Geoinformation: new contracts for GAF to fight climate change and support mining sustainability

15 September 2023

In recent days GAF, an e-GEOS company (ASI/Telespazio), has signed new contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA) and with the World Bank to use satellite data to fight climate change and for a more sustainable management of mining activities in Suriname.

The contract with ESA is part of the Agency's Heritage Space Programme initiative and aims, also supported by the Indian Space Agency ISRO, to enable long term preservation of and public accessibility to the EO data archive of the Indian Remote Sensing satellites IRS-1C and IRS-1D. The data had been collected over Europe between 1996-2005, during the pre-Sentinel era.

Thanks to the free dissemination of the data, which can be integrated with those of the Copernicus programme Sentinels, it will be possible to support long term historical analyses of climate-relevant key indicators and land cover and land use trends that are relevant to Climate Change and Green Deal policies and action in Europe.

In Suriname, GAF has been awarded by the Suriname Competitiveness and Sector Diversification (SCSD) Programme, managed and financed by The World Bank, the lead role in two consultancy contracts, with these being "International mining specialist to support the establishment and commissioning of the Minerals Institute of Suriname: Cadastre and Geological Survey" and "Establishment and commissioning of the Minerals Institute of Suriname: Mining Inspectorate".

The mining industry has strategic importance for the economy of Suriname. Because of this, and the fact that the mineral resource potential of the country is still untapped to a considerable extent, the "Delfstoffen Authoriteit Suriname" (DAS) authority has been newly created. Its objectives are the promotion, coordination, regulation, monitoring and inspection of the mining industry, with the aim of ensuring it makes an optimal contribution to Suriname’s sustainable development.

In support of DAS, GAF has been assigned the task of assessing, defining, designing and conceptualising the main pillars of a strong mining governance structure.

The aim of this is to establish a modern digital mining cadastre, ensure efficient performance of the geological survey and set up a mine inspection department. Activities include assessing the existing legal and regulatory frameworks, the extractive industry sector and all its stakeholders.

Other News & Stories

04.12.2023
Telespazio, with Paolo Nespoli, is presenting “Spazio: la sfida del presente” at the “Più Libri Più Liberi” trade show

On 8th December, at 17:30, at the “Più Libri Più Liberi” trade show, Telespazio will present “Spazio: la sfida del presente”, a book born from a project of Telespazio and the SEE Lab of SDA Bocconi university, written by an American journalist, David W. Brown, and published by HOEPLI.

28.11.2023
Invent, design, test: this is how the winner of the #T-TeC 2022 “Test-It” award, ORiS, developed

Coming up with an innovative idea may be easy, but putting it into practice can be anything but - especially if the required technologies have not been tested before and there is no closely-knit team to work with. This is the spirit of ORiS, the team of students from the Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) university, who, last year, won the opportunity through #T-TeC 2022 to create a Proof of Concept (PoC) for their ambitious project: to build a satellite infrastructure that provides energy to the Moon directly from space.

20.11.2023
After #T-TeC 2022, SPAICE's artificial intelligence flies into Space

Bringing artificial intelligence into Space and revolutionising the entire industry from the ground up: this is the goal of SPAICE Technology, the international start-up that last year ranked second at #T-TeC, the open innovation contest organised by Telespazio and Leonardo.

06.11.2023
From students to founders of start-ups, the step is shorter and shorter: take the word of the #T-TeC 2022 mentor Professor Di Lizia for it

Professor, mentor and, above all, the greatest fan of his students. Pierlugi Di Lizia teaches Aerospace Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano university. Last year, he supported the SunCubes team in their journey that led them to coming third in the #T-TeC 2022 competition.

04.12.2023
Telespazio, with Paolo Nespoli, is presenting “Spazio: la sfida del presente” at the “Più Libri Più Liberi” trade show

On 8th December, at 17:30, at the “Più Libri Più Liberi” trade show, Telespazio will present “Spazio: la sfida del presente”, a book born from a project of Telespazio and the SEE Lab of SDA Bocconi university, written by an American journalist, David W. Brown, and published by HOEPLI.

28.11.2023
Invent, design, test: this is how the winner of the #T-TeC 2022 “Test-It” award, ORiS, developed

Coming up with an innovative idea may be easy, but putting it into practice can be anything but - especially if the required technologies have not been tested before and there is no closely-knit team to work with. This is the spirit of ORiS, the team of students from the Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) university, who, last year, won the opportunity through #T-TeC 2022 to create a Proof of Concept (PoC) for their ambitious project: to build a satellite infrastructure that provides energy to the Moon directly from space.

20.11.2023
After #T-TeC 2022, SPAICE's artificial intelligence flies into Space

Bringing artificial intelligence into Space and revolutionising the entire industry from the ground up: this is the goal of SPAICE Technology, the international start-up that last year ranked second at #T-TeC, the open innovation contest organised by Telespazio and Leonardo.

06.11.2023
From students to founders of start-ups, the step is shorter and shorter: take the word of the #T-TeC 2022 mentor Professor Di Lizia for it

Professor, mentor and, above all, the greatest fan of his students. Pierlugi Di Lizia teaches Aerospace Engineering at the Politecnico di Milano university. Last year, he supported the SunCubes team in their journey that led them to coming third in the #T-TeC 2022 competition.