- November 7, 2007
- Posted by: EARSC
- Category: EARSC News
Bulgaria is highly exposed to natural and man-made hazards, as evidenced by repeated flooding and pollution in the Danube river basin, earthquakes, fires, and pollution in the Black Sea.
As Europe is working to organize the security and defence of its populations and monitor the environment through the GMES programme, the increasingly frequent disasters that Bulgaria is experiencing, and their human and economic costs, are motivating a concerted drive within the country to improve hazard management. Government decisions, legislation, Bulgaria’s international presence and the allocation of funding to support crisis management and reconstruction are all part of this effort.
BULGARISK project main objectives
* Compile a status report and analyse geoinformation needs for managing hazards in Bulgaria, before, during and after the event.
* Show decision-makers and stakeholders the value of satellite data as a source of information on natural disasters and as a hazard management tool, providing a panorama of the state of the art and compiling 3 prototype databases on 3 pilot regions for 3 types of hazard (floods, forest fires and pollution).
* Draw up a list of recommendations for setting up a hazard management information centre in Bulgaria and for integrating satellite imagery and NCITs in the compilation of national hazard management databases (database content, human and material resources required to build and maintain them).
The BULGARISK project will run for 12 months.
Spot Image is leading the BULGARISK project, with support from the French ministry of the economy, finance and industry
Besides coordinating BULGARISK partners and overseeing the project, Spot Image’s chief missions are to supply SPOT, FORMOSAT-2, Envisat and KOMPSAT-2 imagery and to provide expertise, i.e.:
* review user requirements
* organize training in the use of satellite imagery for natural hazard management
* promote and communicate project results among the user community
Project partners
SERTIT (Regional Service of Image treatment and remote sensing): technical coordinator, DDSC (Direction of Defence and Civil Security), Infoterra, Boost Technologie and ReSAC (Remote Sensing Application Center).
Source: SPOT IMAGE
