Achievements

The history of UNOSAT achievements is based on technical soundness, a constant effort to focus on user needs and concrete solutions, technological advantage, and high impact at a low cost.

One important achievement is the dedicated support to the international humanitarian community. Launched in 2003, UNOSAT humanitarian rapid mapping service operates 24 hours a day all year-round ensuring that experts are available whenever needed for rapid acquisition and processing of satellite imagery and data to generate specific information and analyses, create maps and GIS layers. UNOSAT experts are deployed to the field when technical assistance is needed. This support service has earned UNOSAT credibility and visibility and the UN21 Award in 2006.

Once relief operations are over, we work to support early recovery and development activities to help countries recover after disasters and crises. The ability of UNOSAT to capitalize on data and information generated at the time of crisis to benefit recovery and development actors has been recognized in 2005 with the inclusion of UNOSAT in the Early Recovery Cluster of the Humanitarian Response Reform process (UNOSAT participates also in the Shelter and Emergency Telecommunications Clusters).

Another important achievement is the growing number of national and international development projects that receive support from UNOSAT for strategic territorial planning and advanced GIS applications. In these projects we use the expertise accumulated by the UNOSAT technical team and their field experience to bring a new technological edge to local capacity development often in the form of high quality consultancy and on-site support services.

UNOSAT experience is not limited to technical support; we are engaged in supporting the development of capacity locally and help communities to retain this capacity. To do so, we develop and implement integrated training modules and programmes that typically include the design and realization of GIS and cartographic centres that will continue to operate in the long term.

Created initially to exploit fully the potential of satellite earth observation, UNOSAT has developed skills in additional technical areas, such as satellite navigation and telecommunications, and is today looking at future of integrated solutions.