Satellite-based Services for Disaster Risk Management in Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

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Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands

Panel discussion on User Driven Space Application

Marie Menard, Senior Communication Officer, EUSPA 

Marie Ménard is a seasoned communications professional with extensive experience in the European Union space sector. She currently serves as a Senior Communication Officer at the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), where she leads strategic communication initiatives to promote the EU Space programme and services. Her role encompasses media relations, public outreach, and stakeholder engagement, aiming to enhance public understanding and support for the EU’s space endeavours.

Marie’s experience in communication and public outreach supports EUSPA’s efforts to promote its activities and engage with stakeholders across the space sector. She holds a DEA in business development from Audencia and a master’s degree in strategic development from Reims Business School.

 

Coco Antonissen, Director Space Applications, NLSA

Coco is the Director of Space Applications at the Netherlands Space Agency (NLSA). With a background in geoscience and remote sensing, she has extensive experience in the satellite applications domain. Coco focuses on stimulating the development and uptake of satellite-based solutions, and on improving the alignment between supply and demand for space-based data and services across sectors.

 

Caren Eckrich, Ecology Advisor, STINAPA

 

 

Savannah Schultz, Senior information investigator, Police

My name is Savannah Schultz, 33 years old and I have been living on Bonaire since 2018. I work parttime at the police intelligence unit, where I combine field experience with data analysis to translate information into actionable insights. In this role, I focus on cross-border crime.
My goal is to make data practical and useful, whether for real-time operations or to support ongoing investigations.

Alongside my work in law enforcement, I am active as a freelance dive instructor, sharing my passion for the ocean with others. In my free time, I enjoy hiking and exploring nature, which helps me stay balanced and connected to the outdoors.

I am driven, observant, and committed to making a meaningful impact through both my professional and personal pursuits.

 

High-Level Policy Introduction

John Soliano, Governor of Bonaire 

 

 

Lianne Mooldijk, Head of Space, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water management

Mrs. Lianne Mooldijk LL.M. ML (1981) started her career in the Legal Service of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Watermanagement in the Netherlands. In the 20 years that followed, she worked in various roles within the ministry, mainly focusing on EU and international cooperation. She was the legal lead during the 2016 EU Presidency of the Netherlands, after which she headed the ministry’s Brexit-unit and served as a head of unit in the Covid Directorate. Since 2022 she leads the Space team, where she is responsible for the Galileo Sensor Station on Bonaire. Currently, she is the vice-chair of the management board of the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

 

Coco Antonissen, Director Space Applications, NLSA

Coco is the Director of Space Applications at the Netherlands Space Agency (NLSA). With a background in geoscience and remote sensing, she has extensive experience in the satellite applications domain. Coco focuses on stimulating the development and uptake of satellite-based solutions, and on improving the alignment between supply and demand for space-based data and services across sectors.

 

Dominique Tilmans, President, Eurisy

Dominique holds the title of Honorary Senator in Belgium. During her electing mandates in the Belgian parliament, which spanned 27 years, she invested a lot of energy in space matters. She held the position of Chair of the « Belgian Senate Space Group» and she also presided over the «European Interparliamentary Space conference». In 2016, she was elected Chair of Eurisy, a non- profit Association which aims to bridge space and Society. She is also a Member of the Advisory Council of ESPI (European Space Policy Institute) in Vienna and, a Member of the Board of Vitrociset Belgium. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Europlanet 2024 RI. Concerned by the difficulties of the space industry to recruit young graduates, she launched YouSpace in 2014 and in 2018 she launched in 2018 “Switch to Space” an event with 50 speaker’s representing experts in space and more than 500 students. Between 2019 and 2022, Dominique served as Vice-President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). Currently, she is a Special Advisor to the IAF President on Parliamentarian and Ministerial Relations.

 

Marie Menard, Senior Communication Officer, EUSPA 

Marie Ménard is a seasoned communications professional with extensive experience in the European Union space sector. She currently serves as a Senior Communication Officer at the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), where she leads strategic communication initiatives to promote the EU Space programme and services. Her role encompasses media relations, public outreach, and stakeholder engagement, aiming to enhance public understanding and support for the EU’s space endeavours.

Marie’s experience in communication and public outreach supports EUSPA’s efforts to promote its activities and engage with stakeholders across the space sector. She holds a DEA in business development from Audencia and a master’s degree in strategic development from Reims Business School.

