Mapaction and OCHA build mapping skills for better disaster response [EN/RU]

(Tbilisi, 24 November) – Government representatives from Central Asia, South Caucasus regions and Ukraine are taking part in a three-day workshop on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Tbilisi.

GIS are powerful systems that can provide solid situational analysis, thus improving decision-making in response to humanitarian emergencies. In his opening remarks to the workshop, Mr. Niels Scott, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia, stressed that “timely and cooperative information management is essential to effective disaster preparedness and response”.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) regularly trains governments on key information management tools and practices. “In this region we have found that many government counterparts lack necessary skills to use GIS in their work,” said one of the workshop organizers Dr.
Willem Muhren, OCHA regional office for Caucasus and Central Asia. “In this workshop the participants will learn how to use geographical data, create maps, and what to do before an emergency in order to be ready to support a humanitarian operation when necessary,” – he added.

This year, OCHA partnered up with MapAction to fill in the gap and spread the important knowledge of GIS in the region. The workshop participants represent countries vulnerable to a wide range of natural disasters as well as man-made crises. Effective use of GIS can help these countries better prepare for and respond to these threats. In addition to GIS skills, the participants will also gain access to necessary software and support material that they will use to train their colleagues back home.

“We are happy to learn from our OCHA and MapAction colleagues on how to develop GIS projects, make full use of open-access GIS products and how to conduct similar GIS trainings in our Center,” said one of the participants, Mr. Pavel Shevchenko, Director of the Department of Information Technology, Center of the State Land Cadastre in Ukraine.

MapAction is a group of GIS professionals trained in disaster response ready to immediately deploy to a new crisis. In-between emergency deployments, MapAction promotes disaster preparedness by building capacities of humanitarian professionals and government responders.

"We are both honoured and excited to be asked to share our expertise in the region,” said Ms. Vickie White, Volunteer and Director of MapAction. “This workshop gives us the opportunity to transfer our knowledge built from over ten years of disaster response experience to the delegates.”

For further information, please call:
Zarina Nurmukhambetova, OCHA Caucasus and Central Asia, Nurmukhambetova@un.org tel. +7 777 0789778
OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org/rocca or www.reliefweb.int