Organisation: WP 4000
Humanitarian Relief and Reconstruction support
The main objective of the Humanitarian Relief and Reconstruction Cluster is to improve and extend European capacities in the field of humanitarian relief. Supporting the humanitarian community in crisis situations worldwide, the cluster builds on existing services and covers the whole crisis cycle with aspects such as crisis preparedness, operational support of humanitarian relief during a crisis and reconstruction assistance after a crisis.
This will be achieved through integration and fusion of satellite data as well as geoinformation sources currently available from state-of-the satellite sensors and geoinformation services along with development and incorporation of new technologies, techniques and sources in particular in the field of navigation and communication.
On an S&T level the objectives are as follows
- Further improvements of image processing and analysis tools for speeding up the processing time and improving the analysis capacities through automation of satellite image pre-processing, change detection and feature extraction of crisis relevant features (e.g. damage assessment)
- Integration of new satellites and constellations of satellites and other sources (e.g. CosmoSkymed, RSAT-2,
TerraSAR-X TopSat, Rapideye, UAV etc.) for an improved, faster and more regular monitoring of affected areas
in the crisis context - Advance the coordination and data sharing of crisis relevant information within the European and
international context to minimise time losses between data acquisition and information extraction - Development and integration of dedicated telecommunication tools in crisis management for robust
bi-directional exchange of information between headquarters and field teams, including
transfer of vector/raster information for situation assessment as well as robust communications
and information exchange between teams in the field - Provision of tools for estimation of regional population densities based on geospatial
modelling and population density in mega-cities of developing countries - Provision of semi-operational capabilities for water resource mapping
How will space products and tools benefit the humanitarian community of LIMES?
Humanitarian aid is dependent on timely and reliable information. When a disaster happens time is critical. Intervention within the first 48 hours is critical to save lives. In most sudden onset natural disaster it is difficult to understand how best to send in rescue teams. Information on the location of the event, the amount of damage/casualties and the transport infrastructure still available are critical to send in help. In disaster type events, type of damage and precise location are best obtained through the synoptic view of Earth Observation. Current satellite EO capabilities should improve in terms of the spatial or temporal resolution so that their potential is fully exploited. These requirements will have to be taken into account in future space programs. Telecommunication and navigation tools can assist field experts in collecting and sending data to a central data processing location that together with earth observation can provide extent, magnitude of the damage and transport infrastructure to be used by rescue teams. Such scenarios will be tested within LIMES.
In the context of disaster preparedness, there is a need for detailed information about population distribution, which is, in particular in developing countries, at the best available on a district level, but more detailed information would be necessary in order to assess the amount of people affected by a crisis. In LIMES, a methodology will be developed that allows a rationalization of population density both in rural areas and in the fast growing mega-cities of developing countries. Another aspect is the monitoring of critical resources like food, water and infrastructure in vulnerable environments. The earlier critical factors that contribute to a crisis are detected, the easier the situation can be handled and solved. Water is a vital resource for human beings, and guaranteed access to it, especially in densely populated places, secures not only basic living conditions but also economic stability. Limes aims at the improvement of information provision and early warning systems in the field of water resources for
regions in arid environments.
The operational support of humanitarian relief efforts during crisis situations with geospatial information and satellite communication is becoming more and more important. This is also reflected in initiatives and projects like the International Charter ‘Space and Major Disasters’ or the GSE RESPOND. Nevertheless, there is still a need for an improvement of the products provided so far and an extension of services. LIMES will improve the methodology for provision of rapid mapping products. This will lead on the one hand to a faster information provision to the humanitarian relief users due to improved processing techniques and on the other hand to enhanced information contents, especially in the field of damage assessment. Another field demanding improvements is the dissemination of products to the users, where LIMES will assess new ways of information distribution, including web mapping and satellite based communication services as described in the following.
In humanitarian crisis, the communication between relief forces in the field is of utmost importance. Today most relief organizations employ one or more of the existing satellite communication networks, mostly for voice communications between local and central headquarters. Receivers for GPS (global positioning system) are widespread and provide personal navigation in an often unfamiliar environment. Earth observation satellites provide overhead imagery, mostly used in headquarters for assistance with strategic decisions. However, the potential of combining the individual systems to an integrated infrastructure is only utilized to a minimal extent. A major field for improvements is the extension of the information flow to and from the individual members of a relief team. The LIMES project addresses the existing lack of rapidly deployable infrastructures in order to support the efforts of the relief teams in disaster management. During this project, such rapidly deployable infrastructures will be developed.
Close cooperation between technical development and organizations or individuals involved in disaster management is foreseen in order to
create a system that optimally matches the requirements of its users.
Finally, LIMES will also contribute to the support of humanitarian reconstruction after a crisis and will develop an information system that
provides up to date information on the current status of the rehabilitation. The reconstruction of disaster struck areas may require
the re-location of transport infrastructures, housing, etc. It may also offer the possibility to meliorate land use practice.
The planning of the new activities may require a geographical information infrastructure where Earth Observation (EO)
at different scales is an important component. Also, EO is increasingly used to monitor reconstruction. Ongoing and
completed reconstruction can be verified through the use of Earth Observation Imagery. The users will be able to have
coordination and planning tools which allow for tracking the reconstruction process.
