A recent review of UNOSAT activities has revealed a substantial increase in requests directed to UNOSAT by the humanitarian community. The Humanitarian Rapid Mapping service of UNOSAT, launched in 2003, has been created to meet the demand of OCHA and other humanitarian agencies and NGOs part of the IASC (the Inter-agency Standing Committee on humanitarian coordination hosted by the UN) for rapid mapping and satellite derived analysis in wake of disasters and complex emergencies.

More than 120 delegates representing European institutional stakeholders and industry across the civilian, security and defence domain attended the workshop on ‘Space for Security and Defence’, jointly organised by the European Defence Agency, the European Commission and the European Space Agency in Brussels on 16 September. The Manager of UNOSAT was invited to speak on the UN experience in applying satellite solutions in the context of UN decision making and field support.

UNITAR has joined the Nairobi Framework initiative aimed at assisting developing countries especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, to improve their level of participation in the Clean Development Mechanism.

The recent floods in Vietnam have cause massive destructions and provoked a humanitarian situation in extensive areas in the country. The Province of Quang Tri has been particularly affected. The UNOSAT team has already posted on 1 October a first satellite derived map of flood affected areas which is used by national authorities and international relief entities to organize and coordinate relief efforts.

Tropical storm Ketsana (also known as Ondoy) swept across the Philippines on 26 September. The Government of the Republic of the Philippines has declared a state of calamity in several regions and requested international humanitarian assistance to deal with the effects from Ketsana. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has recorded 240 deaths and over 1.5 million people affected by the storm.