Creation of a working group for the use of the data download station for SENTINEL 1

Following the presentation on 20 June of the cross-border projects “Early Warning Networks” and “Environmental Monitoring for Civil Protection”, the aim of which was to learn about and analyse the main applications offered by this satellite, such as the study of the physical properties of clouds, atmospheric monitoring, land monitoring, ocean monitoring, meteorological and biological changes, crop monitoring and the monitoring of natural disasters. A working group has been set up to work on the early detection of invasive species.

The group is made up of public entities dedicated to the control of invasive species, research groups from the University of Extremadura related to remote sensing, data analysis, technology centres specialised in the agro-industrial sector, various regional administrations, and private companies in the region of Extremadura.

With the support of Fundecyt-PCTEX, in the framework of Horizon Europe funding, the following topic has been identified: HORIZON-CL6-2024-BIODIV: Invasive alien species. The objective is to be able to work on the development of a cooperative proposal for the detection of invasive species in inland aquatic areas using Sentinel 1 imagery.

The European Commission will allocate EUR 6 million to adequately address the following expected results:

– The establishment of alien species accidentally introduced into the EU environment, minimising and, where possible, eliminating them.

– Establishment of early warning systems to inform stakeholders of the introduction of invasive alien species.

– Effectively prevent the introduction of invasive alien species and systematically manage those already established.

– Support and improve public awareness, literacy and engagement on the monitoring and management of invasive alien species.

According to the European Commission, the call for proposals is expected to open on 17/10/23 and close on 22/02/24.

Companies and entities linked to the Badajoz Hub of the Novexport project will be part of the proposal to be submitted in 2024.