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Disasters SBA

Status of Tasks DI-06-05, DI-06-06, DI-06-10

New tasks proposed for the WorkPlan 2007-2009

G. Rum - 05 September 2006

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Status of Disasters SBA TasksDI-06-05, DI-06-06, DI-06-10

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Task DI-06-05 1/5Objectives and deliverables

Objectives

Building on existing techniques, create a plan for the production in coastal zones of high resolution

(i) near-shore bathymetric maps

(ii) land use/land cover maps and

(iii) Digital Elevation Models.

Deliverables by Second quarter 2007

A comprehensive plan for the production of bathymetric maps in shallow waters (~30-40 m), DEMs of DTED1-class for the generation of topographic maps and land use/land cover maps at scale 1/50,000 or 1/100,000

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Task DI-06-05 2/5 Achievements to date

NONE(No Task Point of Contact has been identified for this task yet)

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Task DI-06-05 3/5 On going activities

GEO Secretariat is performing two type of actions, also in view to define a point of contact in the short time :

Define priorities for geographical location of the products, as inputs from “Users” Organizations (i.e. UNESCO IOC for Indian Ocean Tsunami Early Warning System) (*)

Check availability of “providers” to reconfirm their commitment and start to draft the structure of the requested “production Plan”

(*) Strong support and inputs are needed from UIC

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Task DI-06-05 4/5 Difficulties and delays

Lack of a task contact point Difficulties in the definition of a worldwide “state of the

art ” of the presence and of the availability of the products

Time-consuming consultations to understand priority requirements for products

Understaffing of the Secretariat during the first half of 2006

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Task DI-06-05 5/5 Future Plans

The scope of the task was extended beyond the coastal Regions to provide proper reference to a multi-hazard approach. Initial focus will anyhow be on coastal regions. Includes activities from task DI-06-01. It will include specific mention of and priority in use of SRTM data.

NOTE These products are transverse to many SBA’s.UIC support (i.e through a mechanism within UIC to generate/review a preliminary list and ensure periodical update) is deemed necessary.

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Task DI-06-06 1/5Objectives and deliverables

Objectives

Harmonize existing efforts towards the preparation of a “global tsunami hazard map” to support coastal zone monitoring and infrastructure planning & investment.

Deliverables

1. Unified world tsunami catalogue2. Map of main tsunamigenic zones on the globe3. Description of hazard parameters 4. Global tsunami hazard map

By end 2006

By end 2007

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Task DI-06-06 2/5 Achievements to date

NONE (from a “formal” standpoint) see Note(Task Point of Contact has been identified only in mid July 2006)

NoteEven without direct coordination within GEO it is important to report progress made in the frame of UNESCO-IOC activities and programs, i.e.

IOC has activated, through an initial meeting the 24 of June, the ad hoc Working Group on Global Ocean-related Hazards, Early Warning and Mitigation System, created by IOC Assembly (reference to IOC Resolution XXIII-15). The resolution also recommended that WMO, ISDR and GEO be invited to participate in the working group.

IOC has issued at the end of July 2006 of the IOTWG (Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System) that includes parts of deliverables 1 and 2 and requirements for deliverables 3 and 4.

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Task DI-06-06 3/5 On going activities

GEO Secretariat has initiated a closer coordination with IOC in order to make this task (but also all the other tasks in the GEO Workplan related to tsunami) compatible and coordinated with IOC Plans.

GEO Secretariat is providing its support for the preparation of the next Tsunami Working Group nemeeting, tentatively planned for October 2006. (last meeting March 2006)

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Task DI-06-06 4/5 Difficulties and delays

Lack of a task contact point Associated difficulties in the definition of the

process to produce a world tsunami catalogue Understaffing of the Secretariat during the first

half of 2006

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Task DI-06-06 5/5 Future Plans

It is proposed to merge its current content into DI-06-04 and 07.

DI-06-04 will include all the activities related to the implementation of a Tsunami Early Warning System at global level, having IOC Plans as the programmatic reference for task implementation.DI-06-07 will include, in accordance to the proposed multi-hazard/multi-risk approach, all the activities concerning hazard mapping, here included those relevant to tsunami.New title : "Conduct an inventory of existing geologic and all-hazard zonation maps, identify gaps and needs for digitization and progressively develop related products"

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Task DI-06-10 1/5Objectives and deliverables

Objectives

Initiate and maintain a dialogue between GEO, the Board of the International Charter on Space and major Disasters and relevant UN agencies to identify mechanisms for strengthening the scope and mandate of the Charter.

Deliverables

1. Progress report(s) on possible enhancement options for consideration by the Charter Board

2. Draft cooperation agreement(s) between GEO Members, Participating Organizations and the Charter Board

By end 2006

By early 2007

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Task DI-06-10 2/5 Achievements to date

• A meeting was held between the International Charter Secretary and the GEO Secretariat, on 6 April, in ESA/ESRIN, Frascati.

• Definition of consolidated mechanism to ensure User access to the Charter has started, both within International Organizations (WMO) and within Countries (USA)

• In mid June, the COPUOS approved the creation of DMISCO (Disasters Management Space Coordination Organization) as a programme of the UN OOSA (Office of Outer Space Activities), with an initial arrangement that foresees Offices in Beijing and Bonn.

GEO Secretariat has continued discussion with the Board of the International Charter, with the Director of UNOOSA and other interested UN programs, such as UNOSAT, to ensure coordination on the use of remote sensing for this purpose.

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Task DI-06-10 3/5 On going activities

GEO Secretariat is in constant contact with the UNOOSA, who is in charge to implement the COPUOS decision on DMISCO (now renamed SPIDER) to properly interact and participate to the process.

GEO Secretariat is in constant contact with the Charter

In support of the objectives of task DI-06-10, task DI-06-09 has been reviewed, being now its main objective the identification of a virtual constellation for risk management.(*)

(*) Strong support and inputs are needed from UIC to identify requirements of this constellation

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Task DI-06-10 4/5 Difficulties and delays

Need to properly appreciate and consider all steps and associated duration of formal processes (i.e. the DMISCO approval and implementation)

High attention and prudence (fully understandable) showed by the Charter members on proposals for expansion/improvement, being the Charter, today, still a “fragile” mechanism, which operates successfully but on a limited scale and capabilities.

Understaffing of the Secretariat during the first half of 2006

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Task DI-06-10 5/5 Future Plans

In the Workplan 2007-09 this task has been terminated, while the activities will continue as an ongoing supporting activity performed by the GEO Secretariat.

The lines of development will be the one already mentioned in chart # 3 (on going activities) and their results and deliverables will be introduced, as suitable and necessary, into the activities of the other Disaster tasks.

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GEO WorkPlan 2007-2009 Disasters: Proposed New Tasks

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DI-07-P1: Risk Management for Floods

The management of the flood risk is being performed by a number of Organisations all around the world at different scales, from local to national to regional.The task will define best practices, here including decision support systems, with the goal to identify minimum required observations and associated networks (in-situ, remote sensing) and models to deal with flood management at different geographical scales. The task will also include analysis and, where deemed applicable, further developments on weather forecast and warning systems, as one of the main inputs, in particular to assess the risk during the monitoring/prevision/prevention phase. This task includes relevant synergies with water and weather tasks.With reference to and in coordination with the WMO APFM (Associated Programme on Flood Management) the core activity will be constituted by the definition and implementation of a pilot project, centered on the development and demonstration of a Flood risk management system for the South-Central American Regions.

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DI-07-P2: Risk Management for Slowly Developing Disasters

Encourage the development of an Earth observation decision-support system for policy and decision makers (at all levels) for slowly developing disasters (e.g. deforestation, soil degradation, public health, food security, drought monitoring and prediction, pest, locust).It will start with initial analysis and assessment of “slow developing disasters” and will then focus on specific applications.Related activities will include: Facilitate the implementation and up scaling of pilot projects demonstrating the use of environmental information in sensitive areas.This task includes relevant synergies with DI-07-P1 and climate tasks.