By Roy Mabasa
A European Union (EU) delegation to Manila will introduce for the first time a cutting-edge satellite technology to the Philippines through the National Conference on Copernicus Systems and Applications on March 11 in Makati City.
According to the EU, the conference will bring together international, local scientists and experts who will present local and regional case studies that demonstrate the use of Copernicus.
The Copernicus Programme is a cornerstone of the EU’s efforts to monitor earth and its many ecosystems from integrated space and ground-based data.
The program’s amazing flexible technology is user-driven and provides six free-of-charge operational services in the areas of atmosphere monitoring, marine environment monitoring, land monitoring, climate change, emergency management and security. It can also be used by all interlocutors, namely the national, regional government institutions, international development partners and the private sector from all over the world.
Next week’s conference will be a platform for scientists, technologists, development workers and policy-makers and business people to discuss ways on how to maximize the use of the Copernicus Programme to address various challenges besetting the country.
Since the program became operational in 2014, the EU has invested approximately € 9.6 billion in Copernicus with an additional € 5.8 billion allocation proposed for 2021 – 2027.
To date, the program is already generating economic benefits two to three times higher than the original investment (excluding the non-monetary benefits such as environmental, societal and strategic).
“Copernicus presents huge opportunities as it provides information on our environment, it monitors and helps mitigate climate change impacts and improves security for citizens and communities faced with the threat of natural disasters. Copernicus also triggers investments in space technology and infrastructure and it encourages downstream industry, namely the people who develop innovative applications and services thus helping creating growth and jobs", said EU Ambassador Franz Jessen.
The Copernicus system uses satellites for monitoring earth, and is able to provide high-resolution imagery daily generating precise information with immense potential to be utilized in multiple fields.
Accordingly, data provided by the Copernicus system helps in handling some challenging issues many countries face such as food security, deforestation, climate change, pollution and natural disasters.
The high-resolution data provided by Copernicus is also used by innovative businesses to develop satellite-enabled products and services.