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(L-R) Mr. Peteris Ustubs,
Director General for Middle East, Asia and Pacific, Renato Solidum, Jr.,
Secretary – Department of Science and Technology (DOST), EU H.E. Amb. Luc
Véron, Dr. Benjamin Koetz, Head of Sustainable Initiatives Office – European
Space Agency (ESA), Dr. Joel Joseph Marciano, Director General – Philippine
Space Agency (PhilSA).
(Manila, 25 April 2023) The first in Asia, Copernicus, Philippines
and European Union unify forces to better respond to natural disasters and
climate change Manila. Officials from the Philippine Space Agency, the
Department of Science and Technology and the European Union launched on April 24
the Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines (CopPhil)
worth approximately Php 610 million or €10 million.
The first space cooperation programme in
the region, as new initiative will help Philippine authorities develop national
systems to make use of EU’s earth observation’s satellites data in the
country’s disaster mitigation, climate change adaptation and food security
strategies. The EU's earth observation flagship programme, Copernicus provides
free environment and climate data derived from a constellation of satellites
–the Sentinels- which monitor the earth and its many ecosystems 24-hours daily.
This free information aims to help
public authorities, businesses, and international organisations mitigate
climate change impacts and build a sustainable future for all. In the
Philippines, Copernicus’ satellite images have already helped authorities
monitor the situation of remote communities in the aftermath of typhoons such
as Odette or accidents like an oil spill to help authorities plan their
disaster preparedness plans and mitigation programmes.
The launch of CopPhil featured a line-up
of high level national and international speakers from the Philippine
Government, academia, industry, and space agencies, as well as representatives
from the European public sector and space agencies from Austria, Italy, Greece,
Spain, Germany, France and Romania, and from the European Space Agency. During
the launch, Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum welcomed Copernicus
and the Copernicus programme in the Philippines as “a long-awaited cooperation
on an innovative system that will provide the Philippines new opportunities to
develop earth observation applications for disaster risk reduction and
management, environmental protection, and climate change adaptation".
Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA)
Director General Joel Marciano Jr. said that “the Agency welcomes this
partnership with the European Union as it strengthens the domestic space value
chain, particularly the ability to process and use satellite images and
spaceborne data to better manage, and protect our environment and natural
resources, and be better prepared in the face of disasters and climate change”.
The open data from
Copernicus, he said, has also enabled access to crucial data such as volcanic
emission monitoring, mapping of canopy heights, crops, among others.
H. E. Luc Véron, European Union
Ambassador to the Philippines, said that “the Copernicus programme for the
Philippines is a pioneer initiative in Asia and Asia Pacific and a starting
point for a larger programme on Digital Connectivity. The programme will
enhance capacities for a stronger and more shock-resilient Filipino economy and
society”.
“In the long term the European Union is
exploring the possibility to create a network of Copernicus partners in the
ASEAN region aside from other parts of the world. The uptake of innovative
technologies such as Copernicus will trigger growth, jobs and modernisation of
digital infrastructures that can be used in many sectors in the Philippines”,
Ambassador Véron said.
Background
The launch of CopPH was supported by the
European Commission's Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument
(TAIEX). The Instrument promotes peer-to-peer interactions and technical
exchanges between EU Member States’ public administrations and those in partner
countries.
Copernicus is a European Union Programme
aimed at developing European information services based on satellite Earth
Observation and in-situ (non-space) data.
The Programme is coordinated and is
managed by the European Commission. It is implemented in partnership with the European
Union Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation
for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European
Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator
Océan.
The Copernicus Services deliver
near-real-time data on a global level which can also be used for local and
regional needs, to help us better understand our planet and sustainably manage
the environment we live in. Copernicus data support countries worldwide in their
efforts to comply with the targets set in the Paris Agreement’s Nationally
Determined Contributions.
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