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Ambassador’s Remarks for the Presentation of the Mesoamerican Regional Visualization And Monitoring System (SERVIR)
It is a pleasure for the U.S. government, through NASA and USAID, to present and make available for the Central America region a state of the art tool that will facilitate the decision-making processes
whenever the region need to address natural disasters, weather forecast, forest fires, red tides and other applications specific to each ministry.
Since 1999, my government has supported CCAD in helping countries in the region to use satellite images to understand the changes taking place in the natural environment.
As a result of the work with NASA and USAID, several phases of the Regional Visualization and Monitoring System, known as SERVIR, have been developed.
The project amounts to $4.5 million.
My government, through USAID, has contributed to different efforts so that El Salvador is prepared to face any emergency.
Thus, right after the 2001 earthquakes, we supported the Salvadoran government in the implementation of the Municipal Disaster Mitigation Project.
We equipped the Operation Center of the National Emergency Committee with computer equipment, radios, and other telecommunication tools, and we helped create protocols to address emergencies and facilitate efficient and quick communication with 30 Municipal Emergency Committees in the most affected areas. We invested $300,000 in this project.
This is just one example of my country’s commitment in having the Central American region prepared to face any emergency.
Our cooperation goes beyond direct support to one government. We also collaborate with a variety of regional efforts.
A few weeks ago, for example, we launched the World Food Program Regional Center for Humanitarian Response in Comalapa.
My government will continue supporting, under the CAFTA-DR cooperation, the scientific development of these useful tools to monitor natural phenomena and reduce
El Salvador’s environmental vulnerability, strengthening environmental information systems in Central America.
Thank you.
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