 

European Union Space Components

Vincent Chatelée, Galileo EWSS and SAR Service Manager, EUSPA

 

 

Marie Menard, Senior Communication Officer, EUSPA 

Marie Ménard is a seasoned communications professional with extensive experience in the European Union space sector. She currently serves as a Senior Communication Officer at the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), where she leads strategic communication initiatives to promote the EU Space programme and services. Her role encompasses media relations, public outreach, and stakeholder engagement, aiming to enhance public understanding and support for the EU’s space endeavours.

Marie’s experience in communication and public outreach supports EUSPA’s efforts to promote its activities and engage with stakeholders across the space sector. She holds a DEA in business development from Audencia and a master’s degree in strategic development from Reims Business School.

 

Coco Antonissen, Director Space Applications, NLSA

Coco is the Director of Space Applications at the Netherlands Space Agency (NLSA). With a background in geoscience and remote sensing, she has extensive experience in the satellite applications domain. Coco focuses on stimulating the development and uptake of satellite-based solutions, and on improving the alignment between supply and demand for space-based data and services across sectors.

 

Current challenges and opportunities related to the uptake of satellite data

Andre Bennett, Disaster Manager, Government of Sint Eustatius 

 

Gunther Flanegin, Harbour master Bonaire

I consider myself to be a professional who embodies a combination of the precision of an engineer, the vision of a strategist, and the deep conviction of someone who has dedicated his career to making maritime infrastructure work better.
I hold a dual bachelor’s degree in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering and a Master of Science in Maritime Economics and Logistics.
My early career took me from an able body seaman on tugboats to the deep end of offshore engineering. As Lead Marine Engineer and Coordinator at Bluewater Energy Services in the Netherlands, I managed the operation and maintenance of Floating Production Storage and Offloading systems and Single Point Mooring facilities — working alongside classification societies such as Lloyd’s Register and DNV, leading project teams across multiple time zones, and conducting structural integrity analyses on some of the most complex marine assets in the industry in order to prevent any mishaps.
In 2016, I left the offshore world to answer a call on Bonaire.  I became the Harbor Master- a small island port with an enormous opportunity to become something exceptional. From this position, I have spent ten years professionalizing the process at the port, to function more as a thriving business. This way the port can be firm between governments and port users to guarantee success and opportunities.
My vision for Bonaire’s port has always been shaped by the island itself. Where a small island port can become a model of marine-ecological management: one where green energy, clean harbor operations, and the protection of Bonaire’s unique underwater ecosystem are not trade-offs against economic growth, but the very basis of it.

 

 

 

Space assets supporting the Disaster Risk Management Cycle

Iris Keizer, Climate Scientist, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute 

Iris is a climate scientist at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Her work focuses on the development of climate scenarios, including work on the KNMI’23 climate scenarios for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba and the 2025 climate scenarios for Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Alongside her research, she supports the use of climate information in both policy and operational services. This includes work on climate adaptation and strengthening early warning services for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, with a particular focus on heat warnings for Bonaire. 

 

Shawn Boyce, Director of Hydrology Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology

Mr. Shawn Boyce heads the Centre for Water Resources, Hydrology, Geoscience and Earth Observation Applications at the Caribbean  Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) where he is employed as the Chief Hydrologist. He joined the CIMH in 2006 following the completion of a post graduate degree in Sustainable Management of the Water Environment from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom from where he graduated with distinction.

Mr. Boyce supports the development and maintenance of impact-based forecasting workflows and the commissioning of early warning systems for use by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services among others. His roles include (i) the management of the hydrology training programme, (ii) implementation of research and development activities, projects and programmes and (iii) execution of business development interests.

 

Freddy Paya, Senior Business Development and Sales Manager, Furgo

Freddy Paya brings over 15 years of experience in the geospatial industry, spanning government, academia, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. His public sector experience includes roles with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Natural Resources Canada. In academia, he has worked with Lund University, and in the non-profit sector with the World Agroforestry. His private sector experience includes positions at Shell Canada, PCI Geomatics, and Esri prior to joining Fugro.
 He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in Geomatics Engineering from Toronto Metropolitan University. Freddy currently leads business development for EOMAP at Fugro across the Americas.