International Charter on Space and Natural Disasters

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The International Charter on Space and Major Disasters ( English Charter On Cooperation To Achieve The Coordinated Use Of Space Facilities In The Event Of Natural Or Technological Disasters is), shortly Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' (charter) an agreement between participating space agencies, space-based data and provide information to support disaster relief efforts.

The charter is unique due to its ability to mobilize agencies worldwide with their know-how and their satellites, free of charge for the respective user. A central access point is available around the clock, seven days a week.

Since its successful implementation in November 2000, the charter has been providing space-based data after sudden natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, forest fires and volcanic eruptions, as well as after major industrial accidents or major oil spills.

history

Following the Third United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE III) in Vienna in July 1999, the European and French Space Agencies (ESA and CNES) initiated the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters . The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) soon joined them.

By the end of 2016, the charter grew to a group of 16 members, and satellite data has been used to monitor more than 500 disaster events since 2000. The number of disasters covered annually by the Charter was most recently more than 40 (average for the years 2007 to 2013). Further details and many products and maps derived from satellite data can be found in the “Activations List” on the Charter website.

Members

The following 16 space agencies are currently members of the charter and provide data from their earth observation satellites as part of charter activations (as of 2019):

Organization and way of working

For each type of disaster, the charter has identified the most useful satellite sensors and recording options for disaster relief, which are then requested as quickly as possible in the specific case of a charter activation. The mandate of the charter is limited to the fast and free provision of satellite images, but information products derived from them such as maps and damage assessments are often also made available. In addition to newly acquired data, archive images are also made available as quickly as possible in order to visualize damage by comparing the satellite images from before and after the disaster. Such information allows a valuable overview of areas that are difficult to access on the ground and thus helps to identify destroyed infrastructure and to locate areas where help is particularly urgently needed. The charter is initiated by “authorized users” - usually national disaster control authorities. For each activation of the charter, a project manager is appointed who coordinates the provision of helpful information to the user.

"Universal Access" initiative

With the aim of further facilitating access to the charter for users worldwide, the member agencies have agreed on the principle of "Universal Access". This means that, in principle, every national disaster control authority worldwide should be able to submit a request for help to the charter. Defined procedures must be followed, but it does not matter whether the emergency call comes from the country of a charter member or from another country. National authorities can become “authorized users” of the charter by registering with the charter and taking part in training.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charter Activations , accessed on November 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ About the Charter , accessed July 4, 2019.