Automated Analysis of Satellite Imagery to provide Information Products for Humanitarian Relief Operations in Refugee Camps – from Scientic Development towards Operational Services Automatische Auswertung von Satellitenbilddaten zur Bereitstellung von Informationen zur Unterstützung von humanitären Hilfsaktionen in Flüchtlingslagern–von wissenschaftlicher Entwicklung bis hin zu funktionsfä higen Diensten

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Tiede ◽  
Petra Füreder ◽  
Stefan Lang ◽  
Daniel Hölbling ◽  
Peter Zeil
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Automated Analysis ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Humanitarian Relief ◽  
Information Products ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Automatische Auswertung

Road Construction and Rainfall as Landslide Triggers in the Rio Lucma Catchment, Eastern Cordillera Blanca, Peru

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorena Abad ◽  
Daniel Hölbling ◽  
Adam Emmer
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Automated Analysis ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Construction Work ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Cordillera Blanca ◽  
The Road

<p>Extensive road construction works were recently undertaken in the remote eastern part of the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca, aiming at better connecting isolated mountain communities with regional administrative centres. In the Río Lucma catchment, approximately 47 km of roads were constructed between 2015 and 2018, triggering several landslides that affected an approximate area of 32 ha. We identified and characterised these landslides by combining field mapping, visual interpretation and semi-automated analysis of satellite imagery (PlanetScope and RapidEye-2), and analysis of rainfall data from two stations of the Servicio Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología del Perú (SENAMHI). We investigated in detail three specific areas of interest, where we identified, delineated, and described 56 landslides. We classified the landslides in relation to their position to the road as: landslides downslope the roads (48.2%), complex landslides crossing the roads (46.4 %), and landslides onto the road (5.3%). According to the type of movement, we found that the slide-type movement (60.7%) prevails over the flow-type movement (39.3%). Timewise, we found that 75% of landslides were observed on satellite imagery simultaneously with road construction work, while the remaining 25% were identified between one week and seven months after the roads had been constructed. We analysed lagged cumulative rainfall data against the occurrence of these subsequent landslides, determining that a two-week rainfall accumulation can act as triggering factor of landslides after road construction work. In general, 51% of the landslides were observed during the wet season (November to April) while 41.1% occurred during El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) strong cool phase or “La Niña” period. We observed that the majority of mapped landslides were directly (e.g., landslides resulting from slope undercutting) or indirectly associated with road constructions (e.g., rainfall-induced landslides resulting from a combination of extreme precipitation over slopes with decreased stability) and that the road constructions also may set preconditions for subsequent rainfall-triggered landslides.</p>

On- and offshore prepositioning and delivery mechanism for humanitarian relief operations

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (18) ◽  
pp. 6164-6182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehdi Sharifyazdi ◽  
Kaustubh Anil Navangul ◽  
Amir Gharehgozli ◽  
Marianne Jahre
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Relief ◽  
Delivery Mechanism ◽  
Relief Operations

Conflict-induced Food Insecurity and the War Crime of Starvation of Civilians as a Method of Warfare

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-779
Author(s):  
Dapo Akande ◽  
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Relief ◽  
Humanitarian Action ◽  
General Rules ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality

Abstract This article examines the rules of international humanitarian law (IHL) relevant to avoiding or minimizing conflict-induced food insecurity. It is important to consider these rules in order to appreciate the range of protections to which civilians are entitled. Understanding these rules is also essential for interpreting the relevant provisions of international criminal law, including, most notably, the war crime of starvation of the civilian population. After providing a brief outline of the general rules of IHL respect of which can reduce the risk of food insecurity, the article focuses on two sets of rules of direct relevance to food insecurity: the prohibition of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the rules regulating humanitarian relief operation. With regard to the former, the article considers whether, under IHL, the prohibition requires that the party that has engaged in the conduct must act with the purpose of causing starvation. It is argued that while the general prohibition of starvation in IHL requires such purpose, there are other, more specific, rules of IHL directed at reducing food insecurity which do not require such purpose. Consideration is also given to the application of the principle of proportionality to measures which have the effect of causing starvation. While most of this article focuses on IHL, it also provides some reflections on the interplay between the rules of IHL relating to humanitarian relief operations and the war crime of starvation in the International Criminal Court’s Statute. Moving briefly away from IHL, the article also highlights a normative tension that can impede humanitarian action and therefore exacerbate food insecurity.

scholarly journals Humanizing siege warfare: Applying the principle of proportionality to sieges

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Maxime Nijs
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Relief ◽  
Civilian Population ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Siege Warfare ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Principle Of Proportionality ◽  
The Right ◽  
Proportionality Principle

Abstract Siege warfare and its devastating humanitarian consequences have been one of the defining features of contemporary armed conflicts. While the most apparent restriction of siege warfare appears to be provided by the prohibition against starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare, the prevailing restrictive interpretation of this prohibition has left civilians remaining in a besieged area unprotected from the hardships they endure. This article demonstrates that shifting the focus from the prohibition against starvation to the rules regulating humanitarian relief operations does not seem helpful due to the ambiguities regarding the requirement of consent and the right of control of the besieging party. In remedying this protection gap, this article examines whether and how the principle of proportionality applies in the context of a siege. After analyzing whether the encirclement and isolation aspect of a siege can be considered an attack in the sense of Article 49(1) of Additional Protocol I (AP I), to which the proportionality principle applies, the article investigates how this principle operates in the context of a siege. It will be demonstrated that Article 57(2)(b) of AP I requires that the proportionality of a siege must be continuously monitored.

International Humanitarian Law and Blockade

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Drew
Keyword(s):  
Customary Law ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Relief ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Maritime Traffic ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Relief Operations

This chapter is a study of how blockade law relates to international humanitarian law, particularly that set out in Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Noting that under the customary law of blockade all incoming and outgoing maritime traffic is prohibited, an assessment is made on whether or not the customary requirement has been displaced by the humanitarian provisions of AP1. Focusing on the wording of article 49(3), it is shown that for a number of states, the adoption of AP1 did not change the customary law, while for some others it did. As a result of this discrepancy it is posited that in spite of recent attempts to create such an obligation through soft law approaches, there is no customary law that requires humanitarian relief operations during blockade blockades.

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