SAFER and GMES Emergency Response Core Service: One step closer to full-scale operational deployment

1. SAFER and GMES Emergency Response Core Service:
One step closer to full-scale operational deployment
Spot Image International conference – Toulouse June 2009
David HELLO, SAFER project coordinator - Infoterra France

2. Climate change and natural hazards:
new knowledge, new uncertainties, new risks
An increased emergency response capacity is needed to cope
with the effects of global change on natural disasters
and humanitarian crises:
Increased mortality
Increasing drought
from heat waves
Hundreds of millions Increased damages
of people exposed from coastal floods
to water stress and storms
Source : IPCC report 2007
Changed
distribution
Food security issues of disease vectors
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

3. The global dimension of crises and disasters
2008 will probably go down in history
as a year with one of the highest
numbers of victims of natural
catastrophes.
The earthquake in the Chinese
province of Sichuan, the cyclone in
Myanmar, and other natural
catastrophes between January and
June claimed the lives of more than
150,000 people.
The largest number of events ever
recorded in one year was 960 – and
that was in 2007.
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

4. Emergency response: a top priority in Europe
Example: the forest fires
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

5. SAFER project rationale
The SAFER project objective is to implement and to validate a pre-
operational version of the GMES Emergency Response Core Service
(ERCS), reinforcing the European capacity to respond to such challenges.
As a first priority, SAFER will
validate an information service
focusing on rapid mapping
during the response phase and
then enrich this service with a
wider set of thematic products.
In the long term, ERCS will
provide an operational capacity
in Europe and worldwide, with
benefits in terms of better quality
of life, better health, and
increased safety.
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

6. SAFER road map, heritage and schedule
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
European Space Agency projects
(GMES services element)
Floods and fires RISK-EOS
Landslides TERRAFIRMA
Humanitarian aid RESPOND
European Commission (6th and 7th
Framework Programmes
Atmospheric, geophysical and man- PREVIEW
made disasters
Service sustainability BOSS4GMES
Preparatory action Linker
Preoperational validation SAFER
Operational
Operational budgets budgets ?
And… the International Charter « Space and Major Disasters »
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

7. SAFER : key figures
Services and Applications For Emergency Response
EC/FP7 project – GMES program
3 years project
Budget: 40 M€. EC Grant: 27 M€
54 partners from 16 countries:
29 private organisations (18 SME)
25 public organisations
Coordinated by Infoterra France
Service management board: Infoterra, DLR, Telespazio
Contract signature in December 2008 - Kick-off in January 2009
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

8. SAFER ambitions and expected results
A user-driven operational service:
SLA (service level agreements) and quality assurance
Operational validation by the users
Rapid mapping with priority on quick information delivery:
Assessment maps available in less than 24 hours
Reference maps (prepared in advance) and available in less than 6
hours
Anticipation of new acquisitions, based on events monitoring
More complete information:
Progressive enrichment with thematic products and services
Prevention and post-crisis phases
An end-to-end service:
Single point of contact available 24/7 and service gateway
Geo-information available on the field
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

9. Four main types of products for Civil Protection units
and Humanitarian Aid organisations
Early warning and
preparedness
information
Reference maps
(6 hours) For headquarters,
decision-makers
and in-field operatives
In Europe and worldwide
Assessment maps
(24 hours)
Thematic maps
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

10. SAFER users
In Europe and outside Europe
Civil protections (national level + MIC)
International organisations (UN) and
humanitarian aid actors (Red Cross, NGOs,
etc.)
In-field operatives and decision-makers
(European DG, national authorities, local and
regional authorities, etc.)
Specialized service provision for downstream
applications (insurance, regional planning,
risk assessment, etc.)
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

11. SAFER – Operational model
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

12. French Civil Protection exercise – April 2009
Flyby the exercise area Assessment map (SPOT 5 - 2.5M image)
SAFER triggered by French Civil Protection DDSC
Both table-top and in-field exercise
Lourdes area
Earthquake / landslides / flood
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

13. Afghanistan earthquake – April 2009
Reference map showing the epicenters
Derived from
ExpressMaps concept
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

14. Floods in Brazil – April/May 2009
Flood extent map of the Rio Parnaíba (1:250.000)
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

15. Floods in Bangladesh – May 2009
Reference space map (SPOT 5 – 10m)
SAFER triggered through International Charter Space & Major disasters
(Call #256) on request of UN World Food Program / WFP
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

16. Conclusion and challenges
SAFER: Final step to qualify the operational Emergency
Response Core Service
Key challenges at project level:
Good integration between scientific teams, service
providers and users (Civil Protection units and
Humanitarian Aid actors)
Validation of operational performance / research
activities
Users engagement and increased users awareness.
Longer term issues:
Agreement on organisation and governance (incl.
allocation of responsibilities between Member States
and European level)
Budgets for operations.
Space component: long term continuity of high
resolution missions
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009

17. Thank you for your
attention!
David HELLO
SAFER coordinator
+33 5 62 19 63 48
david.hello@infoterra.fr
www.emergencyresponse.eu
SAFER - SPOT Image International Conference - June 2009