Bringing the Best of Space to Society

							Satellite services:
 a powerful tool
     for risk
  management
          -
   Climate change and
development cooperation
 26 May 2010, La Rábida
              Content
• What are satellite services?
• Satellite services and climate change
  induced risk management – good
  practice examples
• Satellite services and development
  cooperation
• About Eurisy
    What are satellite services?
With the help of satellites three different types of unique services and
   information can be delivered :
•   Images providing information from an unrivalled perspective
•    Groundless telecommunications infrastructure with seamless
    coverage
•   Precise information on global timing and positioning
   “Climate change affects the quality of
citizens’ lives and has enormous economic
      implications. Space-based Earth
observation has substantially contributed
 to understanding the full scale of climate
 change, and without space applications
    we will not be able to tackle it and
        anticipate its consequences”

  J.M. Barroso, October 2009, Brussels
Risk management using satellite services

• Satellite services support all stages of the
  disaster management cycle:
   – Before: monitoring & early warning:
      • Vulnerability assessment (asset mapping)
      • Detection of river/ocean level rise/landslides
      • Early detection and warning of fire and floods
   – During:
      • Rapid re-establishment of communication infrastructure
      • Geo-localization of damaged areas
      • Tracking vehicles, goods (humanitarian aid) and people
        (rescuers are themselves exposed to risk)
   – After:
      • Damage assessment (important for the reconstruction
        phase, for claiming insurance…)
      • Infrastructure repair works
                           Sardinia, IT
        Forest fire management
• The Sardinian civil protection authority uses satellite maps of the
  burnt areas to assess damage
• Advantages:
   – Improvement of database > better,
     complete and more accurate
     information on fires ( claims
      for compensation!)
   – No more need for agents to go
     on field > more time for prevention
     activities
   – Improvement of the Regional Fire
     Prevention Plan – eg. Regional
     authority issues and is able to enforce restrictions on
     grazing areas
   Northern Corsica also uses satellite
   services for forest fire management

    “Before [Satellite] services became
 available to us, our forestry agents were
     mapping burnt areas one by one,
   referencing their limits on foot in the
 field. The limited accessibility of certain
   areas was causing a lot of problems.
   Satellites offer a service that is both
         exhaustive and accurate.”

                        Henri RETALI
Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Directorate of N Corsica
                  Tarascon, FR
          Integrated crisis
            management
• Repeated disasters, European/national laws
• How to improve risk management strategy?
• Live supervision platform and „on the spot data
  collection‟
                           Pazardzhik, BG
             Flood management
• A professional
information system allows
the region to correctly
assess vulnerabilities and
plan the management of
risk
• Improvement of the
administrative capacity to
use and manage
information to fulfill EC
directives (Flood directive)
mandatory for all the
countries of EU.
                Morecambe Bay, UK
          Flood management
• satellite imagery to
  monitor
  and modelise floods
  & assess impact of
  works on
  environment


• reinforcement work
  of the bay, while
  limiting impact on
  environment
                    Souss-Massa, MOR
                 Desertification
                  management
• Satellite maps help the authorities
  identify changes: evolution of forestry
   surface, extension of irrigated zones
   and urbanised areas, evolution of water
   surfaces etc.
• With the help of this information a
   strategy could be set up to tackle
   the ongoing desertification of the
   region (impoverishment of vegetation,
   soil erosion, aggradation etc.)
• The results so far are positive: the set objectives in terms
  of reforestation, water and soil conservation have been
  reached ahead of schedule
      “Development and technology enjoy an uneasy
        relationship: within development circles there
         is a suspicion of technology-boosters as too
      often people promoting expensive, inappropriate
           fixes that take no account of development
  realities. Indeed, the belief that there is a technological
               silver bullet that can “solve” illiteracy,
ill health or economic failure reflects scant understanding
                           of real poverty.
          Yet if the development community turns its
     back on the explosion of technological innovation
            in food, medicine and information, it risks
          marginalizing itself and denying developing
    countries opportunities that, if harnessed effectively,
             could transform the lives of poor people
               and offer breakthrough development
                  opportunities to poor countries. ”

          UNDP Human Development Report 2001
        Satellite services and
     development cooperation (1)
• Climate change is a global problem which
  requires mutual support (Copenhagen Accord)
• The EU is working on extending GMES to Africa
  to reinforce African capacities on climate change
• Satellite services are particularly adapted for
  development cooperation  no terrestrial
  infrastructure needed  experiences easily
  transferable and quickly accessible
• The emphasis lies on sustainable capacity
  building
            Satellite services and
         development cooperation (2)
• Local and regional authorities are the
  appropriate level to tackle risks induced by
  climate change, to exchange good practices and
  to provide capacity building
• Eurisy offers to be a free of charge ressource for
  local and regional authorities to learn more
  about satellite-based applications and their
  implementation
• Eurisy conducts grassroots approach and
  facilitates dialogue between regions and satellite
  service professionals
                       About Eurisy
• European not for profit association (*1989), > 30 members and
  associate members including the EC, ESA, and European most
  national space agencies

• Mission: anchoring the benefits of space to society

• Eurisy Programme for Regions: supporting regions and cities in
  making the most of satellite services
    –   31/5-1/6 „Climate change‟, Ljubljana, Slovenia

• Eurisy Programme for European Neighbourhood: facilitating
  exchanges between confirmed/potential users (such as regions,
  cities, SMEs) & service providers from Europe and its
  neighbourhood for development cooperation
    –   14-15/10 „Sustainable development in the Mediterranean‟, Rabat, Morocco
    –   2010-2011 Programme on „Satellite applications for sustainable development
        in Africa‟

• Role: neutral facilitator; connecting stakeholders – often for the
  first time – to promote horizontal synergies
     www.eurisy.org

sebastian.rieder@eurisy.org

        Thank you.