OBSERVER: Saving lives and helping the most vulnerable: How Copernicus supports humanitarian assistance

A humanitarian crisis can be defined as an event or a combination of events representing a threat to the health, security or safety of a large group of people spread over a sizeable area. Humanitarian crises can be caused by internal or external conflicts, disasters, disease outbreaks and often leads to a situation where access to clean water, food, sanitation and shelter is precarious. When the situation on the ground deteriorates to such an extent that a country cannot deal with the consequences alone, humanitarian assistance is essential. In the immediate aftermath of an emergency, the image that comes to mind is aeroplanes and aid workers working through the rubble, bringing food packages or administering medical care. The role that Copernicus and Earth Observation play is less known but essential in efficiently delivering humanitarian assistance.

Copernicus— a tool for insightful decision making

The EU seeks to provide needs-based humanitarian assistance to people affected by disasters, focusing on the most vulnerable victims. Assistance providers have increasingly made use of Earth Observation data to support their activities so that they can become more efficient and effective. Before sending boots and resources on the ground, actors must evaluate the situation and plan accordingly. In other words, assistance providers need to estimate the size of the affected population and monitor its development to plan and deploy the aid efficiently. Copernicus satellite and in situ data can provide this required up-to-date and reliable information thanks to its short revisit intervals and high-quality imagery offering a wide range of spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions. The Copernicus and Contributing Missions (commercial) satellite imagery and value-added products help decision-makers tackle these crises throughout their various stages–from preparedness and planning to post-disaster damage assessment and recovery.

Copernicus services supporting humanitarian and emergency response and relief efforts

Copernicus Emergency Management Service

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) provides key information for disaster risk reduction and emergency response. By providing geospatial products (maps and data which can be ingested into Geographic Information Systems) and analyses based on satellite imagery before, during and after a crisis occurs, CEMS assists all actors involved in managing disasters in and outside of Europe. These actors include crisis managers, civil protection authorities and humanitarian aid actors. The most useful information for disaster management includes the concentration of human population, the state of critical infrastructure, as well as the extent of the area affected by a forest fire or flood.

 Copernicus Service in Support of EU External Action

The other service providing support to humanitarian aid actors is the Copernicus Service in Support of EU External Action (SEA), which is part of the Security services of Copernicus. As its name indicates, this European geo-intelligence service supports the EU and its Member States in its operations and protects their interests outside of the EU territory. Implemented by The European Union Satellite Centre, SatCen, the SEA provides users with on-demand geospatial information to detect and monitor events occurring outside of European borders that might impact European and global security. In concrete terms, the service offers a variety of custom-designed printable and digital maps and reports based on the analysis of satellite imagery. In the application domain of humanitarian aid, SEA supports early warning, monitoring, and situational awareness, providing decision-makers with a range of analyses supporting planning, mediating, and operations.

Providing up-to-date information for monitoring the evolution of displaced people

Humanitarian actors utilise satellite images not only to monitor disasters but also to assess human mobility. In instances of conflict, aid donors such as EU bodies and institutions need to estimate the size of the displaced population and monitor its development, in order to plan for the provision of necessary aid. Such products can also help maintain situational awareness in the area. Earth Observation satellites with their very high-resolution data and imagery are a good complement to the limited in situ data. In 2018, the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) activated CEMS’ Rapid Mapping Component to provide information for operational analysis regarding the mass displacement of people in Afghanistan (EMSR296). People migrated towards Herat, the main regional city, because of conflict and drought.

Providing information on food security

Humanitarian actors also use satellite images to monitor the long-term consequences of events and assess their impact on local communities. For instance, in past years, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service has been activated four times (EMSN063, EMSN083, EMSN113, EMSN138) to monitor crop changes in Nigeria. The country has suffered from a severe case of food insecurity. The dwindling water levels of Lake Chad, with devastating consequences for the Borno State, have reduced the viability of crops and livestock. This has occurred in conjunction with the Boko Haram insurgency which began in 2009, generating instability in the region. Due to the inaccessibility of wide areas of Nigeria to field surveys, the situation can only be estimated by using geospatial analyses to monitor changes in cropland (loss/gain) and affected population. For this reason, the World Food Programme requested the support of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service to assess the agricultural and food security situation of 57 Local Government Areas in the country.

Getting help to the most vulnerable: Assessing severe weather events

In 2021 alone, 432 disastrous events related to hazards were recorded worldwide, affecting  101.8 million people and resulting in 10,492 fatalities. CEMS’ European and Global Flood Awareness Systems combine satellite, meteorological and in situ data to support preparedness measures before major flood events strike. Such information helps humanitarian providers implement preventive measures that save lives. Once the storm or flood hits the affected area, high spatial resolution satellite imagery is used to assess the extent of the damage. In order to provide aid on the ground, it is imperative that humanitarian actors are able to reach the people in need. During extreme weather conditions, road and other transport infrastructure could be directly or indirectly damaged, causing an interruption in essential services. Users involved in humanitarian missions and operations thus need to investigate alternative routing of vehicles. In the case of flooding, Copernicus helps analyse the situation and provide alternative solutions by (1) estimating the status of road networks, (2) evaluating the overall impact on mobility and (3) estimating the effects and damages. This is done by comparing pre and post-images of the affected area.

Anticipating potential crises: An Evacuation Plan using Copernicus

More than its ability to support during and in the aftermath of a crisis, Copernicus also helps anticipate crisis. In the event of an emergency implicating EU citizens living abroad, SEA offers a powerful multi-layered product that prepares evacuation plans for urban areas. The product is based on an accurate and current road network map that serves as a base layer. The best routes between the important points of origin (like diplomatic facilities) and destinations (such as airports) are determined using this base product as a guide overlayed with other EO data. Additionally, a different layer later provides a distance and predicted journey time calculation. This gives decision-makers an ample amount of information to develop their evacuation strategies.

Copernicus for a safer world

Space has the remarkable ability to support responses to humanitarian crises. Copernicus satellites can operate throughout the globe, including the regions affected by conflict and political instability, to provide synoptic data and unbiased information as well as deliver essential services to vulnerable communities. Space-based services such as Copernicus can contribute to the disaster management cycle in all its phases including prevention, preparedness, early warning, response, and recovery. Copernicus products and services are used to improve the effectiveness of humanitarian operations. From monitoring disasters to human rights abuse and conflict, Earth Observation has proven itself to be an invaluable asset which positively affects the lives of people all over the world.