Outer Space
Mapping land cover dynamics with Copernicus
Sub-Saharan Africa has known unprecedented land cover and land use changes over the past decades affecting species abundance and distribution and altering ecosystem productivity (Sala 2000; Pfeifer et al. 2012). The main drivers of these changes are both human and natural including a high rate of population growth economic development and globalization on one side and hazards such as drought and climate change on the other (Brink and Eva 2009). In this context protected areas (PAs) are vital for conserving natural habitats and their species; moreover they are critical for meeting global conservation targets defined under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Focus: L’UNOSAT révèle les dommages causés au patrimoine culturel de la Syrie
Une publication à venir de l’UNESCO-UNITAR – Dix ans de conflit l’état du patrimoine culturel en Syrie – évaluera à l’aide d’images satellite la destruction que le conflit syrien a infligée à ce jour au patrimoine culturel du pays.
Difusión
La Iniciativa de Voluntarios del Patrimonio Mundial ha anunciado los resultados de su concurso de diseño de banderas y camisetas. Lanzado en 2020 su objetivo era encontrar una identidad visual global compartida para la campaña Voluntarios del Patrimonio Mundial 2020-2021 al tiempo que se celebraba la creatividad de las organizaciones participantes que permiten el éxito de la Iniciativa año tras año.
Sites en péril
Près d’une décennie après la destruction des mausolées de Tombouctou inscrit au Patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a remis un euro symbolique au gouvernement du Mali et à l’UNESCO pour le préjudice subi par le peuple malien et la communauté internationale dans son ensemble du fait de la destruction des biens culturels de Tombouctou en 2012.
Dossier: Voyager à travers l’espace et le temps: la télédétection des sites naturels du patrimoine mondial
L’humanité utilise les satellites d’observation de la Terre depuis plus de 50 ans déjà et les archives de données d’observation fournissent des informations précieuses pour combler les lacunes dues au manque de documentation et d’enregistrements statistiques dans le passé. Par exemple les archives de données d’observation de la Terre sont accessibles au public depuis les premières images prises de 1960 à 1984 par le tout premier satellite américain de photoreconnaissance CORONA jusqu’aux données acquises aujourd’hui par les dernières constellations de satellites. Reconnaissant la valeur socioéconomique de ces informations plusieurs fournisseurs de données satellitaires offrent un accès libre à leurs archives ce qui permet de surveiller les sites du patrimoine naturel et culturel et d’évaluer leur état. À l’heure où les pays assouplissent leurs politiques en matière d’utilisation des drones la collecte d’images aériennes devient à la portée de tous et viendrait compléter les données d’observation de la Terre recueillies depuis l’espace.
Conventions
In 1946 when the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was created who could have believed that whale research would ever be conducted from space? But today as the IWC celebrates 75 years of cetacean science and conservation electronic tagging and very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery are increasingly important ways to study whales. The information gathered is put to work in the development of conservation strategies and protection of healthy habitats around the globe including in a number of World Heritage sites.
Nouvelles: Préservation
Répartis dans 37 pays des tropiques aux pôles les 50 sites du patrimoine mondial marin de l’UNESCO comptent parmi les eaux les plus productives de l’océan. L’abondance de leur vie marine est essentielle pour assurer la subsistance des communautés autochtones des entreprises locales et des artistes.
Convenciones
En 1946 cuando se creó la Comisión Ballenera Internacional (CBI) ¿quién podía pensar que la investigación de las ballenas se llevaría a cabo desde el espacio? Pero hoy cuando la CBI celebra 75 años de ciencia y conservación de los cetáceos el marcado electrónico y las imágenes satelitales de muy alta resolución (VHR) son formas cada vez más importantes del estudio ballenero. La información recopilada se pone al servicio del desarrollo de estrategias de conservación y protección de hábitats saludables en todo el mundo incluso en varios sitios del Patrimonio Mundial.
Outreach
The World Heritage Volunteers Initiative has announced the results of its Banner and T-Shirt Design Competition. Launched in 2020 it aimed to find a global shared visual identity for the World Heritage Volunteers 2020-2021 campaign while celebrating the creativity of the participating organizations that enable the Initiative’s success year after year.
Organisations consultatives
Depuis que l’homme a ressenti le besoin d’étudier ce qui se passait dans l’environnement qui l’entourait un point d’observation plus élevé a été considéré comme utile. Les arbres les collines et les montagnes ont servi à cette fin jusqu’à ce que les humains soient capables de « voler ». Les ballons les avions et plus tard les satellites ont offert des plates-formes d’observation permettant une perception plus générale et plus complète de la surface de la terre. Le besoin d’une telle vue était initialement motivé par des objectifs militaires mais d’autres applications ont également largement exploité les possibilités offertes.
