The U.S. Agency for International Development and NASA have unveiled a new information center in Bangkok to facilitate sharing of space-derived weather and environmental data among countries in Southeast Asia’s lower Mekong region.
The space agency and USAID scientists will work to address natural resource management, disaster risk reduction, land use and water management issues with researchers and government officials in Thailand, Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia through the SERVIR-Mekong information hub, NASA said Monday.
“Today, NASA demonstrates the human impact of its science mission here on Earth and our commitment to protecting the resources, the environment and most of all the millions of people living, working and raising new generations of pioneers and innovators across the region,” said Charles Bolden, NASA administrator.
Bolden opened the SERVIR-Mekong hub at Asian Disaster Preparedness Center in Thailand with Beth Paige, director of regional development mission for Asia at USAID, and Ellen Stofan, chief scientist at NASA.
Other members of the SERVIR-Mekong consortium include Deltares, Spatial Informatics Group and Stockholm Environment Institute.
The agencies also run SERVIR hubs in Nepal, Kenya and Panama.
