UN workshop promotes understanding of global navigation satellite systems

How to use global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) to tackle developmental issues is being discussed by representatives from government institutions and private industry meeting at a United Nations workshop that opened today in Zambia.

The weeklong event, cosponsored by the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs and the United States, brings together participants from the Africa and Western Asia region for a briefing on both practical and cost-effective space-based solutions that are currently available for different sectors of the economy.

The workshop will focus on specific applications of the use of GNSS and their potential for furthering global environment objectives and sustainable development programmes. It also aims to bring the benefits of the availability and use of GNSS signals to the attention of decision-makers and service providers in the private sector, particularly in developing countries, while identifying areas for future action.

Such global systems include the US Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Federation's Glonass and the planned Galileo project of the European Community countries. Their derivative applications include monitoring the environment, managing disaster and providing education and training.

UN-sponsored workshops and training courses on space technology are intended to help countries develop their own capacity to benefit fully from the growing worldwide body of know-how derived from space research and developments.