e-GEOS: contract with ESA promoting use of EO applications to support international organisations involved in development projects

04 March 2022 12:00

e-GEOS, an ASI (20%) / Telespazio (80%) company has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for development of a project entitled “Global Development Assistance (GDA)-Agile EO Information Development (AID) –fragility, conflict, and security”. The project aims to use Earth observation satellites to improve the implementation and coordination of international aid projects in the parts of the world most heavily affected by conflict, poverty and environmental insecurity.

e-GEOS signed the contract as prime contractor of a consortium with the participation of the German Space Agency DLR, Hensoldt Analytics (Austria), Vito (Belgium), Janes (UK), and CGI of Italy.

Using the vast body of data from Earth observation satellites, the GDA – Global Development Assistance programme aims to satisfy the information requirements of international financial institutions and parties involved in development. The domains of interest to the GDA- AID programme are Disaster Resilience, Urban Sustainability, Climate Resilience, Marine Environment and the Blue Economy, Agriculture, Water Resources and Clean Energy.

The new project falls under the Fragility, Conflict and Security domain, offering international financial institutions a tool providing prompt, precise information for analyzing and assessing the results of initiatives aimed at reducing poverty, boosting economic development and favoring environmental security in what are considered the world’s most “fragile” states.

Fragile settings are characterized by economic and social insecurity, political instability, weak governance, and greater vulnerability to the effects of climate change and natural hazards. The project will develop applications employing a multidisciplinary approach, combining geospace data with information from a variety of sources, using OSINT/SOSINT techniques to supply products, analyses and reports contributing to improved decision-making processes.

To make the data quick and easy to use, a special platform will integrate solutions developed by the consortium led by e-GEOS for the project in a harmonized environment.

“Thanks to participation in the Global Development Assistance programme, in which we had an opportunity to make a contribution in the area of Fragility, Conflict and Security, we are proud to be able to use Earth observation data to help the fragile parts of the world,” commented e-GEOS CEO Paolo Minciacchi. “The goal is to improve implementation and provide new tools for coordinating international aid projects”.

“ESA’s Global Development Assistance Programme aims to foster impact through the systematic integration of Earth observation data in development projects”, explains Michela Corvino, Technical Officer of the GDA-AID Fragility Project at ESA. “Digital and geospatial technology, including earth observation (EO), have become crucial for getting reliable insights into various FCV contexts, while also providing effective solutions for analytical purposes, and insights into large-scale dynamics in efficient ways. This includes issues related to environmental degradation, food security, resource extraction, displacement dynamics and other issues that relate to compound risks”.