Location of Project’s Operation
Regions: Europe
Countries:
Other:
Lead Entities: European Space Agency, Evenflow, EARSC, Serco
Organizational Type: Intergovernmental organization, Private sector, Trade association
Partners: European Space Agency, Evenflow, EARSC, Serco
Status of Initiative
Start Date: 20/11/2023
Status: In Progress
End Date: 20/11/2025
Description of Objective
Objectives: To strengthen the monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the development and integration of Earth Observation (EO)-based solutions, addressing key stakeholder needs in alignment with European and international policies.
Outputs: A suite of tailored EO applications and tools, developed through ESA-funded projects, designed to support the uptake and utilization of EO data by diverse stakeholder communities, alongside outreach efforts, workshops, and targeted training.
Outcomes: Enhanced capacity for SDG monitoring in Europe, with broader stakeholder engagement, improved decision-making, and increased adoption of EO solutions for addressing sustainability challenges across various sectors and policy areas.
Activities: Engage stakeholders through outreach and capacity-building activities such as workshops, training events, and helpdesk support, while also monitoring the policy landscape and gathering user requirements to ensure EO solutions align with policy needs and emerging opportunities.
Resources: An overview-portfolio of ESA EO applications and tools, designed for effective SDG monitoring, along with training events, and potentially dedicated user support to enhance the adoption of these solutions.
Nature-based solution?: Nature-based solution
Just Transition?:
Interlinkages?: (2.4.1) SDG-RM Rice Monitoring. Goal: Promote resilient agricultural practices and ensure sustainable agriculture. Interlinkages: Ties into broader land management and agricultural monitoring, aligning with food security (SDG 2) and climate resilience // (6.3.2) Orbit Guardian. Goal: Monitor inland water quality, contributing to the proportion of bodies of water with good ambient inland water quality (SDG 6.2).Interlinkages: Closely related to SDG-WI Wetland Inventories, which also focuses on water-related ecosystems (SDG 6.6), as both projects emphasize preserving and improving water quality.// (6.6.1) SDG-WI Wetland Inventories. Goal: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems. Interlinkages: Strong connections to both Orbit Guardian (for monitoring water quality) and SDG-Forest Management, as wetlands and forests both contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem services. // (11.3.1) IdeaAtlas & Urban TEP SDGs. Goal: Mapping informal settlements and monitoring the ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate. Interlinkages: Closely tied to land-use management efforts in projects like SEN4LDN and SDG-Forest Management, as urbanization pressures can impact surrounding ecosystems //(14.1.1a) EU Mon. Goal: Monitor coastal eutrophication. Interlinkages: Directly linked with water quality projects like Orbit Guardian and wetland management in SDG-WI Wetland Inventories. Poor inland water management affects coastal eutrophication.// (15.1.1 & 15.2.1) SDG-Forest Management. Goal: Monitor forest area net change, above-ground biomass, forest protected areas, and sustainable forest management. Interlinkages: Critical to land-use and degradation monitoring, it ties in with SEN4LDN by supporting sustainable land and forest management practices, which reduce deforestation and forest degradation // (15.3.1) SEN4LDN. Goal: Achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. Interlinkages: It connects with many of the above projects, particularly SDG-Forest Management (for protecting and restoring land), Urban TEP (to control land consumption rates), and Rice Monitoring (sustainable agriculture and land use).
Which SDG?: SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Successes: (i) Water Quality and Ecosystem Protection: Projects like Orbit Guardian and SDG-WI Wetland Inventories successfully aligned to protect inland and coastal ecosystems by improving water management and reducing pollution, contributing to SDG 6 and SDG 14.
(ii) Land Use and Ecosystem Restoration: Projects like SEN4LDN and SDG-Forest Management helped protect forests, prevent land degradation, and promote sustainable land use, creating an interconnected framework for land conservation. (iii) Sustainable Agriculture: The SDG-RM Rice Monitoring project worked synergistically with SEN4LDN to promote sustainable agriculture, improving land and resource management, and reducing environmental impact. Challenges: (i) Balancing urbanization with conservation: Projects like IdeaAtlas and Urban TEP successfully addressed the challenge of urban expansion competing with land conservation. (ii) Resource Allocation: Through careful monitoring and integration, these projects avoided over-committing resources, ensuring that actions in wetland and forest management were balanced with agricultural productivity and urban development.
Related Targets: (2.4.1) SDG-RM Rice monitoring (resilient agricultural practices sustainable agriculture), (6.3.2.) Orbit Guardian (Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient INLAND water quality (6.2)), (6.6.1) SDG-WI Wetland Inventories (protect and restore water-related ecosystems), (11.3.1.) IdeaAtlas (Mapping informal settlements), (11.3.1.) Urban TEP SDGs (Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate), (14.1.1a.) EU Mon (Index of coastal eutrophication – SDG Eutrophication), (15.1.1. & 15.2.1) SDG-Forest management (forest area net change, Above Ground Biomass, Forest Protected Areas, Forest Management), (15.3.1.) SEN4LDN (Land Degradation Neutrality)
Synergies and Trade-offs: (2.4.1) SDG-RM Rice Monitoring:Trade-offs: Intensive monitoring may demand substantial resources; careful balance is needed to avoid high water use or degradation of nearby ecosystems. // (6.3.2) Orbit Guardian:Trade-offs: Extensive data collection might require balancing water extraction and quality monitoring without impacting local ecosystems negatively. // (6.6.1) SDG-WI Wetland Inventories:Trade-offs: Managing wetlands can sometimes conflict with land management objectives like forest expansion or agricultural land use. // (11.3.1) IdeaAtlas & Urban TEP SDGs: Trade-offs: Urban development often competes with land conservation, creating a delicate balance between human settlement expansion and ecosystem protection.// (14.1.1a) EU Mon:Trade-offs: Effective coastal monitoring requires balancing agricultural runoff management, which can affect agricultural productivity.// (15.1.1 & 15.2.1) SDG-Forest Management: Trade-offs: There may be challenges in balancing sustainable forestry with agricultural land expansion and urbanization, creating conflicts with food security or urban development.// (15.3.1) SEN4LDN:Trade-offs: Land degradation neutrality may conflict with short-term agricultural expansion or infrastructure projects, requiring a balance between environmental protection and economic development.
Learning/Recommendations: (i) Resource Allocation: Many of these projects require substantial resources for ongoing data collection, monitoring, and validation, which can strain financial and technical capacities. (ii) Balancing Competing Priorities: Trade-offs between land conservation, agricultural productivity, and urban expansion often arise, requiring careful balancing to avoid undermining long-term sustainability goals. (iii) Cross-jurisdictional Coordination: Projects that span different governance frameworks or cross-border regions face challenges in aligning policies and operational frameworks, making consistent implementation more difficult.(iv) Data Complexity: Many of the projects rely on high-quality, continuous data, which can be challenging to acquire, process, and apply at scale, especially when integrating satellite data with local measurements.
Contact
Name: Monica Miguel Lago
Role: Senior Project Manager
Organization: European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC)
Email: [email protected]
Monica Miguel Lago, Senior Project Manager, European Associaition of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC), [email protected]. https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-miguel-lago-4b42852a/?originalSubdomain=es and https://www.linkedin.com/company/sef-stakeholder-engagement-facility
Website: https://esa-sef.eu/