The European Commission and the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) have signed an administrative agreement to develop and promote Earth observation cooperation.
The agreement will facilitate the reciprocal exchange of satellite data and will encourage its use and application in addressing societal challenges of mutual interest, such as long-term natural resource management, monitoring of marine and coastal areas, water resource management, mitigating the effects of climate change, disaster risk reduction, food security, rural development, and public health.
Under this agreement, PhilSA will establish a data hub to deliver Copernicus Sentinel data and information throughout the region, as well as to support Copernicus trial initiatives. The agreement will serve as the foundation for the execution of a Copernicus capacity-building plan for the Philippines, which will be sponsored by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA).
According to PhilSA Director General Dr Joel Joseph Marciano, Jr, the data access agreement settled with the European Commission promotes the generation of value-added information as well as the development of new data products and downstream services from Copernicus Earth observation satellites.
The agreement also makes it easier to set up the Copernicus Mirror Site in the country as part of the Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines (CopPhil), which focuses on data on a national and regional scale.
This collaboration agreement is part of Copernicus’ global outreach strategy, which aims to encourage the use of Copernicus data and services in addressing societal concerns around the world through collaboration agreements with partner countries.
Copernicus is a European Union programme that aims to provide European information services based on satellite Earth Observation and in-situ (non-space) data. The European Commission coordinates and manages the Programme.
The Copernicus Services provide near-real-time global data that may also be used for local and regional requirements to better understand the planet and manage the environment sustainably. Copernicus data assists governments around the world in their attempts to meet the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement’s Nationally Determined Contributions.
The Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines was started earlier this year by the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the European Union (EU).
This new project, the region’s first space cooperation programme, would assist Philippine authorities in developing national systems to leverage EU Earth observation satellite data in disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, and food security initiatives.
With this, advanced digital sensors and imaging technologies are used by Earth observation satellites to collect data. These sensors capture data in a variety of wavelengths, including visible, infrared, and microwave, and provide useful information on the Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and oceans.
The integration of many data sources, particularly Earth observation data, with other geospatial datasets is made easier by digital technologies. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and data fusion techniques allow for the combination and analysis of many data sources, hence improving understanding of complex Earth systems.
Further, Earth observation data is visualised in intuitive and meaningful ways using digital tools and software. Researchers, authorities and even the public can successfully perceive and interpret data through interactive maps, 3D visualisations, and data dashboards.
Massive amounts of Earth observation data may now be stored, managed, and retrieved using digital technologies. Also, Earth observation data can now be used for a variety of purposes because of the advances in digital technology.
