UNITED NATIONS

How the United Nations familyuses space technology for

achieving development goals

SPACE SOLUTIONS for the World’s Problems

Most satellites point inwards rather than outwards!Almost all satellites are launched in order to provide services to people on Earth. Satellites areroutinely used to support sustainable development as well as to manage natural resources and emergency situations. Satellites are mainly used as a source of information for decision-making or to transmit information. This publication describessome of their most important applications.

Spatial Data and InformationManagement and ExchangeSustainable development requires an up-to-date and comprehensive information base to supportplanning and decision-making. Spatial data, acquiredby either space- or ground-based means, is anincreasingly important part of this information base.The Internet and satellite communication servicesallow for dynamic information sharing and exchangebetween partners in sustainable development withinand outside the United Nations system, thusenhancing the benefits of complementary activities.With active participation from international andnational partners, the United Nations family isactively working towards internationallystandardized interoperability for sharing andexchanging spatial data and information, often using open source software capacities. This hasalready significantly enhanced inter-agencycooperation, reduced duplication of efforts andachieved tangible benefits within the United Nationsfamily and for its stakeholders.

Global navigation satellite systems(GNSS), including the GlobalPositioning System (GPS) of theUnited States, the GlobalNavigation Satellite System(GLONASS) of the RussianFederation, and the futureEuropean Galileo and theiraugmentations, are a new globalutility with increasing benefits inpeople’s daily lives. They haveextremely high accuracy and globalcoverage, and they can operate inany weather.

Benefits of GNSS are growing inareas such as aviation, maritime andland transportation, mapping andsurveying, precision agriculture,power and telecommunicationsnetworks and disaster warning andemergency response.

The atomic clocks in GPS satellitesprovide the timing for the Internet.The clocks also provide the utilities industry with the reliable,precise time standard that isnecessary to log line disturbancesand synchronize events.

GPS and GLONASS are used to track fishing vessels, vehiclestransporting goods or hazardousmaterials, and even wild animals(“GPS collars”).

Navigation satellites can also beused to measure atmospherictemperature and humidity, which isimportant for our understanding ofglobal climate and weather.

Navigation satellites are an essentialpart of satellite mapping, telling uswhat area the map refers to.

WHAT IS SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND WHY IS IT USEFUL?

Navigation satellites

Remote sensing satellites are used to monitor theland surface, the oceans and the atmosphere, andhow they change over time. Remote sensing satellitesare now routine and essential tools in supportingefforts to protect the global environment.

What is unique about them?

Coverage: Most remote sensing satellites cover thewhole globe, making them important for the study oflarge-scale phenomena like ocean circulation,climate, deforestation and desertification. They arealso important for cost-effective monitoring ofremote or dangerous areas.

Repetition: Satellites repeatedly view the same areaover long periods of time. This makes it possible tomonitor environmental change, including theimpacts of humans and natural processes. This alsoprovides an indication of how trends observed in thepast (such as deforestation and desertification) willcontinue in the future.

Speed: Many satellites can provide data and derivedinformation rapidly in emergencies. This is veryimportant, especially in an area hit by anearthquake, flooding or forest fires, where there maynot be enough time to assess the damage throughconventional ground or aerial surveys.

Consistency: All of the data collected by aparticular sensor on a particular satellite is collectedin the same way, meaning it is consistent. This makesit easier, for instance, to detect subtle changes inland use over a period of years.

Accuracy: Satellite images and global positioningsystems can support developing countries in obtainingaccurate maps. Having accurate maps is the first basictool to initiate any planning for development.

Low cost: A satellite can be used for a large numberof activities for a long time. In the long run, the costof launching and operating a satellite is offset by thebenefits it provides.

Just like any other kind oftelecommunication, communicationsatellites are used to transmitinformation from one point toanother. Unlike ground-basedcommunications, however, peoplesending or receiving informationthrough satellites do not have to beconnected to a ground network.Communication satellites can reachpeople in remote villages, ships onthe high seas and areas whereinfrastructure on the ground is notavailable or has been temporarily

damaged by an earthquake. Theycan also help to improve education,health care and the standard ofliving, and have special potentialfor the poorest and most devastatedareas. Together with ground-basednetworks, they provide access tothe World Wide Web.

