To mark the Disaster Risk Reduction Day, on 11 October the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) annual conference took place.
The conference showed how early-warning and monitoring data can support a wide range of policies. This data includes information on droughts, wildfires and/or floods, along with emergency maps that detail the near real-time impact of those extreme events and others like earthquakes, cyclones, oil spills or landslides. Other data also shows the distribution of people and urban areas and plays a key role in the monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service is implemented by the Joint Research Centre under the Copernicus Space Program. Main users of CEMS data include the EU's Response and Coordination Centre, Member States and Participating States of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, and other research organisations or enterprises who repurpose CEMS free and open data for different purposes and scales.
Also this year the conference attendees could join hands-on workshops to learn how to access and use data - on droughts, wildfires, floods, emergency mapping, population exposure - from CEMS.
- During the morning, disaster risk management experts shared how data from Copernicus Emergency has been used to anticipate and respond to recent emergencies, such as the floods in Central Europe.
- In the afternoon, speakers showed how they are repurposing and enhancing Copernicus Emergency data to improve disaster risk management. Breakout rooms, each focused on a specific emergency, featured facilitators demonstrating how to use Copernicus dashboards to extract personalised data tailored to individual needs.
- crisis management | natural disaster | disaster risk reduction | wildfire | drought | flood | population dynamics | emergency response
- Friday 11 October 2024, 09:15 - 16:30 (CEST)
- Online only
- Live streaming available
Files
Programme
- 11 Oct 2024, 09:15 - 09:30 (CEST)Welcome notes from the JRC, DG DEFIS and DG ECHO
- 09.15 - 09.20 Salla SAASTAMOINEN, Deputy Director-General at the Jonit Research Centre
- 09.20 - 09.25 Michela MATUELLA, Director Emergency Response Coordination Centre, DG ECHO
- 09.25 - 09.30 Christoph KAUTZ, Director for Satellite Navigation and Earth Observation, DG DEFIS
- 09:30 - 10:10 (CEST)Preparing for and responding to emergencies in Europe with the help of on-demand maps and disaster warnings [Panel discussion]
- Gaspar MOLNAR (moderator), Communication officer at DG ECHO
- Antonella MORGILLO, Italian Civil Protection
- Olimpia IMPERIALI, Deputy Team Leader for Contingency Planning, Analysis and Situational Awareness (ECHO)
- Peter SALAMON, Team Leader at the Global and EU Flood Awareness Systems of Copernicus Emergency (JRC)
- Simone DALMASSO, Team Leader of the On-Demand Mapping at Copernicus Emergency (JRC)
- 10:10 - 10:25 (CEST)Insights from the EU 2023 Forest Fires Report and a preliminary look at the 2024 wildfire season [Keynote]
- Jesus SAN-MIGUEL, Team Leader at EU Forest Fires Information System of Copernicus Emergency (JRC)
- 10:25 - 11:05 (CEST)Building water resilience in the EU: using early-warning data for drought monitoring to guide policy developments [Panel discussion]
- Andrea TORETI (moderator), Team leader at the Global and EU Drought Observatories of Copernicus Emergency (JRC)
- Andreja SUSNIK, Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO)
- Elena XOPLAKI, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen
- Pascal YIOU, Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Science
- Robert STEFANSKI, World Meterological Organization (WMO)
- 11:05 - 11:15 (CEST)Break
- 11:15 - 11:55 (CEST)Tracking human presence and urbanised areas to reduce vulnerability and support climate change adaptation in EU cities [Panel discussion]
- Thomas KEMPER (moderator), GHSL & Copernicus Emergency (JRC)
- Claudia BARANZELLI, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Joachim MAES, DG Regional and Urban Development
- Luca ARBAU, ICLEI Europe | Covenant of Mayors - Europe
- 11:55 - 12:10 (CEST)How new developments in science and AI are helping the EU with better weather forecasts [Keynote]
- Peter DUEBEN, Head of the Earth System Modelling Section at ECMWF
- 12:10 - 12:25 (CEST)Recent developments and the upcoming innovations for Copernicus Emergency [Keynote]
- Peter SALAMON, Coordinator of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service at the JRC
- 12:25 - 14:00 (CEST)Lunch break
- 14:05 - 14:20 (CEST)How can the SEED-FD project support Copernicus' evolution? [Keynote]
- Vanessa PEDINOTTI is an R&D engineer at Magellium-Artal. She will present the Strengthening Extreme Events Detection for Floods and Droughts (SEED-FD) project.
