Populations facing cumulative risks
“Multidimensional vulnerabilities and increasingly interconnected protection risks and humanitarian needs are likely to continue and even worsen in 2023,” states the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report of 1 December on the situation in Latin America [1]. This observation is all the more problematic as it comes in addition to the current reality of a region trying to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic which according to the Reuters news agency, caused the death of nearly 1.7 million people in the region. The pandemic has exacerbated situations of insecurity. The vulnerability of populations is a consequence of this increase in fragility. The UN estimates that an additional 1.3 million people will need humanitarian assistance in the coming year, with the de facto worsening of food insecurity, the consequences of global warming and chronic violence.
[1] “2023 Global Humanitarian Overview”, OCHA, 1 December 2022.
Dealing with an emergency
In view of the increased need for population protection, the countries of the zone are getting organised and forming partnerships to deal with problems that transcend borders, such as the natural disasters that regularly hit the continent. The European Union offered to share the experience of its civil protection scheme for the 2017 fires in Peru and the 2019 fires in Bolivia. For some countries, this is more than just assistance; it is a true partnership for risk reduction. In 2019, Bolivia welcomed an EU environmental expert under the Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative programme.[2] Recently, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) has taken the lead in adopting a proactive, internationally-oriented posture. In addition to the economic link established between the South American region and China, its largest trading partner, cooperation was extended through the first “Joint Action Plan for Cooperation in Key Areas (2022-2024)” adopted on 3 December 2021 and providing for the establishment of “cooperation mechanisms for emergency management and promote exchanges in disaster prevention.” In addition to political commitments, some countries are also opting for technical cooperation to best respond to the consequences of crises. In 2021, the partnership launched ten years ago between the Department of Vienne (France) and the Province of Jujuy – in the north-east of Argentina, on the border with Chile and Bolivia – was selected by the Agence Française de Développement, as part of the FICOL (Facility for Financing Local Authorities) financing procedure. The project, scheduled to run until 2024, covers four areas: crisis management, forest firefighting, emergency vehicle response, and out-of-hospital and in-hospital medical rescue. The overall objective is to qualify Jujuy’s firefighters to deal with a large-scale disaster should one occur.[3] In 2019, the Airbus Foundation provided a plane with a detachment of 38 military rescue workers aboard. Destination: Bolivia. In conjunction with the Bolivian authorities, the objective was to assist with firefighting in the Santa Cruz region. The aircraft also carried the equipment needed for the work of the fire fighters and a donation to Bolivia of almost two tonnes of firefighting equipment from the resources of the security forces. Three specialists from the Ministry of the Interior were also part of a European civil protection team tasked with coordinating the teams on the ground. France also provided Bolivia with four military civil protection and rescue UAV operators and three UAVs to carry out fire reconnaissance and location missions, as well as a fire fighter with expertise in aerial investigation.[4]
Among the UAVs capable of carrying out reconnaissance and surveillance missions during accidents or natural disasters, the Diodon HP30 micro-UAV benefits from an inflatable structure that provides it with a high degree of resistance. It can therefore take off and land on any rough terrain. Only one operator is needed to set it up, which increases its deployment speed. Exavision’s Nemosys Fire Duo solution also addresses fire prevention. The Nemosys Fire Duo intelligent camera provides image analysis during a continuous 360° scan, 24 hours a day. It is able to measure temperature differences to assess the severity of a situation. The camera is equipped with a processing algorithm that detects hot spots in real time according to configurable thresholds. The use of satellite imagery to ensure the safety of civilian populations is a new challenge. Assessing damage and facilitating the response of emergency services in the event of a disaster are also part of this. The extension of emergency uses of satellite images to more regional or even local scales is one of the notable developments expected.
At the beginning of 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded its support to Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru to develop their own centres of expertise for non-destructive nuclear testing techniques. These solutions will make it possible to identify defects in a structure, whether it is a road, a building or a bridge, and thus obtain a detailed analysis of the consequences of a disaster.[5]
[2] “European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations: South America”, European Commission website.
[3] https://www.departements.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/RAPPORT-AFD_-DF_SECURITE-CIVILE-COOPERATION-DECENTRALISEE-PRINT.pdf
[4] https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/energie-environnement/sept-pays-d-amerique-du-sud-s-engagent-a-proteger-l-amazonie-827448.html
[5] « Latin America, Caribbean Achieves Capability in Using Nuclear Techniques to Respond to Natural Disasters », IAEA, 9 January 2023.
Risk prevention on the increase
In 2021, the World Meteorological Organisation announced that warning systems in the Latin American region were inadequate, resulting in a lack of disaster prevention. To meet this need, countries in the region are now showing a clear interest in deploying new systems. On the west coast of South America, where seismic activity is high, as is the danger of tidal waves, Chile has invested in dedicated sensors linked to the Sistema de Alerta de Emergencias (SAE), which is mandatory on every telephone to inform the population in real-time.[6] SAE members are organised on a decentralised basis, at community, provincial, regional and national levels to produce real-time risk assessments.[7] The deployment of these units makes it possible to provide preventive shelter for populations at risk. On 16 January, the Peruvian Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil (Indeci) announced the closure of 85 of its ports and the suspension of fishing activities after the identification of strong swells.[8]
In Brazil and Argentina, the high risk of landslides also requires significant advances in detection systems, particularly in terms of GPS gradient and pressure sensors. Another problem is the identification of fire outbreaks in countries crossed by the Amazon. Brazil is investing in satellite imagery, and has already chosen the artificial intelligence developed by Omdena to help it detect forest fires using 360° cameras.[9] Based on these new uses, the preparedness schemes could drastically accelerate their modernisation across the continent.
[6] « Sistema de Alerta de Emergencias será obligatorio para todos los teléfonos y redes móviles del país », Gobierno de Chile, 2017.
[7] « Autoridades oficializan el fin de Onemi: Será reemplazada por Senapred en enero de 2023 », T13, 16 November 2022.
[8] « Indeci: cierran 85 puertos del litoral ante ocurrencia de oleajes de ligera a fuerte intensidad », El Peruano, 16 January 2023.
[9] « Applying Deep Learning to Detect Wildfires », Omdena.