Talking about SERVIR Himalaya in Washington, D.C.

09 Aug 2013

SERVIR’s partnership, tools, products, and services and how they are being used in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region were the subject of a panel discussion at a recent forum in Washington, D.C.

SERVIR is a joint USAID/NASA program that integrates Earth observation and geospatial technologies to build capacity and provide a platform to assist decision-makers in improving environmental management and resilience to climate change.

The event was hosted by the Society for International Development in Washington, DC (SID-Washington) on 15 July 2013.

Senior Climate Change Specialist at USAID’s Climate Change Office in the Bureau of Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, Jenny Frankel-Reed, explained the collaboration between USAID and NASA on SERVIR. The Capacity Building Program Manager at NASA, Nancy Searby, emphasized the importance of partnerships like SERVIR for utilizing NASA’s constellation of satellites to understand Earth as a system.

ICIMOD’s Regional Program Manager, MENRIS, Basanta Shrestha, highlighted the importance of the Himalayan region and ICIMOD’s work as a regional inter-governmental organization. Further, ICIMOD’s Program Coordinator, Regional Database Initiative, Birendra Bajracharya, explained how ICIMOD has been utilizing geographic information systems and satellite data to address various mountain issues. He also explained ICIMOD’s Mountain GeoPortal as a platform for disseminating geospatial information and applications.

Chief of Party for SERVIR Demand Activity at DAI, Noemi Danao-Schroeder, moderated the event.