June 15, 2015

CNES holds “Guiana Day” at Paris Air Show on Thursday 18 June

CNES is holding a “Guiana Day” on Thursday 18 June, as part of the 51st Paris Air Show, to mark its continued commitment to the increased use of space resources in France’s overseas territories. A number of themes will be addressed on the day, including space’s contribution to the needs of overseas territories, youth employment in French Guiana and international cooperation with Gabon.

CNES has an ongoing relationship with France’s overseas territories, and in particular with Guiana where the Guiana Space Centre is located. Through scientific developments achieved by CNES hand-in-hand with the overseas territories, the space community has demonstrated the benefits of responding as best as possible to the expectations of overseas authorities in terms of environmental management, risk and crisis management, health and climate change.

A meeting of the steering committee of the framework agreement on space’s contribution to the needs of overseas territories (signed in 2013 between CNES and the directorate general of French overseas territories) will provide an update of all the initial actions taken. In the area of Earth observation, satellites have enabled the mapping of Guiana’s forests and are used to monitor their evolution. In the area of health, a satellite telemedicine network serves remote communities in Guiana and Réunion, while in the French Antilles, maps to predict potential breeding zones for dengue-carrying mosquitos are used to control the spread of epidemics (tele-epidemiology). Satellites have also been put to the service of maritime surveillance, to combat illegal fishing in Guiana.

In 2005, a CNES initiative known as SEAS—the satellite receiving station for environmental monitoring of the Amazon made Guiana a model for remote-sensing applications. Following Haiti, Gabon (via AGEOS, the Gabonese agency for space studies and observations) and the Guiana Region are now seeking to develop partnerships, with a view to exchanging expertise on themes of common interest. CNES supports this collaboration and the development of an operational service incorporating the space sector, and is working to respond to the demands of local authorities.

CNES is committed to job development in Guiana. In particular, it is due to sign an agreement with the employers association of Guiana (the GEIQ BTP) to encourage the long-term social and professional integration of young job-seekers throughout construction of the future Ariane 6 Launch Complex (ELA4). CNES and the space sector represent 15% of Guiana’s GDP, providing more than 9,000 direct and indirect jobs.  

“Guiana Day” – Agenda

10:00 – Monitoring of the environment and biodiversity at the Guiana Space Centre, with Sandrine Richard, environmental preservation engineer. CNES Pavilion.
11:30 – Signing of the agreement between Guiana’s GEIQ BTP and CNES. CNES Chalet.
12:30 – Guianese cocktail. CNES Chalet.
14:30 – Meeting of AGEOS (the Gabonese agency for space studies and observations) and the Guiana Region, under the guidance of CNES, for the consideration of a cooperative agreement. CNES Chalet.
15:30 – Meeting of the steering committee for the CNES/DGOM agreement signed in 2013. CNES Chalet 2013. 
17:00 – Signing of the contract with Eiffage TP, for “Completion of the general earthworks for the Ariane 6 Launch Complex”. CNES Chalet.

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Contacts
Pascale Bresson    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 75 39     pascale.bresson@cnes.fr
Alain Delrieu    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 74 04    alain.delrieu@cnes.fr
Julien Watelet    Tel. +33 (0)1 44 76 78 37    julien.watelet@cnes.fr
Marie-Françoise Bahloul (CSG)    Tel. +33 (0)6 94 23 09 73    marie-francoise.bahloul@cnes.fr