VIENNA/NAIROBI, June 27, 2016 – More than 250 actors from around the world involved in biodiversity and wildlife management are gathering in Nairobi this week to consider how space technology can be used to protect the planet’s wildlife and biodiversity.

The United Nations/Kenya Conference on Space Technology and Applications for Wildlife Management and Protecting Biodiversity opened today and runs until 30 June. The conference is an initiative of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), which has organized it in conjunction with the Government of the Republic of Kenya

Pressures from climate change, ecosystem loss and wildlife crime are threatening biodiversity and wildlife around the globe. In response to this a wide range of applications, initiatives and projects have been developed, all of which use space-based technologies – such as imagery collected by Earth Observation satellites and satellite-derived geospatial data, satellite-communications and global navigation satellite systems – to monitor, assess and manage biodiversity and ecosystems in support of sustainable environmental development.

The conference has brought together actors from around the world involved in biodiversity and wildlife management, including representatives of space industry, governmental and non-governmental organizations, technology experts, national park authorities and rangers, and wildlife managers, to share their experiences and requirements, build cooperation and develop recommendations.

The programme consists of key note and expert talks, panel discussions, and poster presentations. The results of this conference will feed into UNOOSA’s preparatory process for UNISPACE+50, a special segment of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 2018 to mark the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

The conference is co-hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and co-sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

“Biodiversity monitoring and protection is a new thematic priority for UNOOSA’s Programme on Space Applications. I am pleased that we have brought together other UN entities, as well as governmental and non-governmental partners, to promote such an important and impactful use of space technology,” said UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo.

Further information about the conference, including full agenda, can be found here: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/schedule/2016/conference_kenya_biodiversity.html 

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