Environment and Natural Resources Management Space Technology Applications Section

The second meeting of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications was held at Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 6 March 1997. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in cooperation with the Government of Indonesia through the Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications.

The Meeting was attended by 42 participants from the following 13 member countries and three international/regional organizations: India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, APT, ITU and ESCAP.

The Regional Working Group adopted the following agenda:

1. Opening of the meeting.
2. Election of officers.
3. Adoption of the agenda.
4. Report of the Coordinator of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications on the work of the Group and review of its modus operandi.
5. Progress in the implementation of the Strategy for Regional Cooperation and the Action Plan on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific, with special reference to the area of satellite communication applications, in the light of the recommendations of the first meeting of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications, held at Jakarta from 26 to 28 February 1996:
   1. Report on the implementation of the Regional Space Applications Program for Sustainable Development (RESAP);
   2. Country reports by the national contact points of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications.
6. Ways of implementing RESAP, with special reference to the area of satellite communication applications, and of realizing the objectives of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications.
7. Theme topic: "Promoting cooperation on satellite-based education for sustainable development in the Asian and Pacific region".
8. Medium-term plan of the Regional Working Group on Satellite Communication Applications.
9. Tentative work plan concerning satellite communication applications under RESAP for 1997-1998.
10. Other matters.
11. Adoption of the report.

The work of the Coordination Office in its initial year was appreciated. The efforts of the host agency on implementation of the recommendations of the first Working Group meeting, in particular the arrangement of necessary resources for the functioning of the Coordination Office and the preparation of the second Working Group meeting, were also commended.

The Meeting considered that the modus operandi established for the Working Group was practical. However, there was a need for it to be further enhanced. In particular, the Meeting considered that:

1. The annual meeting of the Regional Working Group was an indispensable forum for the national contact points (NCPs) to interact with each other to exchange information, to review activities, to formulate cooperative plans and to develop strategies for implementation of its work plan;
2. The substantive support to the coordination office by the host country was essential for the successful operation of the Working Group. The role of the coordinator was considered important as he should take initiative in visualizing and promoting the works of the Regional Working Group in earnest;
3. More frequent and direct interactions between the coordination office and the NCPs and amongst the members of the Regional Working Group were also important. Such interactions needed to be further strengthened, in order to solicit substantive support to implement its activities;
4. In that connection, it was considered that such interaction could be achieved by establishing regular communications through electronic mail linking the coordinator with all the national contact points (NCPs) and by developing a homepage at the coordination office to publicize the work of the Regional Working Group.

The Meeting agreed that the sustainability of the Regional Working Group activities would very much depend on the interest and commitment of the participating countries. The Meeting was informed by the secretariat that the member countries need to be prepared to provide full support for the participation of the NCPs in future annual meetings of the Regional Working Group with their own funding sources.

The Meeting also recognized that the sustainability of the Regional Working Group would essentially depend upon the relevance and substantive benefit of the operational, cooperative activities to the participating countries. It was felt that common minimum programmes needed to be mapped out along with bold and innovative implementation strategies to achieve high efficiency and effectiveness. The strategies could include involvement of the private sector and industries, partnership with international and regional organizations, and intensive use of technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC).

The Meeting was encouraged to note that activities at the national level were progressing steadily since the last Regional Working Group meeting held at Jakarta. In particular, it was highly encouraging to note that some countries had translated recommendations of the first meeting into their national activities through integrating certain policy recommendations of the meeting into the national strategies for the development of satellite communication applications. The activities also included national institution building, national programme formulation and substantive technical achievements in implementing development programmes .

The Meeting was pleased to note that most of the participating countries had, following the last meeting, officially designated their NCPs for that Regional Working Group and that the NCPs had started to discharge their responsibilities as stipulated in the terms of reference. The Meeting called for early completion of designation of NCPs from the remaining countries. The Meeting stressed that for the successful work of the Regional Working Group under the aegis of the Regional Space Application Programme, a number of prerequisites for its success still needed to be reiterated and further emphasized. These included:

1. Political awareness and commitment of policy makers and planners at the national level to the work of the Regional Working Group;
2. Enhanced national coordinating mechanisms to promote wider applications of satellite-based communication;
3. Close dialogues and interactions between government sectors and private industries;
4. Integrating satellite communication applications programmes into development planning with adequate funding support.

The Meeting realized that there were tremendous opportunities provided by various satellite communication technologies that the member countries could avail themselves of for the purposes of sustainable development. However, the Meeting observed that to fully benefit from such technology applications, the lack of human resources in the applications sector, the scarcity of information about the availability of technologies, the lack of comprehensive planning for technology applications and financial constraints constituted major barriers in most developing countries. These issues called for special attention at both the national and regional level.

