Datasets:

ZkiZkiZki

/

UNPC_EN_ZH

like 0

National contingency plans can help to minimize the impact of sudden natural disasters, for example by the pre-positioning of emergency supplies and communications equipment, including satellite communications systems, at strategic locations such as government premises and hospitals in areas known to be at risk.

As the process of identifying needs and the subsequent funding and deployment of satellite communications systems can take months, such activity has to be started as soon as possible.

For slowly developing disasters, such as droughts or famines, a different telecommunications strategy is needed.

The impact of disasters on sustainable development has been shown to be very severe.

As telecommunications are one of the essential tools for disaster management, the national emergency or disaster management planners need to consider how best to use the available networks and systems during the research and monitoring phase, as well as for contact with established international aid agencies during the relief phase.

Preparedness planning for all disasters and emergencies involves national civil defence, emergency response organizations and various government departments.

The military is increasingly called on to contribute in this role.

The International Committee of the Red Cross and other health organizations also participate.

An increasing number of preparations are being conducted on a regional basis.

While the levels of technical ability and understanding of technology of local personnel are steadily increasing, the main problem is lack of funds.

This, however, can often be overcome by international cooperation or external funding.

Monitoring weather and climate has long been an invaluable tool in predicting and combating natural disasters.

Inmarsat satellite communications systems help in the gathering and dissemination of meteorological data.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), for example, has been using the Inmarsat-C data messaging service to send observation data from ships at sea via Inmarsat Land Earth Stations in Southbury and Goonhilly in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This global network of observatories using Inmarsat systems contributes to the prediction and monitoring of cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons and other variables affecting maritime weather.

Under the auspices of its Regional Centre for Training and Applications in Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology (AGRHYMET) programme, WMO has recently established a network of land-based monitoring stations in western Africa.

A regional centre is located in Niger.

Observation posts in nine countries, each of them equipped with an Inmarsat-A portable satellite communication system, report regularly on climate and soil conditions in real-time, complementing GIS and remote sensing data.

Such information enables better medium- and long-range planning of agriculture and forestry activities, and helps more effective mitigation in an area covering millions of square kilometres.

UNEP is another Inmarsat user in Africa.

Inmarsat terminals coupled with appropriate sensors provide supervisory control and data acquisition.

Such equipment can play a vital role in providing or improving the monitoring and early warning functions, even from the most remote areas.

The monitoring of geothermal and volcanic variables, tectonic-plate movement and pressure ridges helps to identify potential volcanic or earthquake activity.

The United Nations has also recognized the utility of Inmarsat portable satellite communications systems.

Its United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams, dispatched to a disaster site within hours, routinely carry messaging or phone/fax satcoms when assessing disasters.

Their timely reports help to mobilize experts, supplies and equipment during the crucial 24-72 hours after disaster strikes.

The media also uses Inmarsat systems to report on disasters, especially for the transmission of compressed and slow-scan videos, still pictures and direct, high-quality audio broadcasts.

The media play a big part in highlighting a country ' s plight, which can help to expedite external assistance.

However, it is not only the media who need accurate and timely information.

During the acute phase of an emergency, speedy and accurate transmission of all relevant information is a major requirement for effective work by disaster relief organizations.

Lists and reports can be compiled quickly and transmitted via mobile satellite communications systems to disaster relief coordinators and other agencies using existing software programs for the management of personnel and supplies.

Immediately following a disaster, field workers in their vehicles or trucks carrying relief supplies often become immobilized due to local conditions.

Therefore, regular communications and position reporting is highly desirable.

Using Inmarsat mobile satellite communications systems and GPS, operations control is able to monitor the progress and location of all equipped vehicles, as well as send messages to them, regardless of the state of the local infrastructure, weather conditions and other impediments.

The introduction by INTELSAT of the new demand assignment multiple access (DAMA) service, especially for thin-route communications, will enhance connectivity in devastated areas. It will make digital satellite public switched services available to more users, especially in rural and remote areas.

DAMA is a flexible, pay-as-you-use service, offering improved connectivity at a low cost, while providing a complete digital solution for thin-route operators.

INTELSAT plans to introduce thin-route DAMA in April 1996 on a global transponder on the INTELSAT 605 at 24.5o east covering its Atlantic Ocean region.

This means that all gateway stations equipped with DAMA will be able to communicate with each other.

Implementation of DAMA service in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions is expected shortly thereafter.

DAMA will benefit all users of the system, particularly those in developing countries.

INTELSAT expects DAMA to be of great benefit in re-establishing communications after natural disasters.

By bringing in fly-away transportable antennas, it will be possible to instantaneously re-establish contact with the rest of the world on the DAMA network.

In 1959, when Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) was created to provide technical information and assistance to individuals and groups in developing countries, the first inquiries came from Africa.

Africa is still the principal user of the VITA Inquire Service.

VITA also supplies information on natural disasters and human-made crises such as civil strife and refugee movements.

In 1987, VITA established its Disaster Information Center.

One of the services provided by the Center is a telephone hotline.

When called on by the Government of the United States of America for assistance in responding to a disaster, within one day VITA activates its telephone bank, selects and trains volunteers, and begins to record offers and donations of medicine and other commodities.

The VITA hotline has provided information on civil strife, floods, cyclones, food shortages, earthquakes, droughts and rains in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Southern Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire.

VITA has identified that one of the major needs for development is reliable communications and that the principal global telecommunications operators have little interest in providing service in most developing countries.

