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IP/05/756
Brussels, 20 June 2005
Space observation to improve risk management of
landslides, avalanches and floods in Alpine regions
Under the 6th Framework Programme for Research (FP6) activity ‘Global
Monitoring for Environment and Security’ (GMES), the Commission will
provide €1.1m support for a new research project, called “ASSIST”, on
improving risk warning and risk management of landslides, avalanches,
debris flows and floods in Alpine regions. The results of this project can
easily be extended to other mountainous areas. Under GMES, the
Commission is currently funding 14 projects. ASSIST is the latest and
fifteenth project.
Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen stated: “With the closure of the latest
call for proposals for space research projects, the Commission has taken an
important step in fostering dialogue between stakeholders from both the provider and
the user side of information in the fields of environment and security. Whilst making
the lives of citizens safer, we are also helping EU industry to become more
competitive through developing a strong and innovative industrial pole both for
information services and space/terrestrial infrastructure.”
Mountain ranges or chains account for 30% of EU territory, with some 30 million
inhabitants. Areas include the Alps, Sierra Nevada, the Island of Crete, the
Pyrenees, the Apennines, the Sierra de Estrela, the Massif Central, the upper Tatra
and the Carpathians. Mountain areas represent over 50% of the territory in Italy,
Spain, Greece, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal. The goal of ASSIST is to
implement pre-operational services and establish advanced integrated safety and
information services for the Alps.
Several important benefits can be obtained from an integrated use of satellite based
earth observation data, combining the all-weather capabilities of SAR (synthetic
aperture radar) images with high resolution optical satellite data as a complement to
existing airborne and meteorological data. At a technical level, the project utilises socalled “Service Nodes”, which are autonomously operated, such as police, hospitals,
air rescue, fire-fighters, etc. The nodes will be laid out to support a) day-to-day
monitoring and predictions of risk mitigation scenarios and b) operation during actual
crisis situations.
Seven partners from Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, engaged in different
areas of research, satellite remote sensing, communication technology, and alpine
safety management, are collaborating in the development of a product portfolio of
safety and risk information for direct use in the participating alpine safety information
centres.
GMES is a joint initiative of the Commission and the European Space Agency aimed
at improving environmental and security-related information to better manage crisis
situations.
The call for proposals constitutes a crucial part of the wider GMES Action Plan which
focuses on dialogue with and among stakeholders (e.g. through the GMES Forum),
user involvement (e.g. GMES Steering Committee), cooperation and partnership
(think tanks and networks, e.g. the European Environment Agency - EEA) as well as
information exchange and information dissemination. Operational GMES services
may be provided by industry on a commercial basis, a prerequisite to the
development of a European industrial pole.
More information
http://europa.eu.int/comm/space/programmes/gmes_en.html
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