08 May 2014, Geneva, Switzerland - Heavy rains that begun in April in northern Afghanistan have caused flooding and one catastrophic landslide that killed an unknown number of people. Additional flash floods and landslides continue to affect tens of thousands of people in many parts of the northern region while forecasts indicate more bad weather is to be expected.

The UNITAR Hiroshima Office recently concluded the 11th Cycle of its highly regarded training series on the management and conservation of World Heritage Sites, held between 14-18 April. Attended by 21 participants from countries including South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand, and Thailand, the week-long workshop examined the processes required for the justification for the inscription of cultural landscapes in world heritage site nominations.

22 April 2014, Geneva, Switzerland – The fourth edition of the UNOSAT master training on “Geo-Information in Disaster Situations” was delivered by UNOSAT experts from 26 March to 15 April.

16 April 2014, Geneva, Switzerland - Solomon Islands have been dramatically impacted by floods that began in early April and continued for over one week causing 21 deaths and an estimated 52,000 affected across Honiara City and greater Guadalcanal. OCHA reports that over 10 UN agencies are in Honiara to distribute relief supplies and to provide expertise across coordination, protection, health, logistics and water, sanitation and hygiene in a situation made complex by the destruction of infrastructure, the contamination  of water and the scarcity of medical supplies.

Despite being the most abundant resource in the world, only about 2.53% of water is freshwater usable for agriculture, human consumption and industrial purposes. Therefore, knowledge of international law governing the management of freshwater resources is indispensable. 

28 March, Geneva, Switzerland - The rainy season in Southern Africa is often the cause of flooding with widespread impact on population and agriculture. Countries usually affected include Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. In some instances the impact may cause serious humanitarian consequences as it was the case in 2000 and again in 2013.

24 March 2014, Geneva, Switzerland - Malakal is the capital of Upper Nile State, in South Sudan’s north-eastern corner. The town lies approximately 650 km directly north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan. It hosts one of the bases of the UN Mission in South Soudan (UNMISS). According to UNOSAT latest findings, over 20% of Malakal has been destroyed by warfare with a great part of it occurring in a short time period between end February and mid-March 2014.

Geneva, 22 March 2014, in celebration of World Water Day, UNOSAT is thrilled to announce the release of its first hydrogeological map of Chad, produced in the context of the RésEAU project – Cartography of water resources in Chad

18 March 2014, Geneva, Switzerland - The humanitarian crisis provoked by internal instability in CAR since last year continues to be of great concern to the international community while thousands of people face mounting violence and widespread killings. Humanitarian agencies are trying to help people in need but the environment is broadly hostile.