The Internet is making it mucheasier to find and spreadinformation. A lot of theinformation you access over theInternet has been relayed by atelecommunications satellite.

Satellite telecommunications havepotential as a source of informationfor rural and remote areas, and mayhelp countries to “leapfrog” stagesin development. They cancontribute to sustainabledevelopment by giving peopleaccess to information and helpingmembers of the public toparticipate in decision-making, ormore generally by improvingeducation and health services andpromoting favourable conditions forenvironmental protection.

Communications satellites

Remote sensing satellites

EnvironmentalAssessment Images obtained from Earth observation satellitesoffer a wealth of information to policy makers,scientists and the general public about the planet’schanging environment. Satellite images provideinformation about:

• Land cover and land use

• Remote and difficult-to-access areas like denseforests, glaciated areas, deserts and swamps

• Areas undergoing rapid environmental change,including loss or fragmentation of ecosystems and related loss of biodiversity

• Effects of natural disasters such as floods,droughts, forest fires and volcanic eruptions

• Wide-ranging impacts of pollution, fromdepletion of the ozone layer to tracing oil spillsand photochemical smog

• War-torn regions and the environmental impactsof armed conflicts

The collection of satellite imagery compiled over the years allows environmental change to bemonitored in a geographical area of interest.Phenomena studied include deforestation, urbansprawl, glacial retreat and loss of wetlands. Dramaticsatellite images are also a powerful communicationtool for decision makers, providing “hard evidence”about environmental threats and problems that areobvious even to the untrained eye.

This evidence, employed with the assistance of suchtechnologies as Geographic Information Systems(GIS), is increasingly gathered and applied indecision-making processes by many developed anddeveloping countries throughout the world. Satelliteimagery is, therefore, a key information source forassessing and reporting progress made towards theUnited Nations Millennium Development Goal ofensuring environmental sustainability by 2015, inparticular, in protecting land areas to slow the loss of biodiversity.

Post-conflict impacts can bedocumented, such as bomb damage(indicated in red) and pollution spills(indicated in yellow). The impacts arehighlighted in this high-resolutionimage of Pancevo, Yugoslavia, thatwas taken by an Indian remotesensing satellite during the Kosovoconflict in 1999.

SPACE TECHNOLOGIES FOR PROTECTING THE EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT AND MANAGING ITS RESOURCES

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A new publication released in 2005,“One Earth, Many People: imagesof change” provides a remarkablepanorama of the “human footprint”on the global environment byfocusing on more than 100 “hotspots” of environmental change.

Satellite images taken in 1975, 1988and 2000 were used to study theadverse impact of sharp populationgrowth and rapid urban expansionin Tehran on the environment.

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Earth observation satellites have also been used tomap coastal pollution (chlorophyll concentration)in the Eastern Mediterranean and to monitorhuman encroachment in forested areas surroundingSanta Cruz, Bolivia.

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The Landsat archive was used to document the destruction ofthe Mesopotamian marshlands in southern Iraq and Iran, anotherwise inaccessible area. Landsat data are now also used forrehabilitation of the marshlands.

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Satellites can detect, throughenvironmental factors, areas at riskfrom—or already affected by—pestslike locusts, crop and livestockdiseases, tsetse fly activity andanimal trypanosomiasis.

The Tigris-Euphrates is aninternational river system shared byseven countries. It has attractedgrowing international attention inrecent years owing to the seriouswater stress facing the region,

which is compounded by surgingpopulations and ambitiousdevelopment plans. A satellite-based study of land cover focuses ontwo hot spots that have experiencedthe greatest changes in the lastdecade. These are the headwaterregion in Turkey, where valleys have been inundated by a series oflarge dams; and the Mesopotamianmarshlands of Iraq and Iran, whichhave been devastated by massivedrainage schemes.

Precision farming techniques use information from remotesensing and navigation satellites to produce accurate, up-to-datemaps of features like the exactdistribution of pest infestations or areas of water stress on a farm.This may allow pesticides, water and fertilizers to be targeted toareas where they are needed the most, which not only saves money but also may reduce theenvironmental impact.

