News Mails - 2007
1. Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR) 2007, Kazakhstan
2. Snow Leopard Update from Dr. Tom McCarthy: Radio noise hampers satellite-based study of snow leopards in Asia
3. Conclusion of Agreement on Mutual Cooperation between ISRO and JAXA to observe Cosmic X-rays
4. Korea, Russia enter full-fledged space partnership
5. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - August - September 2007]]
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1. Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR) 2007, Kazakhstan
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In 1998, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) was established in Kobe, Japan, with a mandate to promote multilateral cooperation to reduce disasters in Asian region. Along with 25 member countries, ADRC annually holds the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR), to exchange information and opinions on the member nations' progress in efforts to reduce the damage from disasters.
ACDR 2007, co-organized by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of Japan, the United Nations Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), was held in Astana, Kazakhstan from June 25 to 27, 2007.
There were a total of 136 participants, including government officials from 22 countries and 32 organizations from the UN and NGOs. The conference presented and reviewed significant accomplishments, and good practices in disaster risk reduction at local, regional, national, and international levels, and concluded to address further concerns and challenges.
ACDR 2008 is planned to be held in Indonesia next year.
ADRC Website:
http://web.adrc.or.jp/acdr2007astana/index.html
Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2007/feature_18.php
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2. Snow Leopard Update from Dr. Tom McCarthy: Radio noise hampers satellite-based study of snow leopards in Asia
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Snow leopard is an endangered specie of cat that lives in mountainous area of Central Asia. In November 2006 a non-profit organization 'Snow Leopard Trust' initiated the first ever study on the home-range size, movement and behavior patterns of wild snow leopards using Global Positioning System (GPS) collars. The data is sent via the Argos system (a US and French environmental data collection system) to a researcher's office in Seattle, USA. (These activities are introduced at http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2007/feature_03.php).
According to Dr. Tom McCarthy, the Director of the Snow Leopard Trust, the study has recently faced difficulties because the signals from the collar are not being received by the Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite (ARGOS). The signal from the 0.5-watt transmitter on the collar is being drowned out by background radio noise of the same frequency as the one used by the Argos satellites. The old collar that was replaced had 80 pieces of location data stored on it, which researchers were able to download. The data showed some interesting movement patterns of the snow leopard. However, collecting real time data using the satellites gives more specific information to follow the snow leopard's activities. A way to boost the signal so it can be heard by the satellites is now under investigation.
Snow Leopard Trust:
http://www.snowleopard.org
Full text of the article:
http://www.aprsaf.org/interviews_features/features_2007/feature_19.php
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3. Conclusion of Agreement on Mutual Cooperation between ISRO and JAXA to observe Cosmic X-rays
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On July 13, 2007, ISRO Chairman Mr. G. Madhavan Nair and JAXA President Mr. Keiji Tachikawa concluded an agreement on mutual cooperation between ISRO and JAXA in the field of observing cosmic X-rays.
At present, JAXA is operating an X-ray astronomy satellite called "Suzaku" (ASTRO-EII) and has achieved the highest level of results in the world in observing cosmic X-rays. On the other hand, ISRO will launch its first multiwavelength astronomy satellite (ASTROSAT) at the end of 2008. In addition to instruments to observe X-rays, ASTROSAT will have an ultraviolet imaging telescope (UVIT), which is something Suzaku does not have.
This agreement will enable cooperative observations of both satellites and it is hoped that this will produce various scientific results, giving insights into cosmic structure and physics in extreme environment.
ASTRO-EII Website:
http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/astro_e2/index_e.html
ASTROSAT Website:
http://meghnad.iucaa.ernet.in/~astrosat/
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4. Korea, Russia enter full-fledged space partnership
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According to the the Policy Studies & International Relations Department of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Korea and Russia formally began their full-fledged cooperation in the field of space field with the signing of a technology safeguard pact agreement.
Kim Woo-sik, Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology, and Russian Federal Space Agency head Anatoliy Nikolayevitch Perminov first agreed on and signed the space partnership in October 2006 along with the prime ministers of the two countries. The partnership was finally signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 28, 2007, and Korean President Roh Moo-hyun promulgated the pact agreement on July 24, 2007.
The Technology Safeguard Agreement is expected to boost South Korea's efforts to build rockets that can send small commercial and scientific satellites into space.
The agreement will permit the timely completion of the Naro Space Center in Goheung, Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province). The center was 98 percent complete as of late June, and will be used to launch South Korea's first rocket into space in late 2008.
Seoul has been working with Moscow to build the Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSLV-1). Russia is charged with building KSLV-1's first-stage rocket, while Korean engineers are making the second-stage booster.
Please see the original news website "Korea Net"(July 3, 2007):
http://www.korea.net/News/News/NewsList.asp?part=107&SearchDay=&page=3
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5. [[Event Information and APRSAF Website Updates - August - September 2007]]
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*August 14-16, 2007
Map Asia 2007
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
http://www.mapasia.org/
*August 21-22, 2007
Geography 2007 Conference
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
http://geografi.um.edu.my/bm/persidangan_2007/persidangan_2007.htm
*August 21-25, 2007
International Disaster Reduction Conference (IDRC-Harbin) 2007
Harbin, China
http://www.harbin2007.cn/
*August 28-29, 2007
ISPRS Workshop on Updating Geo-spatial Database with Imagery & 5th ISPRS Workshop on DMGIS
Urumchi, Xinjiang, China
http://isprs-wg41.nsdi.gov.cn/Xinjiang/Urumqi.htm
*August 29-September 1, 2007
2nd Indonesian Geospatial Technology Exhibition
Bakosurtanal;Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.geospatial-exh.com/
*September 5-7, 2007
The 4th Sentinel Asia Joint Project Team Meeting
Manila, Philippines
http://www.aprsaf.org/data/jptm4_pdf/JPTM4_1st_Announcement.pdf
*September 10-13, 2007
The Fourth International Conference on Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation
Chengdu, China
http://4thdfhm.imde.ac.cn/
*September 12-14, 2007
7th International Workshop of Geographical Information Systems (IWGIS' 07)
Beijing, China
http://www.lreis.ac.cn/eng/kfjl/IWGIS/
*September 13-14, 2007
Location Asia 2007
Hong Kong
http://www.location.net.in/asia/index.htm
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Copyright 2007 The APRSAF Secretariat
APRSAF Secretariat