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Using
Earth observation data to restore barren lands
The Group of Earth
Observations launches a new, innovative
initiative to put Earth Observation (EO) data in
the hands of national and local decision makers
in order to halt and reverse land degradation,
and Germany immediately pledges EUR100,00
(USD$113,000) for the
initiative.
1 November 2018,
Kyoto, Japan. Over 75% of the world’s
land surface is significantly impacted by human
activity. The consequences are evident in more
and severe droughts, high
loss of wildlife and new trends in internal
displacement and forced
migration. Inaction on land degradation for
most of the 169 countries affected by land
degradation is due to the lack of accurate data
and the tools to monitor it. In a landmark
decision, the Group of Earth Observations
(GEO) today launched a new, innovative
initiative that will put Earth Observation (EO)
data in the hands of national and local decision
makers, addressing this need.
The GEO LDN
Initiative unveiled in Kyoto will bring together
Earth Observation data providers and governments
to develop the quality standards, analytical
tools and capacity building needed to strengthen
land degradation monitoring and reporting, using
remote sensing and data collected on site. At
the touch of a button, governments will have the
right data to prioritize interventions and
monitor outcomes in order to plan and manage
land better. Following the announcement, Germany
pledged an initial contribution of EUR100,000
(USD113,000) for the initiative.
To date,
119 governments have pledged to take the
measures needed to avoid, halt and reverse land
degradation to ensure the amount of productive
land stabilizes by 2030 and beyond.
“The
world is gripped by a growing sense of crisis
regarding the sustainability of the global
environment, and the deteriorating global
environment affects our daily life. Within this
context, we are being tasked with taking action,
as ‘global citizens’, against the various global
issues that cannot be solved by one country
alone,” said Keiko Nagaoka, Japan’s State
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology, when he opened the GEO 2018
Congress.
GEO, an intergovernmental
organization whose mandate is to improve the
availability and sharing of data on Earth
observations to benefit all life on Earth, is
made up of government, academic and research
institutions, data providers, businesses,
engineers, scientists and experts who share data
to create innovative solutions to pressing
global problems.
“Land degradation is
an existential crisis. Until now, monitoring it
in real time felt like an insurmountable
challenge. No longer. With Earth observation
datasets and the practical tools to use them
readily available, decision-makers and land
users will have immediate and actionable
information to scale up sustainable land
management and planning. It is a first step to
boosting our resilience,” said Monique
Barbut, Executive Secretary, United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification.
The
Initiative responds to a call made from the
UNCCD’s Conference of the Parties last September
to bring data providers and data users together
to support global efforts to avoid, reduce and
reverse land degradation
globally.
Welcoming the Initiative,
Jennifer Morris, President of Conservation
International said, “it is time to move from
measurement and monitoring to action. From
Conservation International’s experience in the
field we know restoring nature is an important
piece of building healthy lands that can support
productive and sustainable landscapes. Earth
observation, and tools like Trends.Earth, can
support local and national governments in
prioritizing and implementing restoration
actions.”
To ensure the initiative
gets off to a flying start, three Working Groups
emerged from the discussions in Kyoto. One will
focus on building national capacities; the
second will develop data quality standards and
protocols for the SDG indicator land degradation
(15.3.1) and its sub-indicators; and, the third
will establish platforms with high computing
capacities so partners can collaborate on big
data analytics, such as open data
cubes.
According to Barron Joseph Orr,
Lead Scientist, United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification, “if the ability to
process, interpret and validate geospatial data
can be enhanced, it would lead to real national
ownership. UNCCD Parties are clear about their
data needs so delivering for governments and
local communities will drive the work programme
of the new GEO LDN Initiative.”
The
partnership and cutting edge technology
developed for the GEO LDN initiative will move
efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development
Goals target on land degradation into the fast
lane. The target of achieving land degradation
neutrality is widely accepted to be an
accelerator and integrator for achieving the
other 17 Goals.
-------
Notes
to Editors
For inquiries about the
GEO LDN Initiative, contact:
salex...@unccd.int
For information about
the GEO LDN Initiative, click here:
http://www.earthobservations.org/activity.php?id=149
For
information about the German contribution, click
here:
https://www.earthobservations.org/article.php?id=326
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The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD) is an international agreement on good
land stewardship. It helps people, communities
and countries create wealth, grow economies and
secure enough food, clean water and energy by
ensuring land users an enabling environment for
sustainable land management. Through
partnerships, the Convention’s 197 parties set
up robust systems to manage drought promptly and
effectively. Good land stewardship based on
sound policy and science helps integrate and
accelerate achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals, builds resilience to climate
change and prevents biodiversity
loss. | | |
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Sent: Thursday, November
01, 2018 4:36 PM
Subject: Initiative to use
Earth observation data to restore barren lands launched in Japan
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