The United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) said on Thursday China plays a large role in providing technical support to national and regional organizations that they will have access to and use space-based information to mitigate the negative impact of global climate change.

 

The UN-SPIDER will officially open its third office in Beijing, China where it will effectively coordinate its entire program in ensuring the access to and develop the capacity to use all types of space-based information to support the full management of disaster management cycle.

Juan Carlos Villagran, Representative of UN-SPIDER, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview that the governments of China, Germany, and Austria have displayed special commitment to supporting UN-SPIDER program towards its objectives.

He said the UN-SPIDER has three major offices including the one in China which will be playing significant role in providing technical advisory support to the program.

"The UN-SPIDER Office in Beijing will be officially opened in November this year; the Beijing Office has been conceived since the UN-SPIDER was designed to be in charge of the national and regional technical advisory support of the national and regional level; so it plays a large role complementary to the UN Office which focuses on capacity building in our objectivity, complementary to the Office in Bonn, Germany, so the entire program will be coordinated through these Offices,” said Villagran.

"Beijing will have a very important role in assisting in providing technical advisory support to national organizations and regional organizations such as United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,” he added.

"We have been benefited from data which has been gathered through Chinese satellite for disaster around the world so that will be another contribution that we are hoping will be available from the Beijing Office mobilizing Chinese satellite that we can provide satellite information to countries which are experiencing disaster; it is part of the technical advisory support from Beijing,” said him.

According to Villagran, the government of China has special commitment to support the UN-SPIDER program. UN-SPIDER is a program of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs established on the 14th of December, 2006 by the UN General Assembly, to provide universal access to all countries and all relevant international and regional organizations to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management.

The UN-SPIDER coordinates its program through its three major offices in Beijing, China, Venna, Austria, and Bonn, Germany.