- 14:20 - 14:35 (CEST)How can the CENTAUR project support Copernicus' evolution? [Keynote]
- Simone RICCARDI is a remote sensing engineer at e-GEOS. He will present CENTAUR: Copernicus ENhanced Tools for Anticipative response to climate change in the emergency and secURity domain.
- 14:35 - 14:45 (CEST)The OVERWATCH project: supporting emergencies and crisis management for wildfires and floods [Keynote]
- Davide LISI works at Ithaca Srl and he will present the OVERWATCH project.
- 14:45 - 15:30 (CEST)Wildfires, drought, floods, population/urbanisation and emergency maps [Workshops, Round 1]
The workshops will run twice so participants can pick their 2 preferred topics. All the sessions be exactly the same except for wildfires: the first round will be facilitated by JRC scientists and show how to use the EU Forest Fires Information System. The second round will be facilitated by the wildfires focal point at the EU Emergency Response and Coordenation Centre (ERCC).
- Keeping a watchful eye on forest fires - with Alfredo Branco and Duarte Oom
- From river flows to flood maps with Copernicus Emergency data - with Peter Salamon and Stefania Grimaldi
- Drought data analysis and the importance of time - with Diego Magni, Davide Bavera, Alfred De Jager and Arthur Hrast-Essenfelder
- Understanding and navigating geospatial maps in response to a disaster - with Guido Di Carlo, Paolo Pasquali and Pietro Ceccato
- From space to the streets: mapping human presence on Earth - with Michele Melchiorri and Thomas Kemper
- 15:30 - 16:15 (CEST)Wildfires, drought, floods, population/urbanisation and emergency maps [Workshops, Round 2]
The workshops will run twice so participants can pick their 2 preferred topics. All the sessions be exactly the same except for wildfires: the first round will be facilitated by JRC scientists and show how to use the EU Forest Fires Information System. The second round will be facilitated by the wildfires focal point at the EU Emergency Response and Coordenation Centre (ERCC).
- How the EU Response and Coordination Centre uses Copernicus Emergency data - with Hector Alfaro Fernandez, Alfredo Branco and Duarte Oom
- From river flows to flood maps with Copernicus Emergency data - with Peter Salamon and Stefania Grimaldi
- Drought data analysis and the importance of time - with Diego Magni and Davide Bavera, Alfred De Jager and Arthur Hrast-Essenfelder
- Understanding and navigating geospatial maps in response to a disaster - with Guido Di Carlo, Paolo Pasquali and Pietro Ceccato
- From space to the streets: mapping human presence on Earth - with Michele Melchiorri and Thomas Kemper
- 16:15 - 16:30 (CEST)Closing notes
- Tom DE GROEVE, Head of Unit at the Disaster Risk Management unit (JRC)
Practical information
- When
- Friday 11 October 2024, 09:15 - 16:30 (CEST)
- Where
- Online only
- Who should attend
- Policy officers, media, researchers, practitioners, general public
- Languages
- English
- Organisers
- Joint Research Centre | Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) | Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space | Copernicus EU
Description
The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) annual conference aimed at discovering how CEMS can help raise awareness of natural hazards, contribute to disaster risk strategies or help strengthen policy.
During the morning session, we showed how CEMS has been collaborating with European Commission Directorates-General, Member and Participating States, and the international community, by delivering early-warning and monitoring insights on floods, wildfires and droughts.
Attendees discovered how detailed, high-resolution emergency maps are helping to assess risks, prepare and react to disasters like earthquakes, cyclones and landslides; also how CEMS systems help identify hazard-vulnerable populations and support resilient urban planning.
In the afternoon, they joined hands-on workshops and learn how to source, personalise and use CEMS data.
Background
- The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) is part of Copernicus, the European Union's Earth observation programme
- CEMS watches over Europe and the rest of the world to detect (signs of) disasters by using and modelling satellite information and ground observations
- Scientists working at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre are responsible for implementing CEMS
Contacts
General contact
- Organisation
- Copernicus Emergency Management Service
- EU-COPERNICUS-EMERGENCYec [dot] europa [dot] eu