22 October - 2 November 2018, Thimphu, Bhutan – UNITAR-UNOSAT has delivered a two-week training programme, with support from the State of Qatar, to enhance the use of geospatial technologies for evidence-based decision making in Bhutan. The in-country training was organised in cooperation with the National Land Commission Secretariat of the Royal Government Bhutan, and it also brought together government officials from the selected line ministries, such as Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and Ministry of Economic Affairs.

UNITAR-UNOSAT is currently collaborating with UNDP and national stakeholders to bolster disaster management capacity in Guyana and Dominica, with a specific focus on women, through the 3-year project funded by the Government of Japan. The project “Strengthening Disaster Management Capacity of Women in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Commonwealth of Dominica” is being implemented in partnership with the UNDP Barbados, UNDP Guyana and the member states of OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States).

UNOSAT Supports Humanitarian Response After Dam Collapsed in Lao PDR

UNOSAT and UNDP Organize Joint Training to Streamline Use of Geospatial Technologies

Ambassadors and representatives of Permanent Missions in Geneva were invited to join our 5th Friends of UNITAR Meeting, to learn more about UNITAR, its activities and our new Strategic Framework 2018 - 2021.

UNOSAT Supports Disaster Risk Reduction in Djibouti After Tropical Cyclone Sagar

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) organized a workshop titled “Climate Change and the Paris Agreement: Challenges and Expectations” conducted by Professor Narinder Kakar, the Permanent Observer for the United Nations mandated University for Peace, and Mr. Santiago Villalpando, the Chief of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. Professor Kakar also serves as Director and Adjunct Professor on UN Environmental Diplomacy Programme at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law of Pace University. The workshop began with a few opening remarks on the importance of the Paris Agreement by Mr. Pelayo Alvarez, who also thanked Professor Kakar and Mr. Villalpando for all their efforts in preparation for the workshop. He then gave participants a brief summary of what to expect from the workshop.

Before she participated in her first UNITAR training, Ms. Syeda Bushra Binte Amin was working at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), a regional organization focused on disaster preparedness in Bangladesh.

“It was hard to know the exact damage area from flood, drought or other disaster because they happened fairly frequently and all estimates were done manually. Now, with GIS we can show our department and ministry a clear picture of the area of disaster and other important information quickly”.

“Instead of the old method of information sharing, I now use technologically advanced tools to convert probability of precipitation to actual rainfall amounts for specific areas, and that final output is put into GIS maps with which farmers can interact and understand.”