ARICA

ARICA: A multi-directional analysis of refugee/IDP camp areas based on HR/VHR satellite data

Both natural and humanitarian catastrophes result in massive displacement of the affected population. The problem of the continuous increase of refugees/internally displaced persons worldwide raises a great interest among the stakeholders and decision-makers in emergency response of the European Union, United Nations and Non-Governmental relief organisations. The main drivers of the investigation are the environmental considerations, particularly the mutual influence between the environment and the camp inhabitants (exposure to the natural hazards included). Specifically multidirectional analysis of HR/VHR satellite data in time-series of several types of camps will be performed. The spatial analysis of the camps and their surroundings will be complemented by in-depth interviews including the position of people working and/or living in a given area. The main goal of the social research is to identify the most important factor of the camp inhabitants activity which are the drivers behind the environmental changes. The interdisciplinary analysis will result in a recommendation and best practices for refugee/IDP camp areas management and satellite monitoring system concept design. The project outcomes will be published on the developed “Online Geo-platform” providing the information on inhabitants activities in relation to the environment, including both the geospatial information and informative reports and additional descriptive data, in order to raise public awareness of the environmental changes taking place in the camp areas, their impact on the camp population and their causality, including the humanitarian assistance provided to the camps’ inhabitants on their way to self-reliance. Through this project, the partners will build up new capacities and competences, both on a national and international scale. This advantage lead to developing a permanent network of contacts in two directions – between entities from the same sector and interdisciplinary ones.

Project Objectives:

1. Analyse and demonstrate examples of multi-temporal interaction between inhabitants – environment in respect to different camps types, and located in different geographical locations, with the aim to detect, monitor and predict short-term changes like: rapid anthropogenic (installation/removal of Settlement); food security; natural destruction/impact (landslides, floods, etc.); and the long-term changes reflected in the different proportions of the land use/cover classes share.
2. Analyse and understand the socio-economic drivers of such environmental impact.
3. Demonstrate the added value of remote sensing data analysis in monitoring and management of areas not accessible for “in-situ” measures due to security issues and provide a concept of a future satellite based operational monitoring system and develop the roadmap for supporting the organization/management of such areas and minimize the negative impact of interaction between inhabitants – environment.
4. Develop a socio-environmental informative system on refugee/IDP camp areas (formally and informally established settlements) in an online geo-platform form. Publish the information on inhabitants’ activities in relation to the environment, in order to raise public awareness of the environmental changes taking place in the camp areas, their impact on the camp population and their causality, including the humanitarian assistance provided to the camps’ inhabitants on their way to self-reliance.

Team Composition
The consortium is composed of three research institutions: Centrum Badań Kosmicznych Polskiej Akademii Nauk (CBK PAN), University of Warsaw (UW) and NORCE–Norwegian Research Centre AS; and one SME: UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Centre.

Project duration:	Wrzesień 2020 – Sierpień 2023
Funding:	Norway grants in the frame of Programme “Applied Research”
Principal Investigator:	dr Małgorzata Jenerowicz