Agriculture and land use

Monitoring agricultural crop development from spacecan help predict an area’s agricultural output well inadvance. This information is often crucial in helpingauthorities to anticipate food shortages and famines,giving them enough lead time to take preventativeaction.

Monitoring and forecasting weather by satellites areof crucial importance to farmers. Satellites are animportant complement to the ground-based weatherstations for predicting storms, flooding and frost.

Rainfall and evapotranspiration assessments fromsatellites help farmers plan the timing and amount ofirrigation for their crops. Such assessments can alsocontribute to improving food security.

The United Nations system is helping countries suchas Colombia and Afghanistan to use satellite imagesto map areas of illicit drug cultivation. Remotesensing can be used to detect and map areas wherespecific illicit crops, like the coca bush and the opium poppy, are being grown.

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Rain-fed Opium Poppy

Opium Poppy

Karez Kala

Alfalfa Wheat

Bare Soil

Unclassified

Flooded Bare Soil Field

AFRICOVER, ASIACOVERand the GLOBAL LANDCOVER NETWORK (GLCN)PROJECTS

The United Nations family has been involved in the AFRICOVER project, whose goal is to establish a digital geo-referenced database on land cover and a geographic referential (a type of reference map which includes place names, roads and waterdistribution). The project is based on Landsat TM and ancillary data for 10 African countries—Burundi,the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea,Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and UnitedRepublic of Tanzania.

The methodological results of AFRICOVER are the basisfor a Global Land Cover Network (GLCN) initiative,which was launched by the United Nations family in2002. The GLCN is a global alliance for standardmulti-purpose land cover data production to improvethe availability of global information on land coverand to develop international standards for datacollection. International standards are importantbecause they ensure that the same data can be usedby different organizations around the world.

An extension of the work completed for theAFRICOVER project is the ASIACOVER project. The aim of the ASIACOVER project is to prepare aregional, standardized land cover database,integrated with socio-economic information to serve as a decision-making tool for food security and sustainable development in South-East Asia.

Forests

Remote sensing satellites provide global coverage andare an essential tool for forest assessments,especially global assessments such as the periodic“Forest Resources Assessment” and “Assessment ofthe Status of the World’s Remaining Closed Forests”carried out by the United Nations. They can mapinaccessible locations—where most of the world’sundisturbed forests grow—just as easily androutinely as populated areas.

Remote sensing satellites gather data quickly on thestatus of forests in an area, making it useful, amongother things, for:

• Detecting forest cover change and degradation

• Locating forest fires

• Mapping new roads, settlements and logging

People can see light in the“visible” part of the radiationspectrum wavelength. Visible lightprovides useful, basic informationon the location of forests. Forinstance, when looking down froma plane, we can often distinguishareas of forest, fields, deserts andbuildings. But remote sensing canalso detect different types ofradiation, such as infra-red, which

can be used to detect much moresubtle features of forests, such as:

• Distinguishing primary orvirgin forest from areas ofsecondary forest (which haveregrown after being logged)

• Providing data for mappingareas where forest is understress, for instance from pestinfestations or drought

Water

Measurements from satellites improve ourunderstanding of the various stages of the watercycle.

The World Hydrological Cycle Observing System(WHYCOS) is a global programme aimed at improvinginformation on the world’s water. It comprisesobserving systems that monitor specific basins, such

as the Mediterranean. Among other things, theprogramme provides developing countries withhardware that enables them to collect data on thewater cycle from meteorological satellites.

The World Water Assessment Programme and otherUnited Nations programmes are using spacetechnology to map water distribution andavailability, measure the impact of droughts andfloods, and collect information on how water is usedin areas such as forestry and agriculture.

Weather and Climate

Meteorological satellites are the major source ofinformation for our daily weather forecasts. Theycomplement the ground-based network of weatherstations. Among other things, meteorologicalsatellites can warn us about tropical cyclones,tornadoes, severe storms and extreme temperatures,particularly in areas where ground network coverageis not comprehensive, such as over the oceans, inremote areas and in many developing countries. Theglobal coverage and consistency in space and time ofmeteorological satellites make them ideal formonitoring the global climate, including regularevents such as El Niño and longer-term phenomenasuch as global climate change.

