International Charter of Major Disasters: Users training
The Charter is a worldwide collaboration among space agencies (currently 17) to make satellite data available for the benefit of disaster management authorities during the response phase of an emergency see (https://disasterscharter.org). The Charter is unique in being able to mobilize space agencies around the world and benefit from their expertise and satellites through a single access point that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at no cost to the user.
Successfully operating since November 2000, the Charter has brought space assets into action for many natural and technological disasters including floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, ice jams, and oil spills. Since its inception, the Charter has been activated in response to over 600 major disasters in more than 125 countries, including the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2008 cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the 2017 hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean and US, the 2018 earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia and the 2019 large flood in Mozambique and currently the wildfire in Australia.
The Charter can be activated by a predefined list of appointed users, known as‘Authorized Users’(AUs). AUs are able to request Charter support for emergencies in their own country, or in a country with which they cooperate for disaster relief. With the status of AU a user organization is granted the permanent privilege to submit direct requests to the International Charter so as to get satellite observations for emergency response in the specific context of a major disaster.
A registration process is available for national authorities to express interest in becoming Authorized Users of the Charter. In addition, procedures to activate the Charter in case of major disaster will be explained and tested with the new users. The training will be focused on how to activate the Charter and what a national authority could expect to receive from the Charter
Organizer: European Space Agency
Partner Organizations: European Space Agency, ESACentre national d’études spatiales, France, CNESCanadian Space Agency, CSAUS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAAComisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, Argentina, CONAEIndian Space Research Organization, ISROJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXAUnited States Geological Survey, USGSUK Space Agency, UKSA and Disaster Monitoring Constellation International Imaging Ltd., DMCiiChina National Space Administration, CNSAGerman Aerospace Center, DLRKorea Aerospace Research Institute, KARIInstituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Brazil, INPEEuropean Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, EUMETSATState Space Corporation, ROSCOSMOSBolivarian Agency for Space Activities, ABAEUnited Arabs Emirates Space Agency, UAESA and Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, MBRSC