Knowledge Generation Using Earth Observations to Support Sustainable Development

Earth observations (EO) have the ability to generate data that underpin local to national, regional and global efforts to monitor and drive progress on sustainable development, and make societies more adaptive to climate change and more resilient to disasters. From establishing baseline information for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators to supporting the creation and regular updating of databases and reporting mechanisms among different global frameworks to facilitating the planning and implementation of management and policy measures and assessing their effectiveness, EO data are recognized as essential for relating people to their location and place, while assisting with indicator disaggregation at various spatial scales. This paper examines existing examples of where EO data and tools are applied to generate knowledge in support of SDG implementation, monitoring and reporting, showcasing the diverse contributions of Earth observations to the 2030 Agenda. The need for information and the role of EO data, tools and services are explained, including an indication of future plans and challenges.