HCM City (VNS/VNA)- US space agency NASA is collaborating with the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC)for a programme on satellite observation to provide analysts and decisionmakers with information about environmental changes, the effects of agricultureand the health of forests and wetlands.

Speaking at an event on using satellite technology at the American Center HCMCity on February 18, US consul general Marie Damour said, “The satelliteobservations that the NASA and VNSC are jointly making under the Land-Cover andLand-Use Change Program provide researchers with important data that willimprove our world.

“The results of the work being done today by NASA and VNSC will generate importantideas and insights that will contribute to solving the most critical issues weface today: rapid urbanisation, air pollution, land subsidence, flooding,forest depletion, and water contamination.

“These are all pressing challenges, not just in mega cities like HCM City, butalso in rural areas in the Mekong Delta and in many parts of the United Statesas well.”

NASA and VNSC are observing important environmental changes in rural and urbanareas, she said, adding: “Understanding those changes is essential toprotecting our environment and enacting effective policies to address andmitigate the effects of a natural world that is changing before our very eyes.

“Cooperation between US agencies like NASA and VNSC doesn’t just contribute toscientific advancement, it also strengthens our people-to-people ties andbuilds important linkages between institutions.” 

The event was organised in co-operation by NASA, the US’s Jet PropulsionLaboratory, the HCMC University of Technology, and VNSC.  

During the event, NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Programme ManagerDr. Garik Gutman provided a keynote address on LCLUC’s current coordinationwith the VNSC on the program which is an exciting example of how the US-Vietnamcooperation in space and technology can contribute to finding solutions to someof the most critical environmental challenges we face today, includingurbanization, air pollution, flooding, and water contamination.

At the event, a panel discussion with experts after the keynote address focusedon the programme and how it can be further used in Vietnam.

Lam Dao Nguyen, Director of the HCM City Space Technology Application Centre,said the event would not only enhance cooperation between Vietnamese andinternational researchers in improving ecosystem benefits through earthobservations, but also bring opportunities for organisations to co-operate witheach other in all aspects of satellite applications./.