The International Charter "Space and Major Disasters" is a non-binding
charter which provides for the
charitable and
humanitarian acquisition and transmission of
satellite data to relief organizations in the event of major disasters. Initiated by the
European Space Agency and the French space agency
CNES after the
UNISPACE III conference held in
Vienna, Austria, in July 1999, it officially came into operation on November 1, 2000, after the
Canadian Space Agency signed onto the charter on October 20, 2000. Their space assets were then, respectively,
ERS and
ENVISAT,
SPOT and
Formosat, and
RADARSAT.
The assorted satellite assets of various corporate, national, and international
space agencies and entities provide for humanitarian coverage which is wide albeit contingent. First activated for landslide in Slovenia in November 2000,[1] the Charter has since brought space assets into play for numerous floods, earthquakes, oil spills, forest fires, tsunamis, major snowfalls, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and landslides,[2][3] and furthermore (and unusually) for the search for
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370[4] and for the
2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak.[5] As of 2015, fifteen space agencies are signatories; dozens of satellites are available with
image resolutions ranging from 8 kilometres (5 mi) per pixel to about 0.3 metres (1 ft) per pixel.[6] As of August 2018, it had had 579 activations, from 125 countries, and had 17 members, which contributed 34 satellites.[7] It won the prestigious
William T. Pecora Award in 2017.[8]
Successive signatories and satellite assets
United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (
NOAA) — (
POES), (
GOES) and Indian Space Research Organization (
ISRO) (September 2001)[9] — (the Indian Remote Sensing satellite series)
Argentine Space Agency (
CONAE) (July 2003)[9] — (
SAC-C)
February 2005 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (
JAXA)[9] — (
ALOS)
22 February 2011: Both COGIC (French Civil Protection)[18] and
U.S. Geological Survey requested the activation of the Charter on the behalf of
MCDEM New Zealand, thus readily providing satellite imagery for aid and rescue services following the
2011 Christchurch earthquake.[19]
12 March 2011: Japan, through its space agency
JAXA, requested the activation of the Charter to help in managing the aftermath of
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[20]
8 November 2013: The Charter was activated by Philippine authorities as super-typhoon
Haiyan made landfall.[21]
11 March 2014: The Charter was activated by Chinese authorities to aid in the search for
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 which disappeared on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.[4][22] As of 2023, the aircraft was still lost.
13 August 2016: The Charter was activated by the U.S. Geological Survey in response to the
2016 Louisiana floods.[26]
24 August 2017: The Charter was activated by the U.S. Geological Survey for
Hurricane Harvey.[27]
5 September 2017: The Charter was activated by the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias in the
Dominican Republic for
Hurricane Irma;[28] Haiti and the United States followed suit shortly thereafter.[29][30]
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abcInternational Charter on Space and Major Disasters // International Symposium on Remote Sensing Applications to Natural Hazards, Washington, D.C. 12 September 2007, Barbara J. Ryan (Associate Director for Geography, U. S. Geological Survey)