Space Technology and Disaster Management A German Perspective

1
Space Technology and Disaster Management - A
German Perspective

• Karsten Beneke, Program Director
• Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
• German Aerospace Center
• DLR

2
Increasing International Public Demand for EO
Information

• UNISPACE III Conference action plan to enhance
  the global cooperation concerning space
  technology and its applications, Vienna 1999
• World Summit on Sustainable Development,
  Johannesburg 2002
• Global Monitoring for the Environment and
  Security (GMES), established by the European
  Union jointly with ESA
• GEO Conference on invitation of US government to
  establish a Global Network of Satellite Systems
  (GEOSS)
• Focal point the application of EO information
  products for disaster Management and Mitigation

3
Increase of natural and man-made disasters

• Increasing number of natural disasters due to
  progressing global climate change
• Increasing vulnerability of societies, modern
  infrastructure and technology
• Increasing number of man-made disasters
  (technical, social, ethnical)
• Increasing number of human and economic losses

Source CRED International Disaster Database,
2003
4
Awareness of natural disasters

• Increased awareness for natural disasters at
  local, regional and global level
• Mechanisms supporting disaster response, relief
  and rehabilitation at all scales (UN, EU,
  national, community, etc.)
• Increased networking of the international
  disaster relief community
• Increased focus on disaster prevention triggered
  by the International Decade for Natural Disaster
  Reduction (IDNDR)

5
Prevention Preparedness - Relief

• "International Strategy for Natural Disaster
  Reduction" (ISDR) is continuing the IDNDR effort
  at international level
• Awareness raising
• Capacity building
• Coordination and cooperation
• German IDNDR secretariat was transformed into the
  German Committee for Disaster Preparedness (DKKV)

6
Space sector is ready to take up this
responsibility

• Expanding traditional applications (meteorology,
  military and research) towards operational
  applications for disaster management
• Communication
• Situation mapping monitoring
• Positioning navigation
• Operational and planned services
• International Charter on Space and Major
  Disasters
• GMES
• DMC and other
• Coordination of different space systems for
  disaster mitigation, humanitarian relief and
  human security still challenging

7
The way to Munich...

• Workshop as a summary of workshops held on almost
  all continents during the past years
• Joint efforts through several activities
• National and international initiatives dedicated
  to space technology and disaster management
• CEOS Disaster Management Support Group
• UNISPACE III - leading to International Charter
  Space and Major Disasters and Action Team 7
  summarizing space efforts for the UNISPACE III5
  report
• International Decade on Natural Disaster
  Reduction (IDNDR)
• European Initiative on Global Monitoring of
  Environment and Security (GMES)
• Ad hoc group on Earth Observation

8
Disaster management using space technology at DLR
(1)

• Disaster management since several years
• Mapping for humanitarian relief support in civil
  war in Kosovo (1999)
• Assessment of the flooding situation in
  Mozambique (2000)
• Supporting humanitarian relief logistics in
  Afghanistan (2001)
• DLR established internal coordination and
  external contacts
• DLR commitment to the International Charter as
  Project Manager (2002)

9
Disaster management using space technology at DLR
(2)

• Elbe flooding (2002) causing a damage of appr. 10
  Billion Euro
• Flood dimension overextend the regional civil
  protection forces and coordination between the
  different federal states
• DLR took over Project Management for the Int.
  Charter

• Acquisition of more than 100 satellite images
  from different sensors
• Processing and analysis at DLR-DFD
• Information products provided to situation
  centres at local, regional and federal level

10
Disaster management using space technology at DLR
(3)

• Lessons learned from Elbe flooding and September
  11th 2001
• Establishing a common information and situation
  centre (GMLZ) on national level
• Establishing an interface for DLR to coordinate
  disaster and crisis relevant work for natural
  disaster, humanitarian relief and civil security
• DLR focus on information extraction and mapping
  for
• Authorized users of the Int. Charter (Foreign
  ministry, GMLZ)
• ESA - GMES Service Elements (RESPOND)
• EU Network of Excellence (GMOSS)

11
Disaster management using space technology at DLR
(4)

• DLR cooperation with European Space Imaging
  (EUSI)
• IKONOS receiving station operated by DLR,
  covering central Europe, northern Africa and the
  near East
• DLR and EUSI support emergency relief situations
  with high-resolution satellite data
• DLR will use new sensors for disaster management
  
• Terra SAR X (planned launch 2006)
• Rapid Eye (planned launch 2007)

12
Disaster management using space technology at
European and global scale

• ESA and the European Commission efforts for
  coordination and cooperation on environmental
  protection and sustainability like TIGER or
  DESERTMAP
• Geostationary and polar orbiting weather
  satellites provide useful disaster warning and
  assessment capacities
• Disaster Monitoring Constellation demonstrating
  the potentials of jointly using a fleet of
  dedicated satellites in an international team
• Increasing usage of satellite communication
• Development of a European satellite based
  navigation system

13
Ideas to be discussed

• Should not ...
• the Charter be extended to provide not only image
  data, but also information products?
• the Charter also cover humanitarian relief
  applications?
• there be a global information portal for the
  space communities to better coordinate and
  cooperate activities?
• we emphasize more on capacity building at all
  institutional levels training, staff-exchange,
  summer schools?

14
Final remarks

• Disaster prevention and management affects many
  areas of public and private life and is a core
  dimension of a strategy for sustainable
  development (Joschka Fischer EWCII, 2003)
• Development can only be sustained if it enables a
  society to prevent or cope with disasters
• Disaster awareness has to be improved to maintain
  environmental and social development conditions
• Disaster management has a strong link to data and
  information availability
• Efficient use of space technology for disaster
  management can only be successful if well
  implemented into policies and legal frameworks
  

15
Final remarks

• Germany is supporting all key elements of
  disaster reduction strategies
• DLR as the executive institution for space
  activities is
• continuing his active role in international
  initiatives
• implementing and providing access to EO
  information sources in partnerships
• contributing to solutions, providing tools
  reducing human and economic loss caused by
  natural disasters
• participating in the implementation of EO service
  centers linked to civil protection, humanitarian
  relief and other organisations related to human
  security