16th April 2009
The Duke of York helps to secure funding for Amazon satellite project
The Duke of York visited the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) during a trip to Oxfordshire where experts showed His Royal Highness a range of cutting edge Space Science technology.
The Duke saw the designs behind a camera to be built at the Space Department at RAL, which will help detect illegal activity in two of the largest rainforests in the world.
His Royal Highness was influential in getting the project off the ground eighteen months ago in his role as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.
Professor Richard Holdaway, Director of Space Science and Technology at RAL, explains the project, and the Duke’s involvement in it, in more detail:
"The Duke of York visited the Brazilian Space Agency (INPE) in 2007, where he was given an overview of the Amazonia-1 Satellite Mission – the Brazilian Government’s initiative to combat illegal deforestation in the Amazonian basin. The Amazon rainforest is by far the largest in the world but circuitous illegal logging in the area presents a big problem for the Brazilian government with its effects having a major impact on climate change.
INPE is leading the way to combat this by building the Amazonia-1 satellite, which will enable the fast turn-round of imagery from space over the Amazon rainforest, so that government forces can more rapidly apprehend those cutting down the trees.
Unfortunately INPE were unable to provide a suitable compact high-resolution camera for the satellite to take the necessary imagery. However, during the visit in 2007 the Duke learned the UK’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory could offer the required technology, provided the UK Government supported the agenda and provided the money to build the camera.
The involvement of the Duke of York two years ago was fundamental to the success of getting the UK involved in Amazonia-1. The Duke lobbied the Government to ensure the Prime Minister was aware of the potential for the UK to help with the global climate change agenda through Amazonia-1, and to provide the required funding.
Without this intervention and support from His Royal Highness, UK participation would simply not have happened.
The Duke’s recent visit to RAL was a good opportunity to show him how far the project has come since his initial involvement."
