Austria

Mapping for Disaster Risk Management: Using UN-SPIDER Recommended Practices and Digital Twin for Effective Flood Hazard Depiction

Effective flood mapping and modeling are crucial for disaster risk management, enabling authorities and communities to better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events. The SPEAR Project, by the Center for Remote Sensing of Land Surfaces (ZFL) at the University of Bonn and UN-SPIDER, works to support disaster risk management activities through innovative Earth Observation methods, with a regional focus on the African continent.

A key component of this initiative is the development of step-by-step mapping guides by UN-SPIDER, called “Recommended Practices” (RPs). These procedures, available through the UN-SPIDER knowledge portal, provide guidance on creating information products, such as flood maps. The RPs are continually refined through ongoing research and are designed to guide users—regardless of their experience with GIS and...

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The Committee was tasked with reviewing international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programmes, and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.

The Committee meets annually in Vienna, Austria, to discuss questions relating to current and future activities in space. Some topics for discussion include maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes, safe operations in orbit, space debris, space weather, the threat from asteroids, the safe use of nuclear power in outer space, climate change, water management, global navigation satellite systems, and questions concerning...

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The Committee was tasked with reviewing international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programmes, and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.

The Committee meets annually in Vienna, Austria, to discuss questions relating to current and future activities in space. Some topics for discussion include maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes, safe operations in orbit, space debris, space weather, the threat from asteroids, the safe use of nuclear power in outer space, climate change, water management, global navigation satellite systems, and questions concerning space law and national space legislation.

The...

The 8th IAA Planetary Defense Conference programme is still under construction. However, the key topics will include: 

• Ongoing and Upcoming Mission Highlights
• Hypothetical Asteroid Threat Exercise
• Key International and Policy Developments
• Near-Earth Object (NEO) Discovery
• Near-Earth Object (NEO) Characterization
• Deflection / Disruption Modeling & Testing
• Space Mission & Campaign Design
• Impact Effects & Consequences
• Disaster Management & Impact Response
• Public Education and Communication
• The Decision to Act: Political, Legal, Social and Economic Aspects

For more information on the programme check regularly IAA's website.  

Pre-registration for the event is now available...

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to govern the exploration and use of space for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The Committee was tasked with reviewing international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, studying space-related activities that could be undertaken by the United Nations, encouraging space research programmes, and studying legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space.

The Committee meets annually in Vienna, Austria, to discuss questions relating to current and future activities in space. Some topics for discussion include maintaining outer space for peaceful purposes, safe operations in orbit, space debris, space weather, the threat from asteroids, the safe use of nuclear power in outer space, climate change, water management, global navigation satellite systems, and questions concerning space law and national space legislation.

From 23 to 25 April 2019, the GEO Data Technology Workshop will take place at the Vienna International Centre (VIC) in Vienna, Austria.

The workshop will focus on exploring how to most efficiently make available Earth observations-based knowledge for international policy frameworks, including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Climate Agreement.

Participants will be able to connect with and learn from international experts on data management, sharing and governance. They can particpate in discussions on a range of internationally-relevant issues, including the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), data governance and policy challenges, satellite-based and in situ Earth observation coordination, knowledge sharing, Earth observation platforms and analytics and more.

See the...

Global warming, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity, pollution - the situation regarding the health of our planet is as serious as it is complex. Major global shocks have shown our vulnerability and set back the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The global community noticed that our collective problem-solving mechanisms do not match the pace or scale of the challenges we face. Today's complex, interconnected, and rapidly changing world requires a more effective multilateral system and strong inclusion of effective innovative tools.

The Summit of the Future in 2024 was proposed as an opportunity to agree on multilateral solutions for a better future and to strengthen global governance for both present and future generations (A/RES/76/307). To prepare for the Summit, Member States asked the Secretary-General of the United Nations to come up with action-oriented recommendations, building on the proposals in his report, Our Common Agenda (A/75/982).

The Regional Support Offices Meeting 2022 was conducted and organised by UN-SPIDER at the premises of the VIC in Vienna, from 14-16 November 2022. It was the first in-person meeting since the start of the COVID pandemic.  

The UN-SPIDER programme has 25 Regional Support Offices (RSOs) and two new candidates spread over different regions. These RSOs are engaged in supporting activities of UN-SPIDER such as technical advisory support, rapid mapping during emergency response, preparing specific publications and contents for the knowledge portal and contributing to the workshop and conferences.

Every year, UN-SPIDER organizes a meeting with the RSOs to discuss the progress and new activities. This meeting came after a three year in-person meeting hiatus, and was requested by most RSO representatives, with the aim to exchange on the status of more recent activities of RSOs, their contributions...

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959. Since its establishment, the Committee's membership has continued to expand. The Committee is the only committee of the General Assembly dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and its role as a forum to monitor and discuss developments related to the exploration and use of outer space has evolved alongside with the technical advancements in space exploration, geopolitical changes, and the evolving use of space science and technology for sustainable development.

The overall mandate of the Committee and its two Subcommittees aims at strengthening the international legal regime governing outer space, resulting in improved conditions for expanding international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The mandate also specifies that the Committee should supports efforts at the national, regional and global levels,...

The Copernicus for Digital Earth Summer School 2019 is organized by University of Salzburg, Department of Geoinformatics (Z_GIS) – UNIGIS and CopHub.AC – co-organized by the European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL), and supported by ESA and GEO and will be held in Salzburg, Austria, June 23 – July 4, 2019.

The vision of digital earth intends to help understand the Earth system by monitoring parameters and phenomena relevant to human society. The concept encompasses as an integral part advanced measuring technologies and transformations we are facing in their use, e.g. by the way how massive (‘big’) data, including satellite-borne data, are exploited and delivered in near real-...

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959. Since its establishment, the Committee's membership has continued to expand. The Committee is the only committee of the General Assembly dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and its role as a forum to monitor and discuss developments related to the exploration and use of outer space has evolved alongside with the technical advancements in space exploration, geopolitical changes, and the evolving use of space science and technology for sustainable development.

The overall mandate of the Committee and its two Subcommittees aims at strengthening the international legal regime governing outer space, resulting in improved conditions for expanding international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The mandate also specifies that the Committee should supports efforts at the national, regional and global levels,...