Dr. Maneesha V. Ramesh, Director of Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications (AWNA),  attended the United Nations/India Workshop on the “Use of Earth Observation Data in Disaster Management and Risk Reduction: Sharing the Asian Experience ” held in Hyderabad during 8^th-10^th March 2016.

This workshop was jointly organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) through its Programme on Space Applications and the UN-SPIDER platform and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on behalf of the Government of India. The objective of the workshop was to share experience from Asia and other parts of the World in using Earth observation for disaster management.

Eminent scientists in disaster management such as policy makers, providers of space technology solutions/tools/applications from governments, academia, research, NGO and corporate sector from across the globe attended this workshop.

AmritaWNA’s Wireless Early Landslide Warning System became one of the key attractions of the workshop. The women participating in the workshop were recognized separately on the eve of Women’s Day.

The workshop helped to achieve:

• Exchanging knowledge and lessons learned by experts and disaster managers
• Understanding technology trends, including upcoming satellites and sensors
• Discussing ways to access advanced Earth observation data
• Providing a platform for the countries and intergovernmental organisations to develop bilateral and multilateral cooperation
• Providing opportunities for enhanced collaboration among Asian countries for effective utilization of Earth observation in disaster management.