Copernicus: Cartografía de la dinámica de la cubierta terrestre
El África subsahariana ha conocido cambios sin precedentes en la cobertura y el uso del suelo durante las últimas décadas lo que ha afectado a la abundancia y distribución de las especies y ha alterado la productividad de los ecosistemas (Sala 2000; Pfeifer et al. 2012). Los principales impulsores de estos cambios son tanto humanos como naturales incluyendo una alta tasa de crecimiento de la población el desarrollo económico y la globalización por un lado y peligros como la sequía y el cambio climático por otro (Brink y Eva 2009). En este contexto las áreas protegidas (AP) son vitales para conservar los hábitats naturales y sus especies; además son fundamentales para cumplir los objetivos de conservación globales definidos en el marco del Convenio sobre la Diversidad Biológica y los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.
Space Technologies for Heritage: Two case studies
Contemporary global challenges such as climate change natural disasters deforestation overexploitation of natural resources pollution and urbanization among others are complicating efforts for the protection of World Heritage sites. Ensuring sustainable development of these sites therefore requires improvements in our approaches to monitor and manage these valuable places. In this context space technologies provide monitoring capabilities that allow World Heritage management authorities access to timely objective and accurate information enabling them to promptly assess risk and devise an appropriate response to mitigate them. To facilitate adoption of space technology for World Heritage monitoring the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) a category-II Center under the auspices of UNESCO was officially established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in July 2011 following the decision of UNESCO’s General Conference at its 35th session in 2009.
One Atmosphere: An Independent Expert Review on Solar Radiation Modification Research and Deployment
We have ‘One Atmosphere’. Everyone is a stakeholder. Since the beginning of the industrial era carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been accumulating in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel burning and changes in land use such as deforestation. As a result anthropogenic climate change is now affecting every region across the globe. The consequences of continued GHG emissions will be severe and long-lasting including exceedance of temperature targets; increases in the frequency intensity and persistence of extreme weather and climate events; reductions in sea and land ice snow cover and permafrost; and sea level rise. Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other processes the international community has been working to reduce GHG emissions. However action and current commitments are not yet sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals. This situation has led to increased interest in understanding whether an operational large-scale Solar Radiation Modification (SRM or sometimes called ‘solar geoengineering’) deployment might be able to help protect humans and the ecosystems upon which humanity depends.
Geospatial Practices for Sustainable Development in South-East Asia 2022: A Compendium
Geospatial information has been providing far-reaching solutions to pressing issues facing humanity ranging from health education food security agriculture to disaster risk reduction and resilience-building. The effective integration of geospatial data existing statistics and ground-based information and exploiting new data sources analytics and tools has proven instrumental to deliver timely information necessary for governments businesses communities and citizens to make evidenced-based decisions. However despite advances in the availability and quality of geospatial information several gaps and challenges remain on the effective use of geospatial information. To address this this publication aims to provide information to countries in the development and management of their geospatial information resources to integrate new and innovative approaches for evidence-based decision-making highlighting relevant country situations and circumstances. The Compendium is the second in a series of ESCAP publications to assess progress implementing the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018– 2030) and will explore country level geospatial practices for sustainable development in South-East Asia reflecting sub regional specificities.
Contribution to the “Space2030” Agenda
EU Space -Supporting a World of 8 Billion People
This report has been prepared following the Day of 8 Billion designated by the United Nations as the day when the world population reached 8 billion people to showcase how space technologies and its synergies can help to tackle the challenges of the world increasing population and complex societies while ensuring sustainable development and bolster resilience leveraging the guidance of the “Space2030” Agenda and supporting the implementation of the global agendas. The present report has been conceived within the cooperation agreement signed between UNOOSA and EUSPA with the goal of promoting how the use of space technology data and services can contribute to achieving sustainable development in the context of an 8 billion world and how the “Space2030” Agenda establishes the priorities of Member States for the space community.
Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures in Outer Space Activities
International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG)
The Way Forward - 10 Years of Achievement 2005-2015
Exploring Space Technologies for Sustainable Development
From astronomy and aerospace engineering to satellite Earth observation space sciences and technologies have the potential to contribute both directly and indirectly to Sustainable Development. This publication highlights such opportunities proposing science technology and innovation (STI) policy options for harnessing space-enabled technologies – and the real-time information and time-series data they provide – to deliver and monitor progress on key Sustainable Development Goals. The role of regional and international research collaboration in support of these efforts is also discussed here as the achievement of ambitious global goals within widely differing local contexts requires the combination of space capabilities with detailed local knowledge. Global collaboration offers great potential to contribute to this process providing opportunities to create new knowledge and diffuse existing knowledge for increased impact.