V. SPACE-BASED SYSTEMS AND SERVICES
24. The role of space applications in disaster management
lies in their critical ability to produce as well as disseminate
the information – on a real- or near-real-time basis.
However, the true strength of theses applications can be
realized only in the synergy and convergence with other
collateral information, as well as with traditional technologies.
The role of agencies involved in space applications holds
significance in terms of enabling this to happen and adding
the appropriate value to satellite data so that the final
delivered products will be in harmony with the operational
needs of the disaster management community down the line.
This is where the role of space agencies assumes vitality
and is of operational importance.
25. Developments in space technology offer a tremendous
technological potential for addressing critical information
needs during all phases of disaster management, which include
mitigation and preparedness, response, and recovery and
relief. Remote sensing satellites provide a synoptic, multispectral
view of the terrain and its changing land use and land cover,
with varying spatial and temporal resolutions. Addressing
all operational and institutional aspects, the Disaster
Management Support Group of the Committee on Earth Observation
Satellites (CEOS) has brought out a comprehensive report
on the role of remote sensing in disaster management (CEOS,
2001). The operational role of satellite communication in
providing emergency communication – satellite phones
or point-to-point networking solutions routed through the
arrays of VSATs deployed in remote and inaccessible areas,
in early warning systems for floods, cyclones, drought and
so forth – is well demonstrated.
26. Space applications have been put into operational use,
to a limited extent, in flood and drought management worldwide.
In developed countries, especially the United States, Japan
and some European countries, space-based systems and services
are well integrated with contemporary technologies to form
the backbone of the overall disaster management system.
Even several developing countries have started employing
space applications as a part of their disaster management
strategy. China, for example, has a space-technology-based
flood management system, wherein the combined airborne and
satellite-based systems provide reliable operational support.
India has been using NOAA AVHRR/IRS WiFS-derived Normalized
Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVIs) for agricultural drought
assessment to provide accurate information for relief operations.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) has set up space-based systems in Africa for drought
monitoring and addressing the food security issues in the
region. The countries of the Mekong River basin have been
using remote sensing data for flood monitoring. Worldwide,
such systems have helped the disaster management community
immensely to reduce the impacts and losses due to recurrent
natural disasters in their countries.
27. In the last few decades, remote sensing and GIS applications
have graduated from the experimental demonstration and semi-operational
state to operationalization in certain areas of flood and
drought management. This process of operationalization,
limited but critical in supporting flood and drought management,
has led to several important results:
- Sensitization and awareness-building among user communities
about the technological capability;
- Establishment of operational reliability in addressing
a number of important management issues;
- Visible willingness of policy makers, administrators
at various levels, academia, NGOs and the people at large
to accept the accuracy of the services.
A. Status of operationalization
28. Remote sensing GIS technologies have demonstrated their
operational potential, through several case studies on best
practices, towards creating and updating information, such
as (a) land-use/land-cover databases, (b) status of physical
infrastructure, (c) geology and terrain maps revealing susceptibility
to hazards, (d) watershed characterization and prioritization
and (e) rapid mapping showing disaster impacts and damage.
GIS helps in integrating this information with information
on social, economic and climatic vulnerability. Remote sensing
and GIS thus facilitate the creation of hazard zonation
and risk assessment processes, synthesizing all aspects
of vulnerability.
1. Addressing the
gaps
29. It is equally important to highlight that the information
emanating from remote sensing and GIS addresses the gaps
in the conventional systems of information generation. For
example, in the matter of flood forecasting, the information
that is available from the conventional early warning systems
to the stakeholders is water-level rise and the volume of
discharge, based on gauge-to-gauge correlation data. There
is no spatial dimension to highlight which areas or settlements
are likely to be affected. The use of remote sensing and
GIS inputs into the conventional systems enables the disaster
manager to identify those vulnerable areas or settlements.
Similarly, there is no scientific basis for identifying
areas that have been affected during the different flood
waves, but remote sensing and GIS can address such gaps.
Some of these are summarized in figure III. Yet another
highlight of such a service is the quicker turn-around time
for information delivery (subject to the technology and
related institutional factors), which is of much greater
value, especially in the case of flooding.
Figure III. Use of remote sensing
and GIS to address the gaps in conventional systems
30. Similarly, in the case of drought, remote sensing and
GIS work as gap fillers and address the inadequacies in
the conventional systems. The gaps in conventional systems
lie mainly in terms of spatial elements, such as in-season
information pertaining to land cover, showing the vegetation
stress, associated agro-ecological factors and cropping
systems, status of surface and groundwater, fodder status
and the like. Besides addressing these gaps, remote sensing
and GIS help in connecting the social, economic and climatic
levels of vulnerability. A list of deliverables addressing
the information needs for flood and drought management is
presented in annex III.
2. Issues and constraints
31. These applications could demonstrate the efficacy of
remote sensing and GIS and could serve as valuable inputs
for planning, policy-making and monitoring, to a limited
extent. However, in some areas of applications, such as
impact mapping and damage assessment, their operational
utilization down the line has been limited, constrained
by a number of factors:
- Gaps in the quality of the product delivered and information
content vis-à-vis the specific needs of the end-users
down the line; the gaps in the case of floods and agricultural
drought are listed in boxes 1 and 2 (some countries have
their own airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to address
this gap);
- Not enough real-time information dissemination to end-users;
- Lack of institutionalization and inadequate organizational
mechanisms to integrate space applications for decision-making
by end-users.
B. Use of satellite
meteorology for flood and drought management
32. Meteorological satellites have long been used to support
forecasting of intensive weather hazards such as tropical
cyclones, severe storms and flash flooding. Measurements
from meteorological satellites, together with surface measurements
and data from long-term archives, have resulted in better
prediction of El Niņo, which causes major weather disturbances,
from drought and abnormally warm periods to unusually high
rainfall, in locations around the entire planet. Advances
in satellite meteorology associated with coupling oceanic
and atmospheric observation systems have contributed immensely
to improved climate prediction. Concerted efforts by space
agencies are likely to improve the prediction of weather
hazards further. There have been numerous experimental and
operational demonstrations that illustrate the potential
usefulness of meteorological satellite data for a broader
range of hazards. Better predictions and forecasts of the
onset and consequences of natural disasters have tremendous
potential for providing tangible economic benefits to Governments,
businesses and individuals, and especially to the poor.
33. It is also important to recognize that the predictions
and forecasts from the meteorological satellites are at
a coarse scale and, for the most part, based on generic
information available in the public domain. The generic
information has to be interpreted in the local context by
appropriate value addition and by converting the content
into locally relevant information services. For example,
the El Niņo of 1997-1998 was predicted with several months
lead time. However, in the absence of the local and national
ability to downscale these forecasts to the local level
and make them usable for specific action, the forecasts
could not be used fully to mitigate the negative impacts
of El Niņo and enhance the potential benefits. There remains
a large gap between the scientific knowledge about weather
hazards and the ability of users to put this knowledge to
use in reducing the costs of natural disasters.
C. Use of satellite
communication for emergency services
34. Traditional terrestrial telecommunication, particularly
in remote areas of disaster-prone countries, is costly to
install, difficult to repair and vulnerable to damage. Fixed
satellite services, though useful in disaster preparedness
and warning, have demonstrated relatively limited effectiveness
in disaster response, principally because of their own vulnerability
to disasters. Their relative utility has also been affected
by the need for large receiving and transmitting antennas,
with their associated high power requirements. Mobile services
by satellite, however, have proved valuable to disaster
managers. This low-cost emergency communication capability
has proved, even in the relatively short time of its commercial
availability, to offer dramatic results in relief efforts,
which had not been possible before. Furthermore, as a complement
to remote sensing, Global Positioning System (GPS) and GIS
applications, it has the capability to improve risk assessment,
disaster preparedness, early warning and relief operations
dramatically. This service is now available in areas previously
considered inaccessible because of location, terrain, weather
or demography.
1. Synergy of remote
sensing, GIS, satellite meteorology and satellite communication
35. While it seems obvious that the synergy of remote sensing,
GIS and satellite communication provides a unique combination
of tools to address disaster management issues appropriately,
realizing their potential operationally is quite challenging.
There are, however, some examples where such synergy has
been established in the institutionalized framework in developing
countries. For example, the National Remote Sensing Centre
of China provides yet another example wherein the synergy
of meteorological satellite (Feng Yung satellites), remote
sensing (ERS/Radarsat/Landsat), and SAR is established to
monitor and carry out damage assessment activities during
floods. The airborne SAR data are disseminated to user agencies
on a real-time basis via satellite link. “Best practices”
have been found (a) in combining satcom, remote sensing,
and GIS and GPS in an institutionalized framework with multisectoral
linkages, (b) in identifying the regions that have the highest
amount of risks, emanating from multiple hazards, as well
as the safest zones, to help policy formulation towards
disaster reduction and (c) in using remote sensing for rapid
mapping of disaster events and a satcom network to disseminate
the information to end-users on a real-time basis.
2. Cost - effectiveness
36. Setting up the institutional infrastructure for space
applications involves high costs, may have a long time lag
and requires skilled staff and government support. As an
input to policy, planning, and monitoring and evaluation,
which contribute more in terms of social and environmental
gains than the benefits in terms of money, the cost-benefit
analysis of remote sensing and GIS is not an exact science
and currently lacks consistency. On the benefits of using
remote sensing and GIS, the majority view is that maximum
benefits can be realized only when the technology is fully
operational. Yet another aspect worth highlighting is the
catalytic role that remote sensing and GIS could play in
flood and drought management. For example, in drought mitigation
programmes such as watershed development, reclamation of
environmentally degraded lands and the like, the remote
sensing and GIS aspects cost hardly 1-2 per cent of the
total project cost, but they play a critical role in terms
of benchmarking, monitoring and evaluation, leading to the
successful execution of drought mitigation projects in semi-arid
areas.
37. In spite of the direct and indirect benefits emanating
from the use of remote sensing and GIS, it is important
to examine the issue of cost-effectiveness more in quantitative
terms. In today’s context, there are increasingly
higher demands for high-resolution remote sensing images
for various applications, including disaster management.
On average, commercial prices range between US$ 1,000 and
US$ 4,000 for a single image with a ground resolution of
10 metres to 1 metre. Generally, the cost of imagery increases
proportionately with either higher resolution or greater
area coverage. At these prices it is unlikely that anyone
except well-funded government agencies and large corporations
will be able to purchase large quantities of commercial
satellite imagery (Dehqanzada and Florini, 2000). The cost
of images is just one aspect; there also must be investments
in creating institutional infrastructure for further analysis
and value addition to meet the specific requirements of
users down the line. However, the lessons learned from success
stories, especially in developing countries, amply demonstrate
that, while the use of remote sensing and GIS involves substantial
investment, these hold greater promise in building a more
resilient society. These investments should also be seen
as part of country’s concerted long-term sustained
efforts in building a state-of-the-art national infrastructure
for disaster management.
3. Can least developed
countries afford space applications for flood and drought
management?
38. Affordability has always been a major issue with regard
to the use of space technology applications, especially
in the context of least developed countries (LDCs). The
vitality of space applications in recent years has shown
that even LDCs are making investments in spite of the competitive
demands on their resources:
- Bangladesh signed a US$ 3 million contract with Radarsat
International (RSI) of Canada on 12 February 2003 to expand
its water and information network pilot project into a
nationwide GIS-based network, initially using data from
Radarsat-1 and later from Radarsat-2 and the European
Envisat. In addition to a Web site, flood forecasts and
water information will be disseminated to local farmers
and citizens by radio and television broadcasts in local
languages and by relaying information via a “citizen
network” of cellular telephones;
- Canada signed an agreement on 5 December 2002 to provide
remote sensing data and technology transfer to the Mekong
River Commission of South-East Asia, an the intergovernmental
agency. The Commission’s members – Cambodia,
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet
Nam – are using Radarsat data for monitoring rice
crops, flood inundation, irrigation water management and
assessment of agricultural drought (IAF, 2003).
39. There are several instances in which LDCs have paid
for the high cost of satellite data as well as the services
emanating from space applications. It is understood that
a country wanting satellite data and associated services,
which are indispensable for disaster management, has to
pay the cost. However, information support for disaster
management involves more than just data. In addition to
substantial value addition to the satellite data, several
interconnecting steps are typically required to generate
the variety of products and services in response to the
hierarchical needs of stakeholders. A comprehensive disaster
information system that allows access to various types of
information at many levels of detail and many points of
time is depicted in figure VI. This calls for substantial
capacity-building mechanisms before satellite data can be
converted into useful information products and services.
Figure IV. The cycle of value addition
to satellite data before it is converted into useful information
products and services
Source: GDIN, 1997. Harnessing Information
and Technology for Disaster Management. The Global
Disaster Information Network (GDIN), Disaster Information
Task Force Report. November 1997. United States Department
of Commerce.
4. Information
for action and decision-making: where the gap lies
40. Although better information on floods and drought has
the potential to yield tangible economic benefits, the gain
from better information depends not only on the quality
of information but also how it is put to use. For example,
a vulnerability assessment in the flood plains or perennially
drought-prone areas will have a greater potential to mitigate
future losses if the information is made available in a
way that encourages stakeholders to act on this. Regulatory
actions such as building codes or evacuation plans, insurance
coverage, relief and so forth by national, provincial or
local authorities may be needed to fully capture the cost
savings from the reduced uncertainty about vulnerability
and risks (Williamson et al., 2001). This is where the technological,
institutional and policy-related issues assume significance.
41. Building institutional capabilities in developing countries
is therefore a major issue. All the steps – such as
converting satellite data into useful information and services,
enabling stakeholders to use the services for making decisions,
positioning institutional mechanisms as part of a reliable
national disaster response facility and integrating national
endeavours with international systems – essentially
depend upon capacity-building. This is where the developing
countries, especially LDCs, need to be supported. Capacity-building,
a long-term investment towards creating a disaster-resilient
society, can be most significant when it harmonizes the
needs of stakeholders and employs the full capacity of national
information and communication resources, and space-based
systems and services.
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