AIR Hosts an International Workshop for Capacity Building of Disaster Alleviation

The International Training Workshop on Big Earth Data for Disaster Risk Reduction organized at the AIR Campus in Olympic Village S&T Park on Oct. 30, 2018. It was attended by 20 trainees from 17 countries including Czech, Ghana, Iran, Nepal, Armenia, Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

Under the framework of the Digital Belt and Road (DBAR) Program, the workshop was jointly supported by several programs and institutions, including the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence on Space Technology for Disaster Mitigation (SDIM), Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), International Society for Digital Earth, CAS Earth Big Data Science Project (CASEarth) and IRDR China.

In the light of SDGs-11 (making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable) and SDGs-13 (taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) of the United Nations, the workshop provided the participants with practical knowledge and skills for disaster alleviation using a decision-support system based on big earth data in the Belt and Road region. It aimed at strengthening the service capacity of big earth data for disaster reduction in Belt and Road region, and improving talent training in this regard.

DBAR is 10-year international science program with the objectives to promote the application of big earth data in Belt and Road region. Since May 2016, the program has launched 8 Working Groups, 1 Task Forces, 8 Centers of Excellence and 1 Data Platform. Consisting of 17 experts from 13 countries along the Belt and Road, the Working Group for Disaster Reduction has made significant contributions to the disaster reduction in the region and the development of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 through various means ranging from cooperative research, training and strategic consultation.