Two UN Agencies Adopted Geospatial Technologies to Protect Cultural Heritage
Two United Nations agencies (UNOSAT and UNITAR) have signed an agreement to protect cultural and natural heritage sites by using the latest geospatial technologies, including a satellite imaging system.
The strategic partnership between the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) under the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) will enable their collaboration during conflict situations and in the aftermath of natural disasters.
UNOSAT is a technology-intensive programme delivering imagery analysis and satellite solutions to relief and development organisations within and outside the UN system. Satellite imagery is often the only source of objective information for areas affected by conflict or by natural disasters.
Destruction shown in April 2016 at the World Heritage site of Palmyra in Syria. Photo: ©UNESCO
The entities will share their respective expertise, and collaborate on prevention and capacity development. This helps the international community to understand the situation on the ground and plan emergency measures. For example, a recently-published report on cultural heritage sites in Syria by UNITAR-UNOSAT, revealed the extent of damage to cultural heritage, confirming information obtained through unofficial sources.
Other geospatial technologies that may be harnessed include the use of crowd-sourcing app UN-ASIGN, successfully applied following the recent Nepal earthquake, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) both for general recording purposes and for detailed damage assessments of buildings and other infrastructure. The entire range of geospatial information gathering tools is combined using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and advanced web mapping solutions.
