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T O P I C S ******************************************
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/feature/feature_18.html
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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/feature/feature_03.html).
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://triple-i.ddo.jp/web/aprsaf/feature/feature_19.html
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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
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