USE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CHARTER SPACE AND MAJOR DISASTERS FOR 
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT 
J-L. Bessis®, 
? Centre National d'Études Spatiales, 18, avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France — jean-luc.Bessis@cnes.fr 
KEY WORDS: Disaster Management, Space and Major Disasters, Earth observation, Earthquakes, Floods, Forest fires, Oil spills, 
Volcanic eruptions 
ABSTRACT: 
Operational since November 1, 2000, the activation of the Charter is regularly increasing. As of December 31, 2003 the civil 
protection agencies requested triggering of the Charter 45 times : seventeen times for flooding in Argentina, Austria, Canada, Czech 
Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal and Russia, seven times for an earthquake in 
Afghanistan, India, Iran, San Salvador, Turkey and Algeria, five times for forest fires in Canada, France and Portugal, five times for 
oil spills near the coast of. Denmark, Ecuador, Lebanon, Spain and Yemen, four times for landslide in Italy, Nepal, Philippines and 
Russia, four times for a volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy and Montserrat island, three times for a storm 
in Mexico, India and the USA. 
The purpose of the International Charter is to provide a unified system of space data acquisition and delivery for users affected by 
disasters, to promote co-operation between space agencies and space system operators and to allow participation in the organisation 
of emergency assistance or subsequent operations. Data acquisition using available space resources (ERS-2, ENVISAT, IRS-1C, ID, 
RADARSAT, SPOT 2-4-5, NOAA polar satellites and SAC-C) and delivery takes place on an priority basis as well as processing 
and damage assessment maps production. 
AII Partner agencies undertake to co-operate on a voluntary basis with no exchange of funds between them in the event of a major 
natural or technological disaster and to provide free data and information to the end users. This paper will point out some of the best 
cases of Charter activation for different disasters leading to change detection imagery and to some tentative of damage assessment 
products in close co-ordination with the end users. 
1. BACKGROUND 
1.1 Establishment of the Charter 
In July 1999, during the Unispace III Conference, the French 
Space Agency (CNES), and the European Space Agency 
(ESA), considering the potential contribution that space can 
provide in case of major disasters, announced their intention to 
set a co-ordinated access to space means. The international 
Charter "Space and Major Disasters" was signed on June 20, 
2000 by both agencies followed in October 2000 by the 
Canadian Space Agency (CSA). In September 2001, the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 
and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) became 
members of the Charter and in March 2003 the Argentina Space 
Agency (CONAE) also joined the Charter. Japan Space Agency 
(JAXA) is currently in the process of joining the Charter. 
The International Charter aims at providing a unified system of 
space data acquisition and delivery to those affected by natural 
or man-made disasters through authorized users. Each member 
agency commits resources to support the provisions of the 
Charter and thus is helping to mitigate the effects of disasters on 
human life and property. Efficient use of space technology in 
disaster management will only be achieved through a long-term 
working relationship between the civil protection community 
and space agencies. This is the objective of the Charter, and 
even though until now, the Charter has relied on limited 
capabilities, it is an important step forward in merging user's 
requirements, like the ones of civil protection authorities, with 
space technology solutions. 
1.2 The Charter organization 
The Charter is open to space agencies and satellite operators 
ready to make available significant and relevant satellite 
resources. The parties develop their co-operation on a voluntary 
basis and without transfer of funds among them. Data and, 
possibly, information are provided free of charge to the end user. 
The administrative, operational and technical co-ordination is 
provided by a Board and an Executive Secretariat, each with one 
representative per member and chaired in rotation according to 
the Primus inter pares rule. 
The International Charter was declared formally operational on 
November 1, 2000. An Authorized User can call a single 
confidential number to request the mobilisation of the space and 
associated ground resources of the partner agencies (ERS-2, 
RADARSAT-1, ENVISAT, SPOT 2-4-5, IRS 1-C, 1D, POES, 
GOES and SAC-C) to obtain data on a disaster occurrence. 
An Authorized User is a civil protection, rescue, and defence or 
security body from the country of a Charter member - at present 
France and other ESA member states, Argentina, European 
Commission, Canada, India and the USA. Relief agencies in 
countries not represented by Charter members are able to 
activate the Charter by requesting assistance from civil 
protection bodies in those countries or by requesting 
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