SERVIR Mekong: Overview

SERVIR Mekong: Overview

Question: NASA and USAID have launched a joint project for strengthening environmental monitoring in 5 nations in lower Mekong, Southeast Asia named SERVIR Mekong. Provide an overview of this project.

- NASA and USAID have launched a joint project for strengthening regional monitoring in 5 countries in lower Mekong region of SE Asia

- This project named SERVIR Mekong is housed at Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Thailand’s Bangkok

- A growing global community of scientists and decision makers are now going to use publicly available information from space assets for meeting critical regional issues

- NASA shows the human impact of the science mission here on earth through this project

- SERVIR hubs are also operated in Nepal, Kathmandu, and Nairobi Kenya as well as eastern and southern Africa

- Researchers have stressed on space based climate, weather and other Earth observation data from NASA and its partners sharing time bound information with researchers and government in Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.

- Issues such as water management, land use planning, disaster risk reduction and management of natural resources will be taken up through this project

- SERVIR program incorporates observations of earth and geospatial technologies into natural disaster response for improving food security and safeguarding human health apart from water and natural resource management

- Hubs in the regions focus on issues/needs most urgent for the population

- Best available technology and science helps to protect the vital ecosystems of the region and benefits they offer society

- Asian scientists, NASA scientists and others have began tool development for resiliency building in the region

- SERVIR was developed in association with Group on Earth Observations, a 90 nation alliance wherein organizations are collaborating to build earth observing system to benefit societal needs

- Mekong River is the life-force for Mekong Basin ecosystems

- SERVIR Mekong refers to a geospatial data for development program designed to meet the needs of Lower Mekong nations

- USAID and NASA have partnered this initiative to ensure effective use of geospatial analysis

- SERVIR Mekong is a geospatial data for development program

- SERVIR Mekong is a 5 year regional project targeting countries where ecosystems are impacted by the Mekong such as Lao PDR, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

- Program is implemented in a partnership with the following agencies: Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Spatial Informatics Group, Stockholm Environment Institute and Deltares

- Goal of the SERVIR Mekong is to improve resilience to climate change and environmental management through increased application of geospatial analysis for policy and planning needs

Facts and Stats

- The Mekong River runs nearly 5000 km from the Tibetan plateau to S. China Sea

- It generates livelihood for close to 40 million persons

- Extreme weather and climate change are now impacting the region making environmental monitoring critical