The fourth Joint
Project Team Meeting (JPTM4) for establishing
the Disaster Management Support System in the
Asia-Pacific region was held at the Dusit Hotel
Nikko, in Manila, the Philippines from September
5 to 7, 2007. It was co-hosted by the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Science and Technology
Coordination Council, Committee on Space Technology
Applications (STCC-COSTA), the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST), the Office of
Civil Defence (OCD), the National Disaster Coordinating
Council (NDCC), the National Mapping and Resource
Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Department
of Environment and National Resources (DENR),
in cooperation with the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP) and 84 people representing 45 organizations
from 17 countries and 6 international organizations.
Based on the series of discussions had at
the previous Joint Project Team Meetings and
the recommendations raised at APRSAF-13 in
Indonesia, in December 2006, the results of
STEP-1 including the Sentinel-Asia System,
the activities of working groups, the training
of emergency observations by ALOS and the data
distribution of Multi-functional Transport
Satellite "MTSAT II"were reported at JPTM4.
In addition, there were reports on a new program
of emergency observation training, with the
Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) and the
Thailand Earth Observation System (THEOS) acting
as the emergency response satellites.
As a result of a joint agreement made at this
meeting, the STEP-2 plan and the new vision
need further review by JPTM before they are
finalized at APRSAF-14, to be held in Bangalore,
India from November 21 to 23, 2007.
During the meeting, the following organizations
were approved as new Joint Team Members.
The Philippines: Five organizations newly
added (total of seven organizations)
i) Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM)
ii) Mines and Geo-Sciences Board of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR)
iii) Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical
Services Administration (PAGASA)
iv) Philippine Council for Advanced Science
and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD)
v) Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (PHIVOLCS)
Bhutan: Two organizations
i) Department of Survey and Land Records
ii) Ministry of Home & Cultural Affairs
