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Satellites Find A Home For the Homeless
By Daniel Sorid
Staff Writer
posted: 06:54 am ET
23 September 1999
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Planning refugee camps is not a matter of picking a point on a map
Credit: Eurimage Planning refugee camps is not a matter of picking a point on a map. At least it shouldn't be. "The average refugee camps last around 7 years," says Einar Bjorgo, project coordinator for two refugee relief projects, ReliefSat and Enviref, sponsored by the U.S. Institute of Peace and the European Commission. "You really have to plan ahead and do sustainable camp planning." With the help of satellite imagery, says Bjorgo, camp planners should be able to pick safe and appropriate areas. The above image, a melding of a Indian satellite image and topographical simulation of two refugee camps at a border area between Albania and Kosovo, was never used during the Kosovo crisis. But Bjorgo, who works for the Nansen Center in Bergen, Norway, hopes that by preparing these images after the fact, humanitarian organizations will be better prepared to put together refugee camp plans that include useful tools like satellite maps. "We hope to gradually improve this the next time around," Bjorgo said. "It will be improved so down the line satellite images can really be helpful." Satellite images will help show terrain and roads where no current maps exist, and also help identify areas close to potable water, he said.
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