Advance warning could minimize the damage of natural disasters, yet many countries could not afford to acquire the required technology, Kenya's Ambassador, Kipkorir Aly Azad Rana said. Floods, droughts and famine could be forecast by remote sensing techniques. Africa was beset with problems, but marginalized in the field of space science and technology.

Ecological disasters knew no boundaries or political divisions, Sudan's representative, Ahmed Hassan, stressed. He called for creating a mechanism through which the benefits of space science and technology could be applied equally to all countries. Developing countries wanted to benefit from space technology, to anticipate natural disasters and to prevent environmental degradation and the proliferation of drugs.

In 1996, 180 natural disasters were recorded, 50 of which were large scale and required extensive international assistance, said Ambassador Raimundo Gonzalez of Chile. Today, weather forecasting through space technology was more important now than ever before. Calling for international agreement on a framework for human security, which could reduce discrepancies, he observed that dealing with natural disasters had a greater cost in developing and least developed countries than industrialized ones.

Developing countries were aware of the importance of space applications, but they must accord priority to sectors such as health and food, stated Cuban Ambassador Luis Garcia Peraza. It was not enough for developed countries to offer to train the scientific personnel of developing countries, since the main obstacle for these countries was the lack of financial resources to acquire and use technology, which was prohibitively expensive. That should be the focal point for international cooperation.

Ecuador's Ambassador, Patricio Palacios Cevallos, drew attention to the extensive work being done worldwide to anticipate, monitor and mitigate the effects of the El Nino phenomenon. El Nino had seriously affected his country, causing damage estimated at some $2.5 billion, or roughly 15 per cent of the national gross domestic product. The country was now engaged in efforts to restore the affected sectors and infrastructure.

Also this morning, the Conference heard from the Chairman of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, Vladimir Kopal, who introduced that body's report on achievements, current work and the challenges ahead. Since its establishment in 1962, the Subcommittee's efforts had led to the development and entry into force of five treaties on the use of outer space. He hoped that UNISPACE III would be an incentive to all Member States that had not yet signed or ratified the treaties to do so, and for international organizations to declare their acceptance of the rights and obligations contained in them.

Statements were also made this morning by the representatives of Ecuador, on behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean Group, Israel, Venezuela, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Syria. The representatives of EUMETSAT and the International Space University also spoke.

UN Space Reports at SpaceDaily