English 

Website (if applicable) 

https://www.un-spider.org/advisory-support 

Initiative/Partnership Name 

Space for Climate Observatory 

Partners (please list all partners) 

42 signatories including space agencies from 22 States, 12 European entities, UNEP, UNDP and UNOOSA  

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)  

SDG13 Climate action 

Member States benefiting from it 

All 

Description (max 150 words) 

The Space for Climate Observatory is an international initiative defined by the Charter on the establishment of the Space for Climate Observatory. It is a collective effort devoid of legal personality, based on the best-efforts of its Signatories. Public or private entity involved in the Earth Observation sector and willing to contribute to SCO activities can join by signing the Charter.  

The objectives of the Space for Climate Observatory are to provide operational tools (SCO projects) and studies to help decision-makers to adapt to climate change; to foster cooperation around these applications to favour their reuse and communicate on them and to build a network for space agencies and public and private entities involved in the use of Earth observation data for operational climate action. 

Website  

www.spaceclimateobservatory.org 

Initiative/Partnership Name 

UN-SPACE 

Partners (please list all partners) 

United Nations and its specialised agencies 

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)  

All 

Member States benefiting from it 

All 

Description (max 150 words) 

The United Nations and its specialised agencies conduct a coordinated programme of activities utilising space technologies. UN-Space, an inter-agency mechanism for such coordination, convenes annual sessions of the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities to discuss current and future activities, emergent technologies of interest and other related matters among UN system entities. 

To consult a broader range of stakeholders, informal sessions are open not only to Member States but also private sector, NGOs and academia. UNOOSA leads the Inter-Agency Meeting and serves as its secretariat. 

The forty-second session took place on 17 and 18 October 2023 in Brindisi, Italy. 

Website  

https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/un-space/iam/42nd-session.html&n…;

Initiative/Partnership Name 

Space for Water 

Partners (please list all partners) 

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) 

Relevant SDGs (list all relevant goals)  

SDG 6 Clean water and sanitation; as well as SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 9, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15 and SDG 17. 

Member States benefiting from it 

All 

Description (max 150 words) 

The Space4Water project addresses Goal 6: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”, Goal 14 “Life below water” and Goal 15 “Life on Land”. As the interlinking nature of water across all SDGs is increasingly apparent, the initiative implicitly contributes to numerous other SDGs mentioned above. The project aims at raising awareness of the potential of space-based technology and applications for water management, hydrology and aquatic ecosystem preservation. It fosters knowledge exchange in an inclusive transdisciplinary multi-stakeholder way and is based on three pillars: An international conference series, a web portal and community building by organising stakeholder meetings (twice a year) to meet, discuss collaborations, and take concrete actions. 

The Space4Water portal contributes to science communication with the publication of articles and expert interviews. Stakeholders share information on projects, scientific models, software and training material to share how space technology is used to address water issues.  

Website  

www.space4water.org