The SERVIR program was conceived in 2004 by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center researchers to provide state-of-the-art, satellite-based Earth monitoring, imaging and mapping data; geospatial information; predictive models; and science applications to improve environmental decision-making among developing nations.

In turn, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Global Climate Change Office under the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment, brings its international development expertise and developing country "ground game" to the partnership, through climate adaptation and climate mitigation particular to the developing country context and humanitarian assistance scenarios, and by connecting NASA's technical expertise with local and regional partners who work hand-in-hand with USAID.

USAID helps select and manage the local and regional partners who deploy SERVIR in-country, and provide technical assistance on how this technology can be used to address economic development challenges.

What started as a single regional hub in Panama City, Panama, which served the Mesoamerican region and the Dominican Republic, has expanded to serve four regional hubs (with a fifth planned for this year), with activities in more than 30 countries and counting, developed more than 40 custom tools, collaborated with more than 200 institutions, and trained approximately 1,800 regional support staffers, developing local solutions and linking regional offices around the globe to create a thriving interactive network.

Web-based satellite imagery, decision-support tools and interactive visualization capabilities previously inaccessible across many of these regions now enable stakeholders to work together to combat floods, wildfires, superstorms and other calamities, and to address long-term environmental shifts tied to climate change, biodiversity, drought and other factors.

Contact: Patricia Doutriaux, (202) 712-4930, [email protected]