Improving access to information technology can help communities assess their own vulnerability and boost local planning, says John Waugh.

Africa's ambitions in space science may detract from other more development-friendly areas of science, but its strong political backing sets a good example, writes Linda Nordling.

Combining satellite data with mobile phones offers cheap and effective tools for managing fires, says South African scientist Philip Frost.

Disaster management needs constellations of satellites with multispectral sensors, says Indian space researcher, Ranganath Navalgund.

Kenyan MP and remote sensing expert, Wilbur Ottichilo, argues the time is ripe for using satellites to spot developing African droughts.

Volcano expert Geoff Wadge explains how the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters helped manage a volcanic eruption in Montserrat.

Africa must make it easy to access and share geo-spatial information, says head of South Africa's mapping organisation, Derek Clarke.

An editorial in Nature welcomes plans for a globally-integrated system of Earth observation, but warns it must support the basic scientific activity of data collection.

Jan Zalasiewicz warns that closing UNESCO's Earth sciences division will have a severe impact on researchers in developing countries.