Therefore, VITA has developed its own communications programmes, which includes LEO satellites (VITASAT), terrestrial digital radio networks (VITAPAC) and electronic mail services (VITANET).

The VITA electronic bulletin board, VITANET, is a multi-line, commercial grade system that allows for on-line database searching, access to training materials, computer conferences, on-line surveys and file transfer utilities, all of which are enormously useful during a disaster and for disaster preparedness activities.

VITANET software interfaces will make it possible to link the VITA satellite system and packet radio networks, so that fully-automated end-to-end communications are possible.

In September 1994, VITA installed its own direct Internet host.

To date, the disaster ListServ has 129 subscribers who have received approximately 20,000 documents.

In addition, more than 12,000 documents were picked up through the its gopher.

The VITASAT global electronic messaging network is a satellite-based communications system for commercial, government and non-profit users worldwide.

It utilizes LEO store-and-forward satellites in polar orbit.

This system will provide large message and file transfers over 9.6 kilobits per second (kbps) links and offers two basic services: e-mail/fax transmission, and supervisory control and data acquisition.

Local people need to be made aware of the situation and local relief agencies, such as fire or ambulance services, need to be alerted.

If help is organized by international relief agencies, this should also be known to the local population.

There are various methods for broadcasting information to the area affected by a disaster.

It is possible, for example, to receive information directly from a satellite or for messages to be passed via cellular networks.

However, the equipment to receive such information is normally only available to relatively prosperous sections of the community and as a result the coverage would be somewhat uneven.

The most commonly available receiving equipment is the transistor radio.

It has been estimated that there are over two billion radios in use, with nearly half of those being in the developing countries.

A system that could address a large proportion of these radios seems to have the best chance of achieving a high penetration.

Broadcasting directly to these receivers must be done by terrestrial means.

This can most conveniently and economically be achieved by use of the FM/VHF bands of frequencies, for which most transistor radios are already equipped.

Distribution of the signal to the area concerned is most conveniently carried out by satellite.

Existing satellite capacity is available and can be leased for this purpose.

The receiving equipment for the satellite signal can be a relatively simple receive-only Earth station with a 2.4 m antenna and a 64 kbps link.

WMO already uses such a system and it can easily be extended for disaster applications.

The information received by the station can be disseminated directly to the local population through transistor radios or directed to the local emergency services, as appropriate.

Each receiver/transmitter combination has a coverage area of 40 kms in diameter in flat terrain.

D. Use of data from remote sensing satellites

Remote sensing has become an important source of geographic information on current land cover and land use needed for rational development and sustainable management of agricultural and forestry resources and for environmental protection.

It is therefore increasingly used by FAO in its programmes and field projects being conducted on the basis of the recommendations contained in Agenda 21.1 However, until now, remote sensing has been largely technology-driven.

Users have to compromise to fit their information requirements to the parameters of available remote sensing data.

Furthermore, the countries that have the most pressing need for remote sensing do not have the resources to build the necessary capacities for its efficient use.

The increasing volumes of image data that are generated or the number of image products that are sold should not be used as a measure to gauge the success of satellite remote sensing.

The ultimate criterion of its success will be the extent to which remote sensing will have contributed to the quality of life on Earth.

Greater international effort should made to apply new remote sensing and GIS capacities where they are needed most: for monitoring environmental degradation and for implementing programmes for the sustainable management of natural resources in order to safeguard them for future generations.

Particular attention should be given to the needs of developing countries and to strengthening their national remote sensing and GIS capacities.

The Regional Remote Sensing Project (RRSP) of FAO is a component of the Early Warning System for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

Output from this project is fed into the combined physical and socio-economic data used by the Regional Early Warning Unit (REWU) and the Household Food Security Project.

The main objective of the present phase of the project is to strengthen national and regional capabilities in the area of remote sensing for early warning and food security by the establishment of an operational information system.

As such, RRSP is developing national capacities for the analysis and interpretation of coarse-resolution satellite imagery and for the subsequent generation of information products.

At present, satellite data processed by the project and the resulting information products are sent to the contact points and a number of users in the SADC region using mail courier services.

The current phase of the project will see specific attention being given to the transfer of the processing technology to the principal contact points in the countries.

To support this, e-mail links are being established between RRSP, REWU and meteorological services in the SADC countries.

Finally, the project will establish a low-cost integrated satellite data acquisition system for NOAA and METEOSAT data in Harare.

Geologists, engineers, industrialists and planners are now more frequently using remote sensing in the evaluation of hazard situations.

In hazard prevention studies, the interpretation of satellite data together with the analysis of geological records make it possible to reconstruct a historical overview of the occurrence of damaging events.

This information can be used statistically to make a prognosis of potential risk in the occurrence of a catastrophe or for the production of thematic maps that show the spatial context in which hazards occur.

Remote sensing is not only used in preventive studies, but also in the monitoring of dynamic geological processes such as terrain deformation, neotectonic activities and flooding.

Recently, a new technique using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data, called radar interferometry, has been introduced in the analysis of vertical displacement associated with fault movements.

On 17 July 1991, ESA launched the first European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1), a polar orbiting satellite that constituted a major development in remote sensing applications by providing new tools for assisting in natural disasters monitoring and relief.

ERS-2 was launched on 21 April 1995 in order to ensure continuity of data acquisition.

However, since ERS-1 is still fully operational, the two satellites are operated by ESA in a tandem mode that provides a unique opportunity for several applications.