Earth observation tools and services to increase the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance

Abstract

Humanitarian action has rapidly adopted Earth observation (EO) and geospatial Technologies shaping them according to their needs. Protracted crises and large-scale population displacements require up-to-date information in many facets of humanitarian action support, from mission planning, resource deployment and monitoring, to nutrition and vaccination campaigns, camp plotting, damage assessment, etc. Even though nearly all assets of remote sensing apply in such demanding scenarios, it remains a challenge to fully implement and sustain a trustful and reliable information service. This paper discusses achievements and open issues in the use and uptake of EO technology, from a technical and organisational point of view, motivated by an information service for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and its Extension to other NGO’s information needs in the humanitarian sector. With a focus on EO-based population estimation based on (semi-)automated dwelling counting from very high-resolution optical satellite imagery as well as the exploitation of data integration (including Radar sensors), the paper also covers potential service elements with respect to environmental and ground- or surface water monitoring. It investigates workflow elements in relation to information extraction and delivery by illustrating a broad range of application scenarios, and discusses first operational solutions of a customized service portfolio.