The Meeting recognized that the network approach was an efficient means for, and of special relevance to, regional cooperation in the field of satellite communication applications. It, therefore, required further concrete arrangements to be made at both national and regional levels to improve and enhance the existing network mechanism.

The Meeting agreed that in the future work of the Regional Working Group, an action-oriented and result-driven approach be adopted. In particular, the Meeting stressed that the Regional Working Group should adopt a need-driven and application-pull strategy in performing its work. The Meeting, therefore, held the view that any cooperation activities proposed by the Regional Working Group should be practical and realistic and lead to measurable outputs.

The Meeting decided to develop a medium-term plan, taking into consideration the peculiar needs and reality as well as potentiality of the participating countries, bearing in mind the available human resources, existing infrastructures and financial capabilities in the developing countries. The Meeting reconfirmed the interest in the following three areas as priority areas for its medium-term plan:

1. development and applications of satellite-based education systems;
2. development and applications of information superhighway infrastructure; and
3. promotion and development of advanced rural communication concepts.

The Meeting agreed that regional cooperative projects should be developed following the general frame work of the medium-term plan. These projects should aim at strengthening national capacity in the areas of satellite communication applications in particular. The Meeting agreed that, while wide participation of regional cooperative activities by interested members should be encouraged, cooperation on areas of particular interest among sub-regional members or cluster of members should also be welcomed.

The Meeting noted that the following general strategies be emphasized in formulating and implementing the medium-term plan: information exchange, academic exchange, training and scholarships, pilot projects, joint research and studies, as well as operational/ institutional building.

In that connection, the Meeting in general endorsed a project concept entitled "Developing Satellite-based Advanced Rural Communication Concepts for Integrated Rural Development through Community Teleservice Centers". The Meeting decided to take a step-by-step approach in realization of that concept in its medium term plan.

In view of the multidisciplinary, multisectoral and integrated nature of the project and its great potential impact on national capacity building in satellite communication applications for sustainable development, particularly in rural areas in developing countries, wide participation of interested countries in that project should be encouraged .

In that context, Indonesia expressed its specific interest in the project proposal. Other countries such as India, Singapore and Sri Lanka also expressed their general interest in the project proposal and agreed to provide feedback after consultations with their respective authorities. Japan also indicated its interest in the project proposal in the form of exchanging information.

The Meeting recognized the important role of international/regional organizations in the process of realization of the project concept. It therefore requested ESCAP, the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and other interested bodies to join their hands to extend their cooperation by providing support throughout the process of realization of the concept.

The Meeting also revised its terms of reference, at the request of ICC made during its second session, held in June 1996 in Kuala Lumpur.

The Meeting decided to accept the offer to hold its next annual meeting from 16 to 19 March 1998 in Malaysia, subject to reconfirmation by Malaysia.

The Meeting recommended that actions should be taken by the Coordination Office of the Regional Working Group in close cooperation with ESCAP and interested bodies to translate the medium-term plan into project documentation and to solicit funding support for the implementation of the projects.

The Meeting recommended that the project proposal on "Developing Satellite-based Advanced Rural Communication Concepts for Integrated Rural Development through Community Teleservice Centers" be further developed through the following arrangements:

1. Members of the Working Group to consult with their concerned national authorities and provide substantive feedback on various aspects of the project proposal to the Coordinator of the Regional Working Group by the middle of May 1997;
2. ESCAP to send, immediately following that meeting, the same project proposal to potential interested members of the Working Group who were absent at the meeting and request them to take the same action as specified in the above;
3. The Coordination Office to consolidate the input from various countries and revise the draft project concept accordingly by the end of June 1997;
4. The Coordination Office to set up a technical task force to further consult on the revised project concept through electronic mail/communications. When necessary, the Coordinator may call a meeting(s) of the members of the technical task force to finalize the proposal in the third quarter of 1997. The following countries/organization had registered their interest in becoming members of the technical task force: India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, ITU and APT, whose participation was subject to the management. The Meeting requested Indonesia to chair the task force;
5. The ITU area office based in Jakarta was requested to continue to provide technical advice.

The Meeting recommended ESCAP, APT and ITU to solicit support, including funding support, to initiate the feasibility study contained in Phase I of the project concept, as such a study was essential for the development of the full project document.

In view of the willingness to support the project concept expressed by the industrial sector in Indonesia in particular, the Meeting recommended that the concerned agencies in Indonesia proceed with pilot-scale activities in the country to accumulate experience for the project to be initiated at the regional level.

In view of the fact that the majority of the members of the Regional Working Group had access to the Internet, the Meeting recommended that the Coordination Office and the NCPs should establish liaisons and regular communications on matters concerning the Working Group using electronic mail as much as possible.

In order to further publicize the work of the Regional Working Group and to exchange information with interested organizations, the Meeting recommended the development of a World Wide Web homepage at the Coordination Office specifically for the Regional Working Group by mid-1997.