Last week, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Geoneon convened key actors from across Southeast Asia in Bangkok to explore how geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) can strengthen disaster preparedness, inform development planning, and enhance early warning systems for more resilient development and humanitarian action.
Showcasing Regional Applications
Participants shared practical examples from ongoing initiatives in Laos and Indonesia, demonstrating how data-driven approaches can directly support local resilience efforts.
- In Laos, Geoneon developed a flood severity model across nine provinces, assessing the exposure of 2.75 million buildings. The findings revealed that 11% of buildings are classified as medium to high flood risk—a powerful dataset now informing local planning and risk management.
People in Need (PIN) presented how this analysis is helping to identify optimal locations for Early Warning Systems and target community engagement activities. They also showcased how Geoneon’s detailed breakdown of exposure by province, district, and village supports more effective field verification and engagement with local communities. - In Indonesia, the team demonstrated how dasymetric mapping was used to refine coarse vulnerability data down to the building level in Padang Padang, producing more precise and actionable insights for disaster risk reduction and urban planning.
Representatives from BNPB and the Padang Padang Local Government discussed how their approach aligns with Geoneon’s methods, particularly in applying Indonesia’s national risk assessment guidelines (KRB).
Pannel Discussion Learning about the key results of ACER-SEA in the two pilot country, Credit ADPC
Panel Discussion
A lively panel discussion brought together representatives from government, international organisations, and the private sector to discuss the balance between open and commercial data, and how to identify the right technologies for the right applications.
Pannel Discussion: the balance between Open and Commercial Data, Credit: ADPC
Technology and innovation Sessions
The Technology and Innovation Session featured cutting-edge presentations from partners and research institutions, showcasing how advanced technologies can accelerate data-driven climate resilience:
- The K4D Platform from the University of Bern and CLIMADA from ETH Zurich demonstrated tools that integrate climate data for risk-informed decision-making.
- UNOSAT presented its UN-Assigned platform, while AGeospatial introduced its GeoForge Platform, powered by Large Language Models, to speed up geospatial data analysis and interpretation.
- From Geoneon, Mathis Pohl, Climate Scientist, presented the methodology used to compute flood susceptibility, building exposure, and vulnerability maps, emphasising the advantages of a regional-scale approach that can be updated rapidly and regularly.
Mathis Pohl, Geoneon, Credit ADPC
- Huy Thong Phan, Computer Vision Engineer at Geoneon, showcased how computer vision supports climate risk and vegetation mapping, demonstrating another practical use of AI for environmental monitoring.
Huy Thong Phan, Geoneon, Credit ADPC
- People in Need (PIN) presented how Geoneon’s data is being integrated into their Early Warning System Dashboard, providing localised insights that help guide preparedness and community engagement efforts.
Tomas Durana, Country Director People in Need, Laos, Credit ADPC
Bridging the Gap Between Data and Decision-Making
Participants emphasised the need to bridge the gap between advanced technologies and policy implementation, particularly at the sub-national level. Group discussions highlighted the importance of integrating field-based data and community input into risk assessments to ensure that digital tools remain relevant, inclusive, and grounded in local realities.
