The Symposium entitled "Towards Regional Disaster Management Support System – Satellite Information Access Mechanism" will be held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, from 19 to 21 March 2008. The sysmposium is part of the activities of the ESCAP project entitled “Towards Improved Capacity in Disaster Management Using Satellite-based and Spatial Information System in Asia and the Pacific”, which is supported by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The Symposium targets policymakers from national disaster management authorities and implementing agencies, and it aims to enhance their understanding of effectiveness of space technology, in particular of the Sentinel Asia initiative which was approved by the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), for their disaster management activities. In addition, the participants will discuss and identify necessary actions to establish an effective and efficient mechanism for space data distribution and operational utilization in disaster management.

The Symposium is expected to produce the following outputs:

• Country reports on how space technologies are currently used in national disaster prevention and management efforts
• Enhanced awareness among national disaster management agencies on space technology based information, products and services
• The gaps between what space technologies can do and what is being done identified
• A network among national disaster management agencies and space agencies created
• A plan of action at the national and regional levels agreed