World Weather Watch

Modern weather forecastingdemands an almost instantaneousexchange of information onweather across the globe. WorldWeather Watch is a unique system,linking institutions around theworld that collect, process andtransmit information on theweather.

Combating MarinePollution

The United Nations family uses space technology tohelp combat marine pollution. Some of the projectsaimed at reducing marine pollution include:

• Monitoring the marine environment in the north-west Pacific Ocean

• Monitoring pollution and vegetation in the SouthChina Sea

• Monitoring eutrophication in the Po Estuary, Italy

• Assessing risk of red tides in Bantry Bay, Ireland

• Studying fisheries in the northern Aegean, Greece

• Training activities on how to use remote sensingin marine studies

• Maintaining a communications network to helpmonitor seawater quality off Tunisia

• Conducting a comprehensive assessment of themarine and coastal environment in Western Asia,including mapping of marine pollution off thecoast of Lebanon

• Compiling an atlas and a database of the coastaland marine environment in Eastern Africa

• Strengthening information on the coastal andmarine environment in Western Africa.

World Heritage Sites

The World Heritage Convention was adopted in 1972to preserve sites of outstanding natural beauty or ofspecial importance to nature, culture, history,science or conservation. A new initiative aims to useremote sensing and space technology to assistdeveloping countries to monitor the World Heritagesites, in particular the less developed countrieswhere approximately 300 of the 788 sites are located.The United Nations currently implements severalprojects, for example, the use of remote sensing to obtain cartographical information for the WorldHeritage sites in Central Africa and to detect changes in gorilla habitats in Central African WorldHeritage sites.

Many endangered species areclosely associated with aparticular habitat. The vanishingtropical rainforests are especiallyrich in biodiversity, and the manyspecies that depend on themdisappear when the forest is felledor burned. Remote sensing can be

used to map not only forest but also to detect changes that take place inside the forest. For example, by identifyingprimary forest and other types of vegetation, we can estimate the ranges of species that dependon them.

Endangered Species

DisastersInformation from satellites helps to identify areas atrisk from disasters, enabling us to take action inadvance to reduce the harm that disasters can cause.

Satellite weather forecasting helps to predictdisasters that are caused by extreme weather, such asdroughts, forest fires, storms and floods.

Data from satellites provide real-time and accurateinformation for monitoring, mapping and managinghazards of geological origin such as earthquakes,volcanic eruptions, landslides and ground instability.Satellite communications can help warn people whoare at risk, especially in remote areas, and can beessential following an earthquake, when telephonenetworks on the ground may be damaged or destroyed.

Information derived from satellite images is used to assess damage resulting from disasters such asfloods, fires, oil spills, earthquakes, volcaniceruptions and landslides. Maps created from satelliteimage processing are used to plan and support relief efforts. Up-to-date information is distributedquickly to local authorities and relief personnel onthe ground.

Specific programmes of the United Nations family areaimed at incorporating the use of space technologiesinto operational disaster management programmesaround the world. This is achieved by bringingtogether the existing users of space technology withthose responsible for dealing with disastermanagement and space technology in developingcountries. Related activities include training andpilot projects for the benefit of educating disastermanagers and decision makers about the benefits ofspace technology.

International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”An initiative that has recently been establishedbetween various space agencies and the UnitedNations is aimed at providing the United Nationswith satellite imagery free-of-charge on a prioritybasis for major disasters. The imagery can then be analysed by the United Nations agencies todetermine the best way to manage the disaster. This means that countries or regions that do nothave access to satellite imagery can obtain satellite

SPACE APPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN SECURITY,DEVELOPMENT AND WELFARE

Post-CrisisRecovery andDevelopment

Satellite imagery collected duringan emergency can later be used for post-crisis recovery anddevelopment. Images collected ondifferent dates can be compared in order to monitor progress andplan further assistance.

