The use of space-based technologies can help achieve sustainable development in Africa, a capacity recently bolstered in that continent by creation of two regional space partnerships.

The third African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development was held on December 7-9 in Algiers.

The conference was hosted by the Algerian Space Agency with the support of the United Nations Committee on The Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

An outcome of the gathering was the signing of two regional space partnerships:

+ To support African efforts in disaster management by means of space-based technologies, the Algerian Space Agency and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) signed a cooperation agreement to establish a regional support office for the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response, a program created under the recommendations of COPUOS and implemented by UNOOSA.

+ The Governments of Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa signed an agreement on African Resources Management Satellite Constellation, a regional initiative that aims to develop a network of satellites to make space technology more accessible to end-users in areas such as food security, environmental monitoring, land use, water management and public health.

Platform of cooperation
The meeting and attendant partnerships underscored the fact that space tools have been vital in mitigating the loss of lives and property in times of disaster.

Furthermore, using space-based instruments is essential to formulating a strategy and necessary plans of action that can assist Africa to improve its socio-economic development.

Ambassador Ciro Arevalo-Yepes, Chairman of COPUOS, told conference participants that "the construction of a platform of cooperation between African States is the best way to identify common elements for future regional space policy." Multilateral mechanisms and initiatives exist, he said, to support Member States in implementing the use of space tools and solutions.

An all-African satellite constellation was saluted by the Algerian Minister for Post and Information Technologies and Communication, Hamid Bessalah, as "great cooperation" between the four countries, which "will facilitate space data for African countries".

Ideal Forum
Dr. Ray Williamson, Executive Director of Secure World Foundation (SWF), said the conference provided an ideal forum to sensitize African leaders on the importance of science and space technology for the sustainable socio-economic development of Africa.

"The two agreements signed at this conference are extremely important not only to the growth of the space effort in Africa, but also to the development of African scientific and technological capacity," SWF's Williamson said. "It is a significant step forward."

Organized every two years, the African Leadership Conference on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development allows key decision makers and professionals active in the field of space to discuss various questions inherent to the sustainable development of the African continent. Participation of African countries to recognize mutually beneficial projects is a specific objective of the gathering of experts.