UNCSTD Officials Visits AIR

Ms. Shamika N. Sirimanne, Head of the Secretariat of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD), also Director of the Division on Science, Technology and Logistics of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and Zhang Liping, Chief of the Science, Technology and Innovation for its Development Section, visited the Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth at the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on July 26, 2024. The visit aimed to discuss the capacity-building of CropWatch. The meeting was chaired by Professor Wu Bingfang, head of the CropWatch team. 

Mr. ZHANG Shizhuan, Deputy Executive Director of the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO), expressed gratitude to UNCTAD and UNCSTD for their support. He praised the CropWatch Innovation Cooperation Program (CropWatch-ICP) for enhancing crop monitoring in developing nations and commended Professor Wu Bingfang’s team for their impactful work. Zhang highlighted CropWatch’s role in China's food market and disaster response, and emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with UNCTAD, UNCSTD, and FAO to address global challenges and explore new technology applications.

Ms. Shamika N. Sirimanne outlined the CSTD's mandate and praised the CropWatch platform for its significant contribution to the Zero Hunger SDGs. She welcomed the new West Africa Regional Center of CropWatch-ICP and anticipated showcasing its results at the CSTD 2025 conference. She thanked ANSO, the Ministry of Science and Technology, CAS, and AIRCAS for their support and looked forward to expanding cooperation.

During the symposium, Associate Professor Zhang Miao presented new technologies and progress in the CropWatch project. Dr. Yan Nana discussed advancements in DroughtWatch and DzudWatch for monitoring droughts in Mongolia. Dr. Ma Zonghan introduced the ETWatch platform for agricultural water management. Professor Xin Zhang highlighted the unmanned farm project integrating Beidou and Gaofen with remote sensing for improved agriculture. Associate Professor Asfaw Kebede from Ethiopia shared CropWatch’s impact in Ethiopia, emphasizing international cooperation in agricultural technology development.

In the final discussion, participants explored integrating remote sensing technologies for global agricultural monitoring. They addressed technical cooperation, policy recommendations, and financial support, focusing on how to apply these technologies in developing countries. Special attention was given to the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa, with Ms. Shamika expressing hope that China AID will actively support regional cooperation and development.

Group photo.