Date: 31 January 2024
Location: Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Credit: Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, processed by the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre
Description:
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows Basseterre, capital of Saint Kitts and Nevis, as it appeared on 31 January 2024.
The volcanic islands of St. Kitts and Nevis are characterised by undulating terrain, and central mountain ranges. These mountains are marked by a system of dry rivers, formed by the rapid runoff of rainfall from the mountains to the coastline. During periods of heavy precipitation, this runoff can trigger flooding and landslides, risks which intensify during the Atlantic hurricane season, which takes place from June to November. Coastal cities such as Basseterre, the country’s largest urban centre and home to about 27% of the total population, are particularly exposed.
Access to timely, accurate and location-specific Earth Observation data is crucial to support informed decision-making for risk preparedness and response. In this context, the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre is co-developing tailored Earth Observation Services in close collaboration with regional stakeholders, helping to improve capacities to anticipate, and respond to such events.
In addition, the Centre empowers local communities by improving their skills in leveraging Copernicus data for disaster risk reduction with resources and training materials freely available on the Centre’s Digital Campus.
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Background Information
The Copernicus LAC Panama Centre’s activities take place within the overall context of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, which is a strategic framework for promoting cooperation between the EU and the LAC region on digital and space issues under the EU Global Gateway umbrella. Within this context, the European Space Agency (ESA) is coordinating the Centre’s implementation on the basis of a Contribution Agreement with the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) of the European Commission, and in close collaboration with Panama’s government, MIRE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Government Innovation Authority (AIG), and SENACYT (National Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation).
The CopernicusLAC Panama Centre will serve as a hub for innovation in the Latin America and Caribbean region, supporting national and local entities in leveraging Copernicus data and information to boost socio-economic benefits and resilience. In addition to providing engagement opportunities, the Centre is developing geospatial Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Earth Observation (EO) Services (addressing hydrometeorological hazards, wildfires, geological hazards, and hazard exposure) in close collaboration with local users and stakeholders, to whom they will be handed over to ensure that the unique needs of the region are addressed in the long term.
In addition, knowledge and skills transfer is a key element of the CopernicusLAC Panama Centre, which hosts a Digital Campus with access to training modules and educational resources for technical users and citizens alike. The Centre will also organise community-building events, policy dialogues and industry matchmaking, as well as hackathons and other EO data challenges to stimulate user adoption of Copernicus data and innovation. These events will also foster cross-collaboration among EO, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and other relevant ecosystems.
Finally, the Centre will support the development of a high-power computing and data storage cloud infrastructure for the LAC region. One of the final objectives of the Centre is to promote the development of communities of practice and to strengthen the knowledge and use of tools for DRR and other application areas in the public sector, academia, the private sector, and social organisations.
