Behind the Scenes: The Strategic support Role of the Executive Secretariat
Against the backdrop of intensifying climate change and increasingly severe natural disasters, satellite technology has become a critical tool in supporting humanitarian disaster relief efforts. Since its founding in 2000, the International Charter Space and Major Disasters ("the Charter") has provided free, timely satellite data to countries and regions facing catastrophic events. This international collaboration of space agencies and institutions forms a core component of the global disaster response system.
Within the Charter organization, the Executive Secretariat (ES) plays a pivotal role in ensuring the efficient functioning of various processes behind data acquisition, production of value-added products for the end user, and coordinating with partner agencies.
Each member of the Charter contributes an ES member to assist their respective Charter Board members. The ES is responsible for coordinating the institutions and personnel teams from their own country and maintaining regular communication with other members to ensure the efficient operation of the International Charter, while Board Members oversee high-level decision making.
The Executive Secretary serves as the central coordinator for all Charter operations, managing routine tasks such as activations, monthly online meetings, biannual in-person meetings, daily email correspondence and emergency phone responses. This all-weather and around-the-clock coordination mechanism ensures that major global disasters—regardless of time zone or location—receive prompt and efficient action in response to any request.
Therefore, its strategic support role is not only reflected in the effective management of daily operations, but also in promoting international cooperation, optimizing resource allocation, and enhancing the efficiency and resilience of the disaster response system.
Coordinating among the Global Disaster Response Network of Partners
The Charter brings together 17 national space agencies and space system operators in addition to cooperating bodies from the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), its UN-SPIDER Program, UNOSAT, UNITAR, Sentinel Asia, and many other international organizations. Also, the Charter has coordinated the establishment of Authorized Users (AU) – those able to activate the Charter - in over 90 countries.
There are also dozens of research institutes, universities, professional technicians and other institutions in many countries that provide technical support for the Charter. A group of this size inevitably faces differences in various areas, including technical standards, data policies and cultural norms.
The Executive Secretariat acts as a cross-border coordinator. Their role includes aligning different systems, forging a consensus between members, and facilitating rapid cooperation.
When a new disaster occurs and an activation request is submitted, the ES monitors each stage of the Charter activation process to ensure adherence to established procedures. Should any ambiguities arise, the ES liaises with the involved member agencies, authorized users, or project managers — to oversee the activation processes and maintain an efficient response.
This highly efficient collaboration is built upon a foundation of mutual trust between the ES and partner agencies, combined with strict adherence to standardized operational procedures. The ES systematically integrates diverse aerospace capabilities into a unified system by regularly organizing joint exercises and formulating data sharing agreements across disaster response networks. This coordinated approach creates a synergistic effect where collective outcomes exceed the capabilities of individual components.
A prime example is the 2023 Türkiye–Syria earthquake, where the ES rapidly coordinated satellite resources from the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, Sentinel Asia, and China’s Gaofen satellites. The Charter received over 1,500 satellite images for this very large activation. It was activated within two hours, and a unified dataset was delivered within six hours, demonstrating the effectiveness of a globally trusted coordination system. In addition to satellite resources, the ES also coordinated human resources, with 18 value added providers contributing to the activation and generating more than 60 value-added products.
Supporting strategic decision-makers for resource scheduling
The "golden 72 hours" rule for disaster rescue requires the ES to have precise satellite resources matched to specific disaster scenarios for which they are most appropriate. The Charter’s Scenario Guidelines are utilized as a reference by the Emergency on Call Officer (ECO) that initiates satellite tasking and mission planning.
The scenario guidelines, developed by the ES, pro-actively align disaster types - such as earthquakes, floods, and forest fires - with satellite capability maps by establishing a dynamic priority model in advance. This approach ensures that critical resources are directed toward the areas of greatest need. This guarantees that the most suitable images can be obtained at the fastest speed to serve emergency disaster relief.
For example, during the Tonga volcanic eruption in 2022, the volcano ash led to interruption of ground communication. Within hours, ES worked out the optimal solution weighing the space agency capabilities, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data advantages, meteorological satellites, and commercial high frequency optical images to rapidly respond to the disaster.
Actively Addressing Charter Operational Challenges
The Executive Secretariat also needs to deal with the impact of diversified human resources and technological cooperation.
To enhance disaster response efficiency, the ES established an online operational platform years ago—the Charter Operational System (COS-2). This system has undergone consistent functional and operational enhancements, which assures that all Charter roles, activation details, and data flows are working “all-in-one basket”.
The Executive Secretariat also maintains a training program that addresses several roles within the Charter’s operational system. For example, Project Manager (PM) training gives those responsible for orchestrating an activation from beginning to end the ability to understand what resources are available, how to manage satellite data processing and dissemination, and how to coordinate among the different parties that function during a Charter activation. While PMs often provide their own analysis and mapping, they often rely on value adders (VA’s) to generate useful maps (e.g., flood extent, damage assessment). Proper training of VA’s ensures that products generated using Charter resources can be easily understood and utilized by emergency teams or “End Users”.
This work highlights the strategic wisdom of the executive secretariat by addressing the diversified human resources and technology available.
Designing the Future Resilience of Charter Operations
Looking ahead, the Executive Secretariat is guiding the Charter’s transformation from being solely a reactive emergency service to a proactive risk reduction platform. By forming strategic partnerships with organizations like UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) and the World Health Organization, the Charter is working to integrate space data into long-term planning efforts such as urban development, environmental monitoring, and public health.
The ES is also actively involved in capacity-building initiatives, including trainings, and supporting UN efforts in under-resourced regions to strengthen local disaster response systems.
In the ongoing global challenge of disaster management, the Executive Secretariat serves as both a technical and strategic body. By fostering international cooperation, advancing technological integration, and ensuring efficient disaster response, the ES plays a vital role in making the Charter a model of humanitarian space governance.
As the space economy grows and disasters become increasingly complex, the Executive Secretariat’s role will only become more critical, helping to build a more resilient, cooperative, and informed global community.