Geospatial information and satellite analysis have the potential to generate tangible benefits in a growing number of areas. UNFPA, The International Institute for Environment and Development (iied) and El Colegio de Mexico organized an expert meeting on Population Dynamics and Climate Change II - Building for Adaption in Mexico City in October 2010 in preparation for the UN Climate Change COP16 negotiations in Cancun in December.
The objective of the meeting was to build knowledge and discuss tools concerning the linkages between population dynamics and climate change adaptation, and to seek new applications for policy development and negotiations on responding to global, regional and national climate change challenges. Michael Jendryke of UNOSAT presented a paper on satellite derived analysis and how it relates to population dynamics in the view of experience of UNOSAT.
UNOSAT develops each year a series of innovative applied research themes, most of which lead to concrete applications within the UN system or in the context of capacity development in emerging countries. The aim is to produce excellence with a view to supporting international agendas in all areas able to benefit from satellite applications and high end geographic information solutions.
At the Mexico meeting UNOSAT focused on the importance of geospatial information and especially remotely sensed images in the context of natural disasters and the underlying connection with climate change and population dynamics. In his presentation, Jendryke underlined that “in the example of the work done at UNOSAT during the flooding in Pakistan we may consider that the disaster was also a consequence of a changing climate. Using satellite derived analysis is becoming more that responding to emergency situations, it is a flexible tool to link together various problematic areas in the cycle linking relief to development. These areas have a direct effect on population dynamics and of course they are greatly affected by climate change”.