European Union delegation hosts webinar on EU’s Earth observation system
Islamabad: EU experts highlighted practical features of the European Earth observation programme Copernicus in a webinar convened by the Delegation of the European Union to Pakistan.
Copernicus is key component of the new EU Space Programme. Its task is to monitor the Earth, its environment and ecosystem. It also seeks to ensure preparedness for crises and natural as well as man-made disasters.
Programme specialists from the European Union introduced the Copernicus system, including its architecture, thematic services, benefits, as well as means of application within and outside of the EU. Discussion particularly focused on disaster management and emergencies during humanitarian crisis and opportunities to make use of the Copernicus programme, as its Sentinel data and services are available in a free, full and open manner to Pakistani stakeholders.
The webinar was well attended by representatives and experts from the federal and provincial governments and agencies, as well as educational and research institutions.
The Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Androulla Kaminara, stressed the importance of making technology work for people. She added that close collaboration between services and countries leads to shared learning and exploring opportunities to work together, as satellite imagery has many possible uses particularly related to health and environment.
As Pakistan remains vulnerable to climatic disasters, the discussion underlined the need to make full use of the available scientific means for better preparedness against natural and man-made calamities.
This event builds on the success of a previous webinar organised by the EU Delegation in February this year to address the wider scope of digital space and EU’s policies in this regard. EU experiences and expertise were also shared during the event for better understanding for the participants. The initiative is a part of a series of events focussing on digital transition.
Copernicus is managed by the European Commission in collaboration with the EU Member States, the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan.