Space and response to humanitarian crises
On March 8, 2023, the 9th Croatian Space Café took place online, with great success. The 9th Space Café analysed the capabilities and potential of the Copernicus programme, with a focus on the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) through the expertise and case studies from our two speakers.
Stéphane Ourevitch, as senior advisor at the European Commission's Copernicus Program Support Office, introduced us to the numerous products and services developed by CEMS so far, and offered insight into the future development plans.
During the webinar, participants learned about mapping products based on satellite images, but also about analyses related to forest fires, floods and droughts. In the webinar, the use of practical satellite data as related to Croatian specific situations was also discussed and examples given. It was learned that the Copernicus is 6 services, not a space specific service, there includes marine, open data, security, services; emergency management service. The service is providing maps, digital information, files that can be downloaded from servers, and can be ingested into information systems, etc. Stephane emphasised that the problem is not the gathering of data, as it is the largest data collection in the world, but how to utilise and read the data, which will be in the hands of entrepreneurs and intermediaries in the future to decide how to best implement.
Igor Magdalenić, president of the Croatian Association for Crisis Management,offered concrete examples of early warning systems, emergency response mechanisms and disaster risk reduction activities in Croatia in recent years. mentioned how imagery tracked the wildfire in Zaton, and the earthquake in 2020, where drone footage was integrated into the analysis.
