Willy Wint (ERGO), representing E4Warning, attended the EuroGEO workshop held in Bolzano on the 2nd and 3rd of October. E4Warning was featured in a session that delved into pressing issues related to climate-induced disasters and health challenges. This session, titled “Addressing climate-induced disasters and health challenges: the contribution of EuroGEO and GEO-CRADLE initiatives and the way forward”, highlighted the vital role of Earth Observations in tackling environmental and health-related adversities.

The workshop session, chaired by Haris Kontoes (NOA/BEYOND), set out with clear objectives: to showcase the successful integration of Earth Observation data into services tailored for mitigating climate-triggered disasters and health concerns. Stories of success from EuroGEO initiatives, including e-shape and the valuable contributions from the Disasters and Health Action Groups, were shared, emphasizing the scientific and service advancements made by these groups.

In a show of collective progress and strategic foresight, the session also outlined concrete roadmaps aimed at ensuring the sustainability of these actions and services. It highlighted the importance of promoting open access to Earth Observation data and science, alongside showcasing sustainable business models that utilize this data for the benefit of diverse stakeholders.

The commitment to designing future joint actions, like policy papers, special journal editions, and various workshops and webinars, stood out as a testament to the collaborative spirit driving these initiatives forward. This collaborative effort, supported by the EuroGEO Secretariat and relevant CSAs such as GEO-CRADLE and COERNICUS FPCUP, aims to forge synergies that will have a long-lasting impact on the global strategy post-2025 for addressing climate-related disasters and health crises.

Notable presentations from the session included:

• FRIEND’s innovative approach to flood risk and impact assessment by Marco Folegani (MEEO)
• MountaiNow‘s live mapping of mountain hazards, presented by Alexia Massacand
• SOL’s real-time flood forecast and early-warning system by Marco Mancini (PoliMi/MMI)
• EYWA’s Early Warning System for Mosquito-Borne Diseases from Haris Kontoes (NOA/BEYOND)
• E4Warning’s initiative on eco-epidemiological intelligence, presented by Willy Wint (ERGO)
• OneAquaHealth by Maria Feio (University of Coimbra) focusing on the potential of Earth Observations in urban aquatic ecosystems
• GEO-CRADLE‘s capacity building efforts across various regions, discussed by Alexia Tsouni (NOA/BEYOND)
• The Copernicus Health Hub, which connects environmental data with the health community, by Julie Letertre (ECMWF)

The session culminated in a round table discussion, moderated by Haris Kontoes, which allowed for an engaging exchange of ideas and experiences among the speakers.

E4Warning held its Kick-off meeting on February 27-28, 2023. The face-to-face meeting took place at CEAB-CSIC, Blanes, Spain. There the Coordinator, the WP Leaders and Co-leaders, and other researchers linked to the project, as well as the EC Officer and other guests, met. The first day was dedicated to analyzing organizational aspects and the different WPs. In each of them, the dependencies between tasks and with other WPs, possible barriers and mitigations, and the tasks to be deployed during the first year of the project were detected. On the second day, on February 28, 2023, the different case studies and work fields were introduced: both the marsh environments where field work will be carried out, to the urban environments in Europe, Brazil and Vietnam. Two parallel work sessions were held to discuss, on the one hand, the acquisition of vector and reservoir data, as well as field experiments; on the other, the different models that will be developed, the variables, covariates, spatial and temporal scales that must be covered. The day ended by sharing what was decided in these parallel sessions and the planning for 2023.

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E4Warning will held its Kick-off Meeting on 27-28 February 2023. This meeting will yake place in the CEAB-CSIC (Blanes, Spain). It will bring together the Principle Investigators, WP Leaders and Co-leaders, participants.