When a crisis situation has calmeddown and the immediate needsare met, the process of recovery,reconstruction and developmentbegins. The United Nations uses awide variety of satellite imageryto better manage its post-emergency projects for the benefit of the local population. The United Nations facilitates there-utilization and hand-over ofsatellite imagery and informationfrom one agency to the other.

images free-of-charge for relief operations in cases ofmajor disasters. The satellite imagery can be used forsuch purposes as developing an evacuation strategyduring periods of flooding or developing a strategyfor fighting forest fires. It is under this initiativethat various United Nations and other relief agenciesobtained, within days of the disaster, satelliteimagery of the areas affected by the tsunami that hitthe coastline of the Indian Ocean in December 2004.Those images helped the relief workers quickly assess

the damage and determine ways to assist the recoveryof the affected region.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations ispromoting the development of regional cooperativemechanisms to use space technology for disastermanagement. Those mechanisms would assistnational disaster management authorities to workwith space technology supporting agencies tointegrate space technology into national disastermanagement strategies.

By combining satellite imagerywith the use of GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) and Digital Elevation Models(DEM), local decision makers and United Nations staff nowhave access to advanced tools for complex decision-making. For example, these tools can beused to help decide where toestablish safe housing areas forvictims of landslides andearthquakes.

Top left: images taken before andafter dam burst in Pasni, Pakistan,February 2005.

Top right: image of Banda Aceh,Indonesia, after December 2004tsunami.

Left: images of floods in Philippines,November 2004.

The images were provided throughthe International Charter “Spaceand Major Disasters”.

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Refugees

United Nations agencies are increasingly using spacetechnologies in their refugee operations.

The United Nations family is using applications ofspace technology such as Remote Sensing, GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) and the Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS) within its operations in thefield during humanitarian emergencies.

The main operations where space technology hasbeen used to improve the lives of refugees inemergency situations are:

• The Iraq situation

• The Afghan crisis

• The civil war in Sierra Leone

• The on-going humanitarian emergencies in West Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region

• The Kosovo operation

• The Timor crisis

• Central and South America

Based on new types of images, which allow objectson the ground that are more than half a metre in sizeto be distinguishable, methods for counting andregistering refugees are being developed. Refugeepopulation information gathered at the field leveland with satellite images is combined within aGeographical Information System (GIS) and helps inthe daily management of refugee camps.

Satellite images are used during humanitarianemergencies for a wide range of applications.

Landsat and Spot images have been used since themid-1990s to assess and monitor environmentaldegradation and assist in rehabilitation programmesaround refugee camps.

During emergencies, satellite imagery like Landsat,Spot and high resolution Ikonos or QuikBird imagesare used for refugee camp planning and monitoringin combination with other sources of informationsuch as GPS information collected in the field. Insome cases the technology can detect concentrationsof refugees.

Images are also used to obtain up-to-dateinformation on the progress of operations ashumanitarian crises generally occur in poorlymapped areas.

In particular operations, such as the Kosovoemergency, aerial photos and satellite imagery havebeen used to quickly estimate housing damage in order to assist the return of refugees and assesstheir needs.

Satellite imagery is particularly useful for obtainingup-to-date information on areas where maps are pooror non-existent and areas that can be dangerous ordifficult to visit.

Together with satellite imagery, GNSS devices areused in refugee operations worldwide. GNSS satellitesare essential to the collection of crucial operationalinformation. The types of information that areessential for effective management of refugeeoperations include:

• Locations of refugees on the move duringemergencies

• Locations of refugee camps and settlements

• Logistical information (roads, airports, etc)

• Water resources

• Environmental conditions

Telecommunication satellites may be the only way tokeep in touch with refugee camps in remote areas orin difficult situations.

Health

Communication, remote sensing and navigationsatellites are regularly used for the management ofcomplex public health problems.

In West Africa, communication satellites aresuccessfully used in public health. Onchocerciasis(river blindness) has virtually been eliminated fromseven countries where the Onchocerciasis ControlProgramme (OCP) has been applied. This wasachieved through hydrological monitoring to supporttargeted spraying that killed off the larvae, which are the main transferee of the disease. Data from 150 water gauges were transmitted in real time tothe operational centres with the help of telecommu-nication satellites . This made it possible toconsiderably improve the effectiveness of killing

larvae, thus eliminating the risk of onchocercalblindness for 9 million children born within theoriginal OCP area since programme operationsstarted. Furthermore, 30 million people are protectedfrom the disease, 100,000 have been prevented fromgoing blind and 1.25 million have been cured.

