NASA, USAID EXPAND WEB-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEM SERVIR PROGRAM BRINGS SATELLITE IMAGERY, DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS TO HIMALAYAN REGION
NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) have expanded their successful collaboration with
international partners to launch an innovative, web-based
environmental management system for the Himalayan region.
The partners inaugurated this state-of-the-art regional monitoring
system, known as SERVIR-Himalaya, at the International Centre for
Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 5. NASA
Administrator Charles Bolden attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in
Nepal.
SERVIR was developed by researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., and its name comes from the Spanish word
meaning “to serve.” SERVIR features web-based access to satellite
imagery, decision-support tools and interactive visualization
capabilities, and puts previously inaccessible information into the
hands of scientists, environmental managers, and decision-makers. The
Earth observation information is used to address threats related to
climate change, biodiversity, and extreme events such as flooding,
forest fires, and storms.
“NASA’s science mission begins here on Earth, with greater awareness
and understanding of our changing planet, and solutions for
protecting our environment, resources and human lives,” Bolden said.
“The SERVIR technology and our partnership with various organizations
and people around the globe reflect NASA’s commitment to improving
life on our home planet for all people.”
Since 2005, SERVIR has served the Mesoamerican region and the
Dominican Republic from the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of
Latin America and the Caribbean, which is based in Panama. SERVIR
also has served East Africa from the Regional Center for Mapping of
Resources for Development in Nairobi since 2008.
NASA and USAID are expanding SERVIR to the Himalayas to address
critical issues such as land cover change, air quality, glacial melt
and adaptation to climate change. The agencies are working in
partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD), a regional knowledge development and learning
center that serves member countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya
region, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India,
Nepal, Myanmar and Pakistan.
The countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalaya region have unique needs
related to their extreme mountain environments. The region is known
as Earth’s “third pole,” because of its inaccessibility and the vast
amount of water stored there in the form of ice and snow.
“USAID’s commitment with SERVIR is to create the linkage from space to
village, to apply the best in science and technology to meet
development challenges,” said Mike Yates, senior deputy assistant
administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and
Trade. “We are pleased to work with our partners in Nepal, and in
other regions of the world, to build capacity to use satellite data
and mapping technologies for making practical decisions that improve
people’s lives.”
SERVIR-Himalaya will integrate Earth science data from NASA satellites
with geospatial information products from other government agencies.
SERVIR was developed in coordination with the Group on Earth
Observations, more than 80 nations working together to build a Global
Earth Observing System of Systems to benefit the needs of society.
“I am very pleased that through the partnership with USAID and NASA on
SERVIR-Himalaya, ICIMOD will be able to augment its capacity and its
network of cooperative partners in the region to use Earth
observation for societal benefits of the mountain communities,” said
Basanta Shrestha, division head of the Mountain Environment and
Natural Resources Information System for ICIMOD.
The SERVIR program is operated by the Earth Science Division’s Applied
Sciences Program in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
Four other NASA field centers work with Marshall on the program:
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., Ames Research Center
in Moffet Field, Calif., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,
Calif., and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.
For more information about SERVIR, visit: