The CISCAI-Project Coordination Unit (PCU)  recently touched base with key members  of  the ASEAN-Sub-committee  on Space Technology and Applications (ASEAN-SCOSA), during the  latter’s  20th  meeting held in  Singapore  from 1-2 November 2009.   The move by CISCAI-PCU  was in support to its  effort  of  boosting  regional cooperation and  to align  and harmonize the (CISCAI) Project’s activities with those of the  ASEAN - Committee on Science and Technology (ASEAN-COST).  The initiative was also spurred by the recently concluded ASEAN+3 Health Ministers’ Meeting in May of this year in Bangkok, which underscored the need of and urgency for the establishment at national levels of pandemic preparedness plans and for the continuous implementation of such plans, to further intensify the performance of surveillance of infections in human and animals, as well as, the establishment of effective response mechanisms.

 

In the presentation and discussions that ensued, Dr. Jose Edgardo Aban, CISCAI Project Coordinator,  provided the group with  an in-depth background on the  CISCAI project, as well as , information on the recent   activities and accomplishments of CISCAI in its two pilot project countries, namely, Laos Peoples' Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.

 

He proposed  to the group that  the development of a conceptual predictive model  may be  necessary and timely, in  anticipation of  future regional  zoonotic  pandemics  that may occur, due in part to  a changing global climate.   He stressed that in order to achieve this,  there may be a  need for cross-sectoral collaboration and communication  among the various  ASEAN-COST Sub-committees,  due to the multi-faceted nature of the EIDs, and  in order to develop  a more holistic  predictive model for  EIDs.  These ASEAN-COST Sub-committees may include the following: Sub-Committee on Biotechnology (SCB), Sub-Committee on Food Science and Technology (SCFST),  Sub-Committee on Science and Technology Infrastructure and Resources Development (SCIRD),  Sub-Committee on Meteorology and Geophysics (SCMG), Sub-Committee on Microelectronics and Information Technology (SCMIT) .

 

The forerunner  of the ASEAN-SCOSA  was the  ASEAN Experts Group on Remote Sensing (AEGRS), which was established  way back in 1993. At its  37th Meeting, the ASEAN-COST agreed in principle for AEGRS to be elevated to an ASEAN Sub-Committee. ASEAN-COST at its 38th Meeting formally endorsed the elevation of AEGRS to its current form and name, the ASEAN-SCOSA.  The main objective of ASEAN-SCOSA  is to formulate the framework for enhancing collaboration in space technology and its applications and to implement programs and projects towards operationalization of these technologies for sustainable development in the ASEAN region.  Priority areas of the ASEAN-SCOSA include Geoinformatics, communication and satellite technology applications, micro/small satellites, sensors and ground facilities. (CISCAI-PCU)