Images from remote sensing satellites are used in combination with the Geographic InformationSystems (GIS) technology in various projects. Forexample, remotely sensed images are used in Viet Nam to identify the relationship betweenenvironmental factors and malaria transmission. A malaria risk map was developed using amathematical model and remote sensing dataobtained from “SPOT”, “LANDSAT” and “TERRA”satellites. The results will be used to develop tools for monitoring, assessing and predicting malaria inViet Nam.

Remote sensing images are used todetermine accessibility to primaryhealth care points. For example, inHonduras, the Pan-AmericanHealth Organization (PAHO) setup a project to restructure healthresources for the disadvantaged.Areas with poor accessibility tohealth resources and where basichealth needs are not met wereexamined. The results showed that more than 500,000 people (9 per cent of Hondurans) residein critical accessibility areas:remote and hilly areas where the

scarce health infrastructure hadbeen closed or where nurses werethe only health staff available.Based on the results of thisanalysis, solutions for therelocation of health resourceshave been proposed.

Finally, navigation andpositioning satellites are used ona daily basis to collect thegeographic component of healthrelated information for surveys,monitoring programmes orinterventions in the field.

Making effective use of space technology requiresdifferent levels of expertise. The general public mayneed training to use Internet services, tele-health ortele-education facilities. At a more advanced level,decision makers and managers in local governmentsneed to be informed and aware of how productsderived from satellite images can be useful for suchpurposes as urban development, crisis preventionand disaster recovery. Institutions are then in abetter position to communicate with remote sensingand thematic experts who are responsible forselecting appropriate sources of data, translating itinto understandable information and deliveringuseful products to the institutions.

Many organizations of the United Nations systemconduct capacity development activities, particularlyin developing countries, in the field of space science

and technology. Some programmes focus on thespecific needs of a region by promoting regionalcooperation and facilitating equitable sharing of thebenefits of space technology applications by all thecountries of that region. Some of those programmesalso promote technology transfer. Other programmescomprise training courses and workshops in subjectssuch as remote sensing, satellite communications,satellite meteorology, satellite-aided search andrescue, basic space science and satellite navigation.Some of the United Nations agencies also providedistance-learning courses through the Internet on“the use, benefits and applications of remote sensingin developing countries”. By offering such e-learningopportunities, the United Nations reaches morepeople and can easily educate and train them in thelatest tools and techniques available from the rapidlydeveloping space industry.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING

The Regional Centres for SpaceScience and Technology Educationaffiliated to the United Nationsand operating in India, Morocco,Nigeria, Brazil and Mexico—provide courses in space scienceand technology for post-graduatesfrom Asia and the Pacific, Africa,and Latin America and theCaribbean.

Activities associated with theUnited Nations Decade onEducation for SustainableDevelopment (2005-2014) willcontribute to educating thegeneral public, especially theyouth, on benefits of using spacetechnology for sustainabledevelopment.

In addition, the United Nationspromotes ethical principles toguide present and future humanactivities for the safe and peacefuluse and exploration of outerspace.

How space can help education indeveloping countries

World Space Week is an annual event held from 4 to10 October that raises awareness about how spaceimproves people’s lives around the world and islinked to various educational activities. Educationabout space is important because the subject appealsto children and can attract them to careers in scienceand engineering.

Information and communication technologies hold a lot of promise for developing countries, andfulfilling this potential is a priority activity for theUnited Nations system and other organizations. Onemajor initiative that the United Nations supports isthe SchoolNet Africa project. The project helpsconnect teachers and schools across Africa to theInternet by developing greater awareness aboutinformation technologies and campaigning for lowerInternet access fees for African schools. Anotherinitiative includes reaching disadvantaged groupssuch as the blind. E-learning projects for the blindhave been initiated in Qatar and India using graphicscreen radar in Braille.

Space communications can help improve access tothe Internet. Satellites are capable of reachingschools in remote areas that are not connected toground-based networks. Programmes that promote“tele-education” or the provision of educationservices via satellite are underway. At present, one ofthe major obstacles to these programmes is cost,including high bandwidth charges.

Bridging the digital divide

The “digital divide” existsbetween developed anddeveloping countries and refers tothe unequal distribution oftelephone, mobile phone, Internetconnections and broadcastnetworks. It also exists betweendeveloped and less developedareas within a country.

Today, in order to combat the lackof qualified teachers in lessdeveloped areas, communicationsatellites not only transmiteducational televisionprogrammes for adult educationand training of teachers, but alsodeliver education programmes toprimary and secondary schools.Recent progress in broadbandcommunications further enhancedthe importance of communicationsatellites in bridging the digitaldivide.

In some parts of the world,satellite broadband service hasoffered comparable prices withother terrestrial-based broadbandaccess methods. It is providing theopportunity for the less developedcountries to extend developmentoriented information services andapplications to communitieswhere there is inadequate land-based communicationinfrastructure.

Since the launch of the first satellite and thebeginning of the space age in 1957, we havediscovered that space, as well as Earth, can beaffected by environmental problems.

Space debrisWhat is space debris?Space debris is anything that people have put intoEarth orbit that no longer serves a purpose and thathas not been de-orbited and burned up in theatmosphere or landed back on Earth. This includesentire satellites that no longer function, sections ofrockets that have been discarded, parts of satellitesthat have exploded, astronaut gloves and other itemsdropped by space explorers. Most numerous of all aretiny particles like paint chips and liquid droplets ofpotassium and sodium.

What is the environmental problem?Space debris orbits the Earth at incredibly highspeeds, normally several kilometres per second,

making even small particles a hazard to spaceexplorers and active satellites.

Are small or large particles more dangerous?Large particles obviously cause more damage whenthey hit something—an entire, defunct satellitewould almost certainly destroy a satellite or kill aspace explorer on impact. But small particles aremuch more numerous, are nearly impossible to trackbecause of their size and can still cause quite a lot of damage.

PROTECTING THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT

ProtectingastronomyAstronomy is mainly anobservational science but ourability to observe the Universe isincreasingly impeded byinterference from light sources(such as city lights) as well as

radio waves, in particular frommobile phones and othercommunications devices.

The Radio Regulationsimplemented by the UnitedNations family attempt to addressthis problem by reserving a part ofthe electromagnetic spectrumexclusively for radio astronomy.

The United Nations provides a forum for countries,international organizations and non-governmentalorganizations to discuss issues related to thepeaceful uses and exploration of outer space. To date,the United Nations organized three United NationsConferences on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses ofOuter Space (UNISPACE).

Since 1959, the United Nations Committee on thePeaceful Uses of Outer Space annually reviews thescope of international cooperation in the peacefuluses of outer space, devises programmes in this fieldto be undertaken under United Nations auspices,encourages continued research and dissemination ofinformation on outer space matters, and studies legalproblems arising from the exploration of outer space.The Committee, its Scientific and TechnicalSubcommittee and Legal Subcommittee considersuch issues as space debris, the use of nuclear powersources in outer space, near-Earth objects, disastermanagement with the use of space technologies, theuse of space technologies in water resourcemanagement and telemedicine, as well as many othersimilar issues.

Since 1975, the United Nations has convened theInter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities.Comprised of all the United Nations agencies, theMeeting considers ways to increase synergies inspace-related programmes implemented by UnitedNations agencies, to prevent duplication in thoseprogrammes and to elaborate new inter-agencyinitiatives.

INTERNATIONAL AND INTER-AGENCY COOPERATION IN THE PEACEFUL USES OF OUTER SPACE

Photo/image credits:

European Space Agency (ESA), FAO, FAO/EUMETSAT, FAO/R.Faidutti, NASA, NOAA, OOSA, PAHO/DD/AIS, UNEP, UNESCO,

UNHCR, UNOSAT, UNOSAT, International Charter Space and Major Disasters, Sertit, WHO/EIP/WHS, WHO/TDR/Crump/Wayling.

This publication was approved by the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities in 2005. For more information onhow outer space activities are coordinated in the United Nations system, please see http://www.uncosa.unvienna.org.

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Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Environment Programme 413 St Jacques Street, Suite 800, Montréal, Québec, Canada H2Y 1N9 Tel: +1 514 287 7025 Fax: +1 514 288 6588 E-mail: secretariat@biodiv.org, http://www.biodiv.org

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