NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA And USAID Pledge To Advance International Development With Science And Technology

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, left, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden shake hands after signing a five-year memorandum of understanding, Monday, April 25, 2011, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (NASA) NASA and USAID signed a five-year memorandum of understanding on April 25. The agreement formalizes ongoing agency collaborations that use Earth science data to address developmental challenges, and to assist in disaster mitigation and humanitarian responses. NASA's SERVIR program integrates satellite observations, ground-based data and forecast models to monitor and forecast environmental changes and improve response to natural disasters in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Himalayas. It helps inform science-based decision-making in the areas of climate change, health, agriculture environment, water and weather. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville manages the program for NASA. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville manages the program for NASA.

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› Administrator Bolden's Blog Post about the Signing
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SERVIR Supports Fire Management System in Guatemala

Africa Flores worked with the SIGMA-I project as a research scientist with SERVIR-Mesoamerica before joining the SERVIR Coordination Office in Huntsville, Ala., in 2011. A Guatemalan citizen, Flores reflects on the successes of the SIGMA-I story: "One of the success stories of the SIGMA-I project is how much the country was able to do using satellite-based information through an interagency cooperation. With USAID support, SERVIR provided seed funding to develop a high-tech system to monitor Guatemala's natural resources. This project currently represents one of the most advanced systems to monitor and evaluate forest fires in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean."

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The SERVIR initiative integrates satellite observations, ground-based data and forecast models to monitor and forecast environmental changes and to improve response to natural disasters. SERVIR enables scientists, educators, project managers and policy implementers to better respond to a range of issues including disaster management, agricultural development, biodiversity conservation and climate change. Principally supported by NASA and the US Agency of International Development, or USAID, a strong emphasis is placed on partnerships to fortify the availability of searchable and viewable earth observations, measurements, animations, and analysis. A SERVIR coordination office and rapid prototyping facility is located at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Regional SERVIR hubs are located at the Water Center for the Humid Tropics of Latin America and the Caribbean, or CATHALAC, in Panama and the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development, or RCMRD, based in Kenya, and the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, or ICIMOD, located in Kathmandu, Nepal.