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World Development Report 2010
The World Development Report 2010, published by the World Bank, emphasises the urgent need to tackle climate change. The authors stress that developing countries are likely to bear 75-80 per cent of climate change costs. But as the poorest countries, they must not be asked to choose between...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: September 2009 | EN
Energy in national decentralization policies: A review focusing on least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa
This report, published by the UN Development Programme, reviews more than 600 online documents to consider how energy is included in national decentralisation policies and programmes in least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa. The authors argue that decentralisation can significantly...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: August 2009 | EN
Applicability of near-real-time satellite data acquisition and analysis and distribution of geoinformation in support of African development
This report, prepared for the UN Economic Commission for Africa, reviews the status and prospects for remote sensing in Africa. The authors argue that a real and immediate need exists for real-time remote sensing data to improve early warning, vulnerability assessment, mitigation, response and...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: April 2005 | EN
An autonomous earth observing Sensorweb
This article describes how a network of sensors, linked by software and the Internet, can provide an automatic satellite-based surveillance system for disasters such as volcanoes, wildfires and flooding. The system, or 'Sensorweb', uses data from low resolution, high frequency sensors to trigger...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: October 2005 | EN
Satellite solutions
This feature article, written by members of the UN Operational Satellite Applications (UNOSAT) programme, outlines how satellite technology can improve emergency relief after a natural disaster. UNOSAT uses satellite data to produce maps and damage reports for nongovernment organisations,...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: June 2008 | EN
Disaster management
Written by former director of India's National Remote Sensing Agency, D. P. Rao, this article reviews the role of space technology in disaster mitigation. Rao offers examples of how remote sensing can feed into prevention, preparedness and relief strategies for a number of disasters. He...
KEY DOCUMENT | EN
Global Earthquake Satellite System (GESS)
This report, written by solid-Earth scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sets out the requirements for delivering high-accuracy, high-resolution surface deformation data for earthquake studies. The authors build on recommendations made by NASA's Solid Earth Science Working Group. They...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: March 2003 | EN
New satellite observations and rainfall forecasts help provide earlier warning of African drought
This article, written by Chris Funk of the US GS, outlines how the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) uses satellite data and statistical forecasts to provide early warnings of potential droughts in sub-Saharan Africa. Funk outlines the role of satellite data in FEWS NET at all...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: January 2009 | EN
The Earth Observation Handbook
This report, prepared by the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), presents the main capabilities of satellite systems and their applications to detect, monitor and adapt to climate change, alongside plans for future relevant satellite missions. The report is divided into three parts....
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2008 | EN
A review of the status of satellite remote sensing and image processing techniques for mapping natural hazards and disasters
This review article describes how remote sensing data can and are being used to map and monitor disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, flooding and wildfire. The authors summarise the main satellites and sensors used in disaster monitoring and their characteristics. They...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: April 2009 | EN
Climate change: A call to action for African leaders
This policy brief, prepared by the Africa Progress Panel, African Development Bank and UN, outlines the implications of climate change for Africa, emphasising the need for a strong and cohesive negotiating position at the December 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen. The authors argue that African...
KEY DOCUMENT | EN
Agrofuels and the use of genetic modification
This report from GeneWatch UK describes the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as agrofuels and makes policy recommendations on their use. Civil society groups have raised concerns over the sustainability of using food supplies to produce biofuel. Industry and government have responded by...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: July 2009 | EN
How Developing Countries Can Manage Intellectual Property Rights to Maximise Access to Knowledge
This book, published by the intergovernmental organisation South Centre, presents a collection of articles on intellectual property (IP) restrictions and access to knowledge for developing countries. An outcome of the South Centre Innovation and Access to Knowledge Programme, the book responds to...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: February 2009 | EN
Tech transfer in the TRIPS age
This policy paper, published by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), addresses technology transfer issues in developing countries and considers current intellectual property rights. The author makes practical recommendations to least developed countries (LDCs)...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: May 2009 | EN
Making the economic case
This report from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) offers advice to policymakers on present evidence to make the case for environmental investment. Environmental sustainability is often seen as a luxury that governments cannot afford. Environmental managers...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2008 | EN
Simply REDD: CIFOR's Guide to forests, climate change and REDD
This factsheet from The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) aims to answer common questions about the role of reducing forest emissions in tackling climate change. This includes explaining why reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is important and...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: June 2009 | EN
Malaria and its vectors in the Caribbean: The continuing challenge of the disease forty-five years after eradication from the islands
This journal article, written by three researchers in Trinidad and Tobago, looks at malaria in the Caribbean. It asks why there are still outbreaks -- including a big one in Jamaica in 2006/2007 -- when the disease was allegedly eliminated in the late 1950s. The authors review malaria and vector...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: November 2008 | EN
Using climate to predict infectious disease epidemics
This report from the WHO assesses the potential for creating early warning systems for vector-borne disease. It reviews the current state of research for several diseases such as dengue fever, leishmaniasis, malaria and West Nile virus. The report includes an algorithmic framework for developing...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2005 | EN
Climate change 2001: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability
The third IPCC assessment report, Climate Change 2001, includes this section on the links between climate change and health. It offers a detailed look at how variations in climate, such as temperature or rainfall, could affect vector-borne disease. In particular, it evaluates computer models that...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: 2003 | EN
El Niño Southern Oscillation and vegetation dynamics as predictors of dengue fever cases in Costa Rica
This journal article describes the first climate-based model used to predict outbreaks of dengue fever. Researchers from the University of Miami and the University of Costa Rica used climate data and vegetation indices from Costa Rica to predict disease outbreaks with 83 per cent accuracy. ...
KEY DOCUMENT | Publication date: March 2009 | EN
Information Services
Missed the Global Health Forum 2009?
Our blog, by SciDev.Net columnist Priya Shetty, will fill you in, as will our interview with the Global Forum's Gill Samuels
