| Abbreviation | SERVIR-Mekong Project |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2015 |
| Legal status | Active |
Region served | Southeast Asia |
Membership | Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam |
| Website | servir |
SERVIR-Mekong project is a joint initiative by the US agency for International Development (USAID), NASA and five other countries which are Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. "Servir" is a Spanish word which means "to serve". The project aims to use the latest technologies to help the Mekong river region protect its vital ecosystem. It helps to connect USAID's development network with NASA's technology and satellite data to provide mapping information and satellite imagery. [1] [2]
The first such experimental hub was launched in Panama in 2005 to serve the near region. The project was initially undertaken by researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. [3] In the Earth Observation Summit, 2007, SERVIR was recognized as a model for the effectuation of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). In 2010, the organisation had a presence in the Himalayas when a hub, SERVIR-Himalaya, was established at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal. [4] The organization has launched similar projects in the past for other regions in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The project stresses the vital issues associated in the Mekong river basin region which encompasses all the five countries which are also known as the rice bowl of Asia. The project will also allow these countries to better deal with natural disasters and climate studies like green house gas emissions and its effects. It also enables them to use their water resources more efficiently. [5]
The Mekong basin is covers almost 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) from Tibetan plateau up to the South China Sea region. It gives livelihood to almost 40 million people. The environment is considered one of the most volatile ones in the world. The project uses space applications and helps to create geospatial data which is later analyzed to avoid natural disasters like floods and others in the lower Mekong region. [1]
The implementation of the project is undertaken by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in consortium with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Spatial Informatics Group (SIG) and Deltares. The first phase of the project was launched on 31 August 2015. [3] [6]
SERVIR-Mekong is an example of the technical collaboration in the region and development of a common analysis. It also aims to see environmental planning agencies leading in technical support and take better development decisions. SERVIR has also served in development of more than 30 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia which includes providing tools and training to thousands of people of the region. [2] [7]
Cambodia is a country in mainland Southeast Asia, bordering Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Gulf of Thailand and covers a total area of 181,035 km2 (69,898 sq mi). The country is situated in its entirety inside the tropical Indomalayan realm and the Indochina Time zone (ICT).
The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates as "Sea of Islands", referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters; in the Turkic languages and Mongolic languages aral means "island, archipelago". The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Iran.
The Mekong, or Mekong River, is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the seventh longest in Asia. Its estimated length is 4,350 km (2,703 mi), and it drains an area of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi), discharging 475 km3 (114 cu mi) of water annually. From the Tibetan Plateau the river runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia.
SSL, formerly Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SS/L), of Palo Alto, California, is a wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary of Maxar Technologies.
The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik 1 in 1957, continuing to the present day.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is the space agency of the Government of India and has its headquarters in the city of Bengaluru. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research & planetary exploration". The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established by Jawaharlal Nehru under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 1962, with the urging of scientist Vikram Sarabhai recognizing the need in space research. INCOSPAR grew and became ISRO in 1969, also under the DAE. In 1972, the Government of India had set up a Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS), bringing ISRO under the DOS. The establishment of ISRO thus institutionalized space research activities in India. It is managed by the DOS, which reports to the Prime Minister of India.
Satellite imagery are images of Earth or other planets collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell images by licensing them to governments and businesses such as Apple Maps and Google Maps.
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is an "...inter-governmental organisation that works directly with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to jointly manage the shared water resources and the sustainable development of the Mekong River". Its mission is "To promote and coordinate sustainable management and development of water and related resources for the countries' mutual benefit and the people's well-being".
Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales is the civilian agency of the government of Argentina in charge of the national space program.
Copernicus is the European Union's Earth observation programme coordinated and managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU Member States and EU Agencies.
The Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is an executive and national space agency of the Government of Pakistan, responsible for the nation's public and civil space programme and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Its mission statement and objective is to conduct research in space technology and promote the technology for socio-economic uplift of the country. The organisation, however, suffers from minute budget amount and lack of indigenous programmes. Established in its modern form on 16 September 1961 by an executive order of President of Pakistan, it is headquartered in Karachi, Sindh Province of Pakistan.
The Greater Mekong Subregion, (GMS) or just Greater Mekong, is a trans-national region of the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia. The region is home to more than 300 million people. It came into being with the launch of a development program in 1992 by the Asian Development Bank that brought together the six Asian countries of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Group on Earth Observations coordinates international efforts to build a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). It links existing and planned Earth observation systems and supports the development of new ones in cases of perceived gaps in the supply of environment-related information. It aims to construct a global public infrastructure for Earth observations consisting in a flexible and distributed network of systems and content providers.
Deimos-1 is a Spanish Earth imaging satellite which is operated by Deimos Imaging who commercializes its imagery directly but also has distribution agreements with other entities like Astrium GEO and DMC International Imaging.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), is a Dubai government organisation working on the UAE space program, which includes various space satellite projects, the Emirates Mars Mission, and the UAE astronaut programme. The centre actively works to promote space science and research in the region. The centre encompasses the Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).
This page describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Laos.
The Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) is a network of organizations committed to the sustainable development of the Greater Mekong Region. Launched in 2005, SUMERNET supports policy-relevant research and outreach activities to inform and engage policy-makers, planners and stakeholders. Within this context, it pursues an evolving agenda in response to questions and policy issues that arise in the region. Current research themes are climate-compatible development, regional economic integration, and ecosystem services and local development. The network works on a range of issues including natural ecosystems governance, floods and natural disasters, climate change and adaptation, and transboundary resource flows.
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar on an Earth observation satellite. The satellite will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequencies. It will be used for remote sensing, to observe and understand natural processes on Earth. For example, its right-facing instruments will study the Antarctic cryosphere.
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an open-source web application to monitor global forests in near real-time. GFW is an initiative of the World Resources Institute (WRI), with partners including Google, USAID, the University of Maryland (UMD), Esri, Vizzuality and many other academic, non-profit, public, and private organizations.