ULRMC Hosts Presentation by NASA's Dr. Don Deering

April 17, 2003 - ULRMC hosted a presentation by Dr. Don Deering, a Senior Remote Sensing Researcher with (NASA), entitled "A New Window on the World: The Progress of NASA's Earth Observing System." The presentation gave an overview of NASA's remote sensing capabilities, as well as demonstrated the main objectives of the (Northern Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI).

The presentation was attended by approximately 40 individuals from different public and private institutions and agencies of Ukraine, including the Environmental and Resources Research Institute of Ukraine, Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, National Space Agency of Ukraine, Centre of Aerospace Research of the Earth, ECOMM Co., UNPD, among others.

The objective of NEESPI is to design and establish a large-scale, international program aimed at developing a better understanding of the interactions between ecosystem, atmosphere, and human dynamics in Northern Eurasia. NEESPI will identify the critical science questions and establish a program of coordinated research on the state and dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems in northern Eurasia and their interactions with the Earth's climate system to enhance scientific knowledge and develop predictive capabilities to support informed decision-making and practical applications. NEESPI is going to cooperate with different international scientific programs of particular relevance to global climate change research, as well as to address the concerns that face national and international decision-makers of the partnering institutions and countries.

ULRMC is discussing with NASA and NEESPI program management the opportunity to include Ukraine in the evolution of the program. In support of such, ULRMC organized separate meetings for Dr. Deering with senior representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine and the Verkhonva Rada Committee on National Safety and Defence.