Consultative Committee on Regional Space Application Programme Meets at Bangalore

The tenth session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC) on the Regional Space Applications Programme (RESAP) for Sustainable Development was held at Bangalore during October 21-22, 2004. The meeting was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) and hosted by ISRO.

At the inaugural function: (from left) Xung Zeng Pei, Chief of International Commission for Space Technology Division, UN–ESCAP, Ms Okaido Keiko, Deputy Executive Secretary, UN–ESCAP, Mr T N Chaturvedi, Hon’ble Governor of Karnataka and Mr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO

ESCAP members and associate members — Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Thailand, United States of America, and Vietnam – attended the Bangalore ICC. The discussion was centered around evolving the role of RESAP within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals, the World Summit of the Information Society and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The topics included:

• Public-private partnership for operational space information and communication services and applications
• Community information centers using satellite communications
• Regional cooperative mechanisms in disaster management using satellite-based information and communication technologies The delegates agreed to work within the framework of regional cooperation to pursue the agenda and further strengthen RESAP mechanisms in the long-term interest of developing the region.

A section of the delegates

Inaugurating the Bangalore ICC session, Mr T N Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka said that Asia and the Pacific have established themselves as a global economy but the benefits are yet to reach a majority of the population in the region. ESCAP should respond to the dynamic needs of the countries in this region in the emerging globalisation scenario and related social issues.

Mr G Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, in his address, highlighted the achievements under
Indian space programme including the launches of RESOURCESAT-1 and EDUSAT and the application of space technology in several fields like communication, broadcasting, meteorology
and resources survey. He highlighted the recent initiatives of ISRO in space applications like telemedicine, tele-education and Village Resource Centres to benefit the grassroots level society. He urged ICC to deliberate on how space technology could be utilised to eradicate poverty and illiteracy as well as for disaster warning and disaster mitigation. He emphasised the need to reduce the cost of space systems and setting up organisational mechanisms to make the benefits of such systems available to the society. Chairman, ISRO further announced that India is committed to share its experiences and resources in the collective effort to give RESAP a new direction.

Ms Okaido Keiko, Deputy Executive Secretary, UN-ESCAP, in her address, said that globalisation is shaping the economic and social scenario in ESCAP region and RESAP has been initiated to exploit space technology to manage this globalisation scenario and bridge the digital divide.

Under RESAP, UN-ESCAP promotes regional cooperation and facilitates equitable sharing of the benefits of space technology primarily to support poverty alleviation, food security and disaster management. ESCAP derives the necessary mandate for carrying out these activities through Ministerial Conferences. The first Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development was held at Beijing, China in 1994 and it provided the necessary framework under RESAP for regional cooperation. The second Ministerial Conference, held at New Delhi in 1999 identified specific common projects in prioritised areas. India, by virtue of its leadership in space technology and applications, plays a key role in driving the RESAP activities.

The Bangalore session of ICC was significant in the backdrop of many UN Summits and rapid advances that are taking place in space technology and applications.