Eurisy at the 5th IAF International Space Forum at Ministerial Level

The Central America and Caribbean Chapter, Panama, 6^th March 2023

As a member of the IAF Bureau, the Eurisy President, Ms Dominique Tilmans, contributed to the 5th IAF International Space Forum at Ministerial Level, this year focusing on the Central America and Caribbean region, on the issue of “Space Science and Technology for improving regional opportunities and better facing local challenges”.

The Forum was addressed to Ministers and Authorities in charge of space activities, research, science, technology, and education. Discussions focused on the topics of emergency management, water monitoring, blue economy, and food safety.

Eurisy wished to highlight the crucial role that satellite applications can have in case of emergencies. Indeed, last month the Eurisy team performed some street interviews, asking people which applications of satellite data and signals they could think of. The management of emergencies was the least mentioned application.

Nevertheless, satellites can be precious allies in case of emergency or natural disasters.

First, Ms Tilmans mentioned the opportunities offered by the Advanced Mobile Location – a tool that Eurisy has been promoting in past years together with EENA (the European Emergency Number Association) and that relies on satellite signals to help saving lives in case of emergencies, especially in remote locations.

Then, Ms Tilmans referred to the usefulness of Earth observation data to map land uses and land cover to be better prepared and better respond to natural disasters, as in the case of the Wallonia region that we showcased in one of our Copernicus&Me videos.

And finally, she talked about how satellite data can help public bodies to monitor emissions at sea, giving the example of the Netherlands Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate, which exploits satellite data to monitor vessels’ emissions along the coast.