EU research policy on information and communication technologies for disaster risk

reduction

Dr. Karen P. FABBRIICT for the Environment, DG INFSO

European Commission, BrusselsKaren.fabbri@cec.europa.eu

European Commission

• Largest of the EU institutions– Propose and implement EU policies

• Made up of «Directorate Generals»– Policy DG’s and Research DG’s– The EC supports EU R&D via its « Framework Programmes »:

• Every 5 years (now in FP6 ~ 17.5 Billion Є)• R&D in support of EU policies & EU R&D policy (ERA)

• DG INFSO – promoting European research in Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)– ICT for Environmental Risk Management

•Main EU instrument to fund Community research

•Implemented through specific programmes and work programmes, periodic calls for proposals, independent evaluation

Community Framework Programmes

Promoting EU Research

• International and multidisciplinary applied research consortia, encouraging high end-user involvement

• By (co)financing RTD projects: Integrated Projects, Network of Excellence, Specific Targeted Research Projects, Coordination Actions, Specific Support Actions, including conferences, workshops, publications, Marie Curie fellowships, ERA-NET, Article 169, etc.

• Via specific « Calls for proposals »– See RTD INFO magazine at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/rtdinfo/index_en.html

Response•Dispatching of resources•Emergency telecom•Situational awareness•Command control coordination•Information dissemination•Emergency healthcare

Disaster Management Cycle

Prevention and Mitigation•Hazard prediction and modeling•Risk assessment and mapping•Spatial Planning•Structural & non structural measures•Public Awareness & Education..

Preparedness •Scenarios development•Emergency Planning•Training

Alert•Real time monitoring & forecasting•Early warning•Secure &dependable telecom•Scenario identification• all media alarm

Post Disaster•Lessons learnt •Scenario update•Socio-economic and environmental impact assessment•Spatial (re)planning

Recovery•Early damage assessment•Re-establishing life-lines transport &communication infrastructure

Disaster Risk Reduction

Current Environmental Issues

• Wolrdwide we are witnessing:– Continuing environmental degradation– Environmental impacts on human health and quality of life,– Increase in disaster risk

• The problems to be addressed:– Environmental and risk management are not well organised disciplines– No clear methodology to handle inter-related risks and environmental

impacts – Many service providers do not understand operational needs– Unclear organizational responsibility for information generation– Incompatible information systems– The access to relevant data is not easy– The current offering is incomplete and technology push could be

beneficial

Disasters in the EU policy context

• European Research: Framework Programme for RTD

• EU SD Strategy & EU’s 6th Environmental Action Programme: Civil Protection Community Action Program, Water Framework Directive, Forest Focus, marine pollution, Seveso II Directive, etc…

• Development & humanitarian aid, solidarity & cohesion funds (DG REGIO), Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)

• Related international initiatives: GMES, INSPIRE, etc. GEO/GEOSS (EC in working groups & co-chair).

Disaster Reduction in the EU

DG ENV

DG REG

GMES

INSPIRE

GEO

GEOSS

UN ISDR

UN OCHA

DG INFSO

DG RTD

JRC

EEA

DG ENV

DG ENTR

ESA

DG ECHODG

RELEX

International context

EU Policy

context

EU RTD context

FP R&D

UN OCHA

UN ISDR

Disaster Research in the EC

DG Information Society & Media– ICT for the Environment (multi-risk ICT applications for

disaster reduction & emergency management)DG Research

- Global Change and Ecosystems (earthquakes, floods, forest fires, volcanoes, etc)

DG Enterprise– Aeronautics & Space – GMES (mostly in support of an

satellite Earth Observation capacity)– Preparatory Action for Security Research (PASR)

DG Joint Research Centre– Institute for Environment & Sustainability (ie: hazard

assessment, flood forecasting, fire index maps, ect.)– Institute for Protection & Security of the Citizen (ie: GDAS,

NEDIES, MAHB, ect.)

FP

FP

&

DF

Disaster Reduction Research

ICT FOR RISK MANAGEMENT

Information Society TechnologiesDG Information Society and Media

The IST Approach

• To contribute to the deployment of an eINFRASTRUCTURE for risk & emergency management in Europe

• To promote the development of cost-effective sustainable services– Technology integration – solution driven– Specific technological developments– Market & user needs driven

• Focus on generic solutions• Re-usable software components• Open source software• Interoperability, scalability

– Based on state-of-the-art scientific knowledge

• Criteria for R&D investment– will R&D open up new markets?– will the EU industry benefit?

ICT for Risk Management

Strategic Approach1:

• To cover the whole risk management cycle: Risk assessment, preparedness, early warning, alert, response, recovery, lessons learnt etc.

• To cover all environmental and industrial hazards, including systemic risks / cascading risks

• To focus on system architecture rather than specific applications thereby decreasing development & maintenance costs, whilst improving reliability, scalability and interoperability

ICT for risk management

Strategic Approach2:

• To support large scale pilot test with end-users

• To foster pre-standardisation activities as an integral part of research and technological development

• To promote “open source” as a mean to improve the uptake of research results

• To contribute to the relevant EU policies and actions: ie: INSPIRE, GMES, GEOSS

FP6 Ongoing Research Themes

• Risk information infrastructure and generic services• Emergency management and rescue operations• Humanitarian Demining• In-situ monitoring and smart sensor networks• RTD on public safety communication, alert systems and rapidly

deployable emergency telecommunications systems. • Specific support and coordination actions to achieve full

interoperability• Develop, validate and demonstrate a distributed tsunami early

warning and alert system, relevant to Europe & Indian Ocean.

ICT For Environment and Sustainable Growth

An Introduction to FP7

FP7 Structure & BudgetTrans-national cooperation: 32,365 m€• From collaborative projects and networks to the coordination of national programmes,• to gain leadership in key scientific and technology areas

Ideas: 7,460 m€To reinforce scientific excellence through funding best “frontier research” by competing, individual teams

People: 4,728 m€To strengthen the career prospects,training and mobility of our researchers

Capacities: 4,217 m€Large-scale infrastructures, regional cooperation and innovating SMEs

Joint Research Centre : 1,751 m€ (non-nuclear direct actions)

Tota

l EC

: 5

0.5

21

m€

m€

(2007-2013)

The RTD Priorities of FP7

Security4%Space

4%

information society technologies

28%

Socio-economic Sciences

2%

Health19%

Food, Agriculture, Biotechnology

6%

Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies

11%

Energy7%

Transport - Aeronautics

13%

Environment -Climate change

6%9,1 b€

Total: 32,365 b€“Cooperation”

ICT in FP7

Overarching vision: “To enable Europe to master and shape the future developments of ICT so that the demands of its society and economy are met”

– Competitive position of European ICT sector– ICT support to EU policies & EU Lisbon Strategy

•« Striking the right balance »:

– Reinforce leadership and open new fields– Mainstream ICT and push the limits of technology– Basic and applied research

ICT meeting Societal Challenges

• Application Research: ICT meeting societal challenges

« To ensure that all Europeans can reap the maximum benefit from ICT products and services of public interest … to strenghten the innovation role of public sector services, improving their efficiency and effectiveness. »• for health• for governments• for inclusion• for mobility• for the Environment and

Sustainable Growth

ICT for Env & Sust Growth

•ICT is needed to implement sustainable development…– Tools for implementing and assessing environmental

policies:– Climate change– Nature & biodiversity– Environment, health and quality of life– Natural resources and waste

– Tools for modern environmental administrations and civil protection agencies in Europe

– Tools for informing the citizens on the state of the environment

•… while maximising competitiveness– Better management of industrial processes– Reduction of environmental costs linked to

production– Compliance with environmental regulations at lowest

costs

6th Environment

Action Programme (2001-2010)

Specific Vision• ICT for Environmental and Sustainable Growth: Towards a safer and

healthier environment for all for: – ensuring environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and

quality of life– reducing environmental risks and their impact on human health,

mitigating natural and industrial disasters– Improving the sustainable use and management of natural

resources, including energy efficiency and production through intelligent and secure ICT infrastructures.

• There is a need to develop shared information infrastructures for environmental management which will promote best practices and standards for data, model and systems integration, interoperability and exchange, monitoring and decision making in strategic planning and emergency situations.

FP7 Specific Programme

Cooperation Theme 3: ICT – Application Research:

ICT meeting societal challenges :

European citizens to reap maximum benefit from innovative, ICT-based public sector services

“in support of the environment: risk and emergency management; smart sensor networks to improve hazard forecasting, natural resources management including systems for reduction of pollutants; increasing energy efficiency; managing human response to environmental stresses and to sustain biodiversity; alert systems and timely and reliable public safety communication; assistive technologies and support systems for operation under harsh, hazardous or risky conditions; eco- efficient and sustainable production of ICT: advanced data and information management for environmental monitoring and risk assessment, contributing to INSPIRE; GMES and GEOSS.”

Show Case

Selected EU Projects related to ICT for Disaster Reduction

Post Disaster•Lessons learnt •Scenario update•Socio-economic and environmental impact assessment•Spatial re-planning Response

•Emergency telecommunication•Command control coordination•Situational awareness•Dispatching of resources…•Communication to the citizens

The risk management cycle

Prevention and Mitigation•Hazard prediction and modeling•Risk assessment and mapping•Systemic risks•Regional/city Planning•E-Learning ..

Preparedness •Scenarios development•Emergency Planning maps•Training

Recovery•Early damage assessment•transport &communication infrastructure

Alert•Real time monitoring & forecasting•Early warning•Scenario identification•all media alarm• DSS • Secure &dependable telecom

ORCHESTRA

WIN

OASIS

MITRA

OSIRIS

CHORIST

U2010

NARTUS

PREVIEW Widens Europcom Wisecom

DEWS

DEWS

Distant Early Warning System FP6 project: 18 partners, coord. Saab (SE) – not yet started, duration 3 years

Objective: to improve existing tsunami early warning and alert capacities (Indian Ocean) by: • reducing the time from detection and assessment to taking action, • enhancing the technical capacity for monitoring, • improving cooperation across national borders and between competent authorities, • furthering the capacity to provide more efficient and earlier warnings to the public at risk.• DEWS will supplement the 5 year GITEWS project (by GFZ & financed by the German Gov. for 45 M€), which will install sensors in the Indian Ocean Region creating a regional seismological evaluation centre.

Simulator

Simulator

Simulator

DEWS

Eartquake zonePressure sensor

Wave sensorTidal gauge Seismic sensor

GPS satelliteCommunications satellite

Simulator

Simulator

Simulator

DEWS

Eartquake zonePressure sensor

Wave sensorTidal gauge Seismic sensor

GPS satelliteCommunications satellite

DEWS Components

• DEWS will develop an innovative platform and services between GDACS and GITEWS centres; and also the competent authorities and the public.

• DEWS components to be developed– integrators for sensors and sensor

networks– Information logistics and dissemination

modules– an early warning and warning

distribution system – integrators for systems for local warning

of the public – information and decision support

products– a service bus.

• Three testbeds will be carried out using simulated inputs for the technology transfer and integrated testing of the platform.

Distant Early Warning System (DEWS)

GITEWS Centre

EQ Centra

Call Centre (112)

DEWS Centre Tsunami and other hazards

Warning Dispatching

C&C

Public

Other

Alarm

Alarm

Tsunami Alarm

DATA Buoys

GPS acc.meters

Authorities

Public radio RDS /TV

Teleoperators SMS

Local Warning system

Distant Early Warning System (DEWS)

GITEWS Centre

EQ Centra

Call Centre (112)

DEWS Centre Tsunami and other hazards

Warning Dispatching

C&C

Warning Dispatching

C&C

Public

Other

Alarm

Alarm

Tsunami Alarm

DATA Buoys

GPS acc.meters

Authorities

Public radio RDS /TV

Teleoperators SMS

Local Warning system

An Advisory Committee with participation from the member states and targeted countries will be established to ensure relevance of the project and transferability of results to other tsunami-prone areas.

DEWS Consortium• Saab Ab (publ), Sweden.• GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam,

Germany.• Atos Origin SA., Spain.• DATAMAT S.p.A., Italy.• Geological and Nuclear Sciences, New

Zealand.• Geological Survey & Mines Bureau, Sri

Lanka• Helsinki University of Technology

Communications Laboratory, Finland.• Seismological Bureau Thai

Meteorological Dept, Thailand.• Citizen Alert Services BV, Netherlands.• National Research Institute for Earth

Science and Disaster Prevention, Independent Administrative Institution , Japan.

• Swedish Rescue Services Agency, Sweden.

• Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Thailand.

• United Nations Environment Programme, France.

• National Disaster Warning Center International Affairs, Thailand.

• National Coordinating Council for Disaster Management, Indonesia.

• Meteorological and Geophysical Agency BANA, Indonesia.

• Engineering Ingegneria Informatica S.p.A., Italy.

• Ministry of Disaster Management & Human Rights and Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka.

Prestige, Spain 2002Prestige, Spain 2002

WIN

Prestige

, Spain

2002

Prestige

, Spain

2002

Wide Area Network

FP6 project: 15 partners, coord. Alcatel Space (FR) – ongoing until Aug. 2007

Objective:To integrate existing reference results and initiatives to contribute to the design, development, & validation of a European risk management information infrastructure.

‘info-structure’ will be a major element of the future European Spatial Data Infrastructure (ESDI) & represents an important step in operational risk management in Europe

url: http://www.win-eu.org

ORCHESTRAOpen Architecture & Spatial Data

Infrastructure for Risk Management

FP6 project: 14 partners, coord. ATOS (ES) – ongoing until Aug. 2007

Objective: to design & implement an open service oriented software architecture to improve the interoperability among actors involved in Multi-Risk Management, by:

• Designing an open service-oriented architecture

• Developing software infrastructure for enabling risk management services

• Developing useful services for different thematic applications (forest fires, floods, etc.);

• Setting software standards for risk management applications.

url: www.eu-orchestra.org

OASIS

Open Advanced System for Crisis Management

FP6 project: 13 partners, coord. EADS (FR) –ongoing until Aug 2008

Objective: to define & develop an IT framework based on an open and flexible architecture to serve as the basis of a EU Disaster & Emergency Management system to:

• facilitate cooperation between info systems used by civil protection organisations, in a local, regional, national or international environment.

• support the response operations in the case of large scale as well as local emergencies.

url: http://www.oasis-fp6.org

• IST “ICT for the Environment” website:http://europa.eu.int/information_society or www.cordis.lu/ist/Mailbox: INFSO-G5@cec.eu.int

• IST Results: http://istresults.cordis.lu/

• Future EU research (FP7):http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/future/index_en.html

• Information on EU environment research: http://www.cordis.lu/sustdev/environment/

• GEOSS: http://earthobservations.org • GMES: http://www.gmes.info• INSPIRE: http://www.ec-gis.org/inspire/

• Experts welcome to help us evaluate project proposals:http://www.cordis.lu/experts/

For more Info